The Hopper App Clone: How to Create a Booking App for Travelers Like Hopper?

Every year more and more people are looking for convenient and reliable ways to plan their trips and book flights, hotels, and cars. One such solution is Hopper. Its approach to travel planning, booking, and price prediction algorithms has saved thousands of users a lot of time and money on travel worldwide. This article will explain how the app works and how to create your own travel planning and booking solution that incorporates Hopper's benefits, meeting the needs and expectations of travelers.

Hopper in a Nutshell

Hopper is a travel marketplace. The app offers travelers a wide range of services, including booking tickets and hotel rooms and planning travel budgets with dedicated services. Hopper uses artificial intelligence, historical data, and Big Data to help users find and compare the best deals on different types of accommodations. Users of the app also get access to travel tips and recommendations, including the best places to visit and recommendations from other travelers. This helps users plan and prepare for their trips.

Hopper's main feature is its ability to predict future airfare prices with a high degree of accuracy. The user can choose a destination and travel dates, and then Hopper will predict when to buy tickets to get the best price. The project team claims their app saves an average of $50 on domestic flights and about $120 on international flights per user.

The reasons why Hopper is famous

Hopper's popularity in the field is due to several factors that make it an outstanding and preferred choice for many travelers:

• Saves Money. One of the best things about the Hopper app is that it saves money. The project team claims that their algorithms can help you save up to 40% when buying airline tickets and up to 60% when booking hotels. You can also take advantage of discounts when renting a car or making restaurant reservations.
• Freezes prices. The app also allows users to lock in the current price of a plane ticket, hotel room, or car and book it later. This is especially useful when a traveler wants to evaluate the market or wait before purchasing.
• Makes accurate predictions. Hopper boasts 95% accuracy in predicting airfare and hotel prices a year in advance. It's like having a psychic friend who can peek into the future of air travel; still, it doesn’t deal with a crystal ball and velvet curtains.
• Saves time. In Hopper, you can simply enter your travel date, destination, and any other relevant filters, and you'll be shown the best prices. The app displays flights from all airlines, cars from multiple rental locations, and hotels. It compares prices without having to look at each provider individually.

How to creature a Hopper application clone?

This section covers the steps and critical aspects to help you develop your Hopper clone. You'll learn how to create your own attractive and innovative travel planning and reservation app for airfare, hotel rooms, and car rentals-from research and planning to design and development.

The niche and target audience

Hopper is the latest concept. Its USP (unique selling proposition) is an innovative approach that provides users with substantial savings on booking tickets, hotels, and car rentals while traveling. The company's motto is "Spend Less, Travel Better!" This has helped USP Hopper attract 70 million users to its platform.

Similarly, you must have an original idea before you develop your travel solution. It could be even more significant savings, better booking conditions, geographic expansion, exclusive offers from airlines or hotels, and full automation of travel planning (from ticket purchases to personalized itineraries and audio guides).

Once you have an idea for a Hopper clone app, you can start researching and analyzing your target audience. Understand their requirements, such as who your customers are and what they do, and then categorize them into groups to better meet their requirements. That way, you can create a solution to meet your users' needs.

Here are a few essential things to consider when analyzing your target audience for a future travel planning and booking app like Hopper:

• User requests. Find out what needs and preferences your potential users have when planning travel. Research what features and functions are essential to them, such as finding the cheapest tickets, convenient lodging reservations, exclusive offers and discounts, personalized recommendations, and more.
• Travel habits. Research the frequency and types of travel that your target audience prefers. Some people prefer economy travel; others are looking for luxury options. Find out what places they prefer to visit and how they plan their trips.
• Users' budgets. Research the budget constraints of your target audience. Determine what types of offers and discounts will be most appealing to them. Create features that help users find the best options and save money on their travels: transportation, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment.
• Technology Experience. Assess the technology experience of your target audience. Find out how often they use mobile apps and what tech support they might need. Provide ease of use of your app and support for those needing more mobile technology experience.

Experienced development team

In the next phase of developing your Hopper clone, you must find an experienced development team with the technical skills and knowledge to create a secure and highly functional travel planning or booking solution. An experienced development team will ensure reliability, professionalism, and efficient project management, which will reduce development time and increase the chances of project success.

Merehead has all these qualities. We are an experienced web development company with expertise in creating custom applications. Our team will ensure high reliability, quality, and a successful launch of your Hopper clone. Contact us today, and let's bring your idea to life together!

Business model and project monetization

Once you've researched your target audience and chosen a developer, you must determine how your app will generate revenue. The Hopper app uses a model that makes money in two ways: receiving commissions and Hopper Cloud. The first option means that Hopper earns money every time an app user books a service with a company partner (airlines, hotels, car rentals) through the Hopper platform.

Hopper Cloud is a service that licenses or sells travel software solutions to businesses so they can use them in their own travel business. These solutions include price forecasting tools, price freezes, price reduction guarantees, cancellations, flight disruption guarantees, or travel insurance. Some of Hopper Cloud's clients include well-known brands such as KAYAK, Trip.com, Capital One, and others.

When creating your travel booking app, you can use a similar business model or choose a different option:

• Coupons. To enable this option, you must be a wholesale hotel room buyer, like Expedia, or provide coupons for your account.
• In-app advertising. Your platform can charge service providers for successful transactions through your app or for ad clicks. Look at TripAdvisor – in 2019, 33% of their revenue came from PPC advertising from Booking and Expedia.
• Premium version of the service. You can also offer your users various premium features (no ads, significant discounts, and more). PackPoint, for example, charges for disabling ads, and TripIt charges for speeding through airport security lines.
• Sponsorship opportunities. If you have an idea for an app with social value, consider sponsorship opportunities. Couch-surfing is an excellent example of how to create a travel app based on donations and volunteer work. They started as a free service supported by sponsorship funds and even developed their website through volunteer contributions. True, they switched to a paid model after the crisis caused by the Covid pandemic.
• In-app purchases. You can also implement in-app purchases of goods and services, such as access to offline maps, premium car rentals, use of a personal guide, etc.

Hopper’s essential functions

Registration. Users can sign up for Hopper using their phone number or a Google ecosystem account. Registration allows users to save their preferences, search history, and profile settings. It also lets users receive price drop notifications, exclusive offers, and recommendations and efficiently manage their reservations.

User Profile. Users can add information about their preferences, interests, and previous trips to receive recommendations and suggestions tailored to their needs. The profile can also store information about saved itineraries, hotels, and preferences, making tracking preferences for future trips easier. This feature helps create a more personalized travel experience for each user.

Search Engine and Filters. Also, when developing your travel and reservation app, you must provide users with a convenient and efficient way to find the best ticket and hotel options. Users can use the search engine to specify their preferences by dates, locations, budget, and other parameters to get the most relevant results. Filters allow users to customize their search by selecting specific airlines, room types, amenities, and other criteria. This helps users narrow their choices and find the best options that meet their needs, preferences, and travel goals.

Travel (vacation) planner. It offers a convenient tool for creating and managing travel and vacation plans. Users can create schedules, specify travel goals and milestones, and note attractions, activities, and other important trip details. The planner also allows users to set dates and customize alerts and offers helpful recommendations and suggestions based on user preferences, helping to make travel more exciting and memorable.

Ticket price forecasting. Users can select specific destinations and specify travel dates, and the Hopper app will analyze

The Hopper app will analyze and advise users on whether to buy now or wait. It relies on machine learning algorithms and statistics to predict how prices will change in the future. The feature also sends notifications to users when prices drop significantly or reach the optimal level for purchase. This allows users to time their purchases and get the best prices optimally.

Hotel and flight reservations. This feature helps you easily plan your trips, book the needed services, and save time and effort on travel arrangements. Your users can search and compare various offers from different suppliers and choose the best price, schedule, and amenities. Users can make reservations directly through the app after selecting the right tickets and hotel.

Freeze prices on tickets, cars, and hotels. This feature helps make informed choices and provides a more flexible and convenient booking system. Users can save a quote with the current price of a flight, car rental, or hotel for a specific time to continue their search, compare other offers, or decide later. Implementing this feature in your Hopper app clone will give your users the flexibility and ability to save an excellent offer for a small fee.

Accommodation Management. This feature provides convenient access to reservation information and allows users to respond to changes in plans and preferences quickly. Users can view information about their current reservations, including stay dates, room type, and other details. They can also change reservations, such as changing dates, adding extras, or canceling reservations. This helps simplify the process of managing accommodations while traveling and provides travelers with a more flexible and comfortable experience.

Maps for navigation. It's also a must for your travel app to have convenient and reliable maps for navigating the places they visit. Maps can also provide information about available transportation, routes, attractions, restaurants, clinics, and distances between places. This helps travelers navigate unfamiliar terrain quickly and confidently, finding the right places and the best routes for a convenient and safe travel experience.

Payment Gateway. If your users can't book hotels and airline tickets through the app-it won't be a complete travel solution. You'll need a secure payment gateway that allows your customers to pay in multiple ways: in addition to credit and debit cards, they should have access to users' e-wallets.

Hopper clone application architecture

The architecture of the Hopper application clone must be flexible, scalable, and efficient. To achieve these goals, a client-server architecture with microservices is recommended. This architecture allows the application to be divided into separate components, each of which can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently, making it easier to develop, update, and extend the application. Also, microservices architecture promotes better error isolation and improves system reliability.

Hopper clone application design

The design of a travel app should be simple, intuitive, and appealing. A successful app design will create a pleasant user experience, attracting and retaining users. This includes precise controls, memorable color schemes, data visualization, and readable fonts. Personalization, support for different devices, logical workflow, and feedback are also essential aspects of good design.

Backend, frontend, and API

In this stage, developers implement the design and functionality of your Hopper clone in the program code. They create the backend, frontend, and API. The backend is responsible for data processing, business logic, and interaction with the database. The frontend, in turn, is responsible for the user interface and interaction. An API is a set of defined rules and protocols that define how various components of an application can communicate with each other. An API allows the frontend to receive data from the backend and send requests to update information. Proper communication between the backend, the frontend, and the API plays a vital role in the functioning of the application, ensuring efficient data transfer and synchronization between components.

Here is the technology stack for developing a Hopper clone:

Testing

Once an application is completed, it is crucial to ensure it works properly. Testing includes functionality, reliability, performance, security, and user interface testing. All of these types of testing help identify bugs, improve functionality, and ensure a smooth and reliable user experience for the application.

The cost of developing a Hopper clone

Hopper is a platform with a wide range of features. The user is offered the opportunity to book an air ticket, a house, a car, a hotel. Each such function can be singled out into a separate large project like booking, airbnb, kayak. Therefore, the cost of such a project, which will duplicate all functions, have a unique design and a unique code base, will be about $300,000 - $400,000. The duration of development is from 6 to 9 months. If you want to make it simpler and only integrate some of the features, then the cost will be around $90,000 - $150,000. The easiest option and the fastest option is to use ready-made solutions that will allow you to realize your idea at minimal cost. Such a solution will cost from $40,000 and take about 2-3 months of development.