Priceline Priceline.com, a leader in mobile travel and part of The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN), announced today that it is the first major Online Travel Agency (OTA) to integrate Apple Pay in its recently updated iPhone and iPad app for iOS 8. Through Apple Pay, customers can pay for hotel Express Deals® with a single touch via Touch ID on their iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. The new app will allow Handoff from mobile device and desktop to facilitate multi-screen engagement.
Today’s traveler is an early adopter of new technology and according to PhoCusWright research[1], mobile travel is growing at a torrid pace. Priceline.com mobile customer adoption of iOS 8 outpaces industry trends by 14 percent[2] as customers embrace new technologies, functionality and faster checkout options. The company has seen more than a 110 percent growth in Express Deals reserved via mobile since the beginning of 2014 and its mobile customers look for quick access to deals with over 65 percent of priceline.com’s mobile customers making reservations less than 24 hours before a stay.
“Our customers are smart, and on-the-go, and our mobile customers are 2X more likely to choose an alternative payment method than our desktop customers,” says priceline.com’s Chief Product Officer, John Caine. “Apple Pay makes purchasing travel easy and secure so travelers can pay quickly and seamlessly with a single touch.”
The priceline.com app received a substantial technology and design overhaul to take advantage of iOS 8 and the larger screen on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus including:
- For easier checkout, Apple Pay was added for hotel Express Deals for iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3.
- Hundreds of new mobile-exclusive deals with three and four star hotels and an expansion of priceline.com’s popular Tonight-Only deals for same-day reservations.
- iOS 8 priceline.com “Today Widget” that is displayed in the Today View of the Notification Center allowing travelers to view upcoming trip information without launching the app.
- Cross-device Handoff from iOS 8 and Mac OS X Yosemite feature for a seamless experience from iPhone and iPad to Mac so consumers can shop for deals wherever they might be during the day.
With Apple Pay, priceline.com customers can effectively cut their reservation path from an average of five screens to three and can pay for select hotel without having to manually enter credit card information. Actual card numbers are not stored on the Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted, and securely stored in the Secure Element, a dedicated chip in the iPhone and iPad. And when a traveler makes a purchase, the Device Account Number, along with a transaction-specific dynamic security code, is used to process the payment. For more about Apple Pay, visit http://www.apple.com/apple-pay/.
Priceline.com’s iOS 8 app is frequently featured in the travel section of iTunes as a top app for travelers and can be downloaded for free at http://www.priceline.com/download-priceline-negotiator-app
About priceline.com
Priceline.com, part of The Priceline Group [NASDAQ: PCLN], gives travelers multiple ways to save on airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of priceline.com’s famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the lowest prices available, or Express Deals®, where travelers can take advantage of hotel discounts without bidding.
[1] Parsing Shop and Book: How Airlines, Hotels and OTAs Compete on the Desktop and Mobile Web http://www.phocuswright.com/products/4418
[2] Mixpanel data, 11/2/14.
