Hopper

Hopper is a travel app that uses predictive analytics to make travel recommendations. The mobile application uses big data to predict and analyze airfare and accommodations. Hopper provides travelers with the information they need to get the best deals on flights and hotels and notifies them when prices are at their predicted lowest points.

TrustRadius Research Team Analysis

What is Hopper?

Hopper is a travel management company that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to identify travel industry pricing trends which can save users as much as 40% on their travel expenses. Hopper’s AI tracks prices for hotels, flights, rental cars, and even vacation homes.

Hopper Cloud

How Does Hopper Work for End Users?

The third option is arguably the one that Hopper is most known for. Hopper’s AI tracks pricing trends and makes recommendations about whether the current price is worth buying or if you should wait. This feature is located under the current displayed price for the date selected. A more detailed version can be found at the bottom of the screen.

(Displayed under the price)




(Displayed at the bottom of the screen)

If you choose to wait, you have the option to set up notifications to alert you if, and when, any pricing changes occur. This feature allows you to sit back and relax while Hopper does all the work. You no longer need to worry about checking flight, hotel, or rental car prices every other day. Hopper takes the stress out of travel planning by tracking the prices for you.

How is this Different for Hopper Cloud Users?

Hopper Cloud users enjoy many of the same features and benefits that Hopper end users do. However, there are some slight differences that I will point out in the table below.

Hopper Cloud Use Cases

Hopper lists the following use cases for their infrastructure and data on their Hopper Cloud website:

• Online Travel Agencies

• Offline Travel Agencies

• Airlines

• Meta Search

• Rewards and Loyalty

• Corporate Travel (online and offline)

• Hotel and Lodging

• Technology Providers

Hopper’s Mobile User Interface

Hopper’s mobile user interface is relatively easy-to-use. The app is pretty straight forward, and only includes the necessary features. The home page includes only a handful of buttons.

Hotels, Flights, Cars, and Homes Buttons – As you might have guessed, these buttons are pretty straightforward. They take you further into the application to book one of these types of travel.

Deals Button – This button allows you to access current deals on Hopper. These deals are also previewed in the middle of the home page with the “Deal Drops”, and can also be accessed using the middle option from the navigation menu at the bottom of the screen.

Invite Button – This button takes you to a page where Hopper discusses a reward program for inviting additional users to the application.

Freeze Button – This button discusses how Hopper’s Price Freeze feature works.

Wallet Button – This button displays your Hopper Wallet, which is where rewards currency is kept and where Hopper’s one-time discounts for new users can be found.

Trees Button – This is a neat feature displayed by Hopper which allows you to read up on their eco-friendly initiatives. Hopper states that with every booking, they will plant two trees for free in order to offset carbon emissions. At the time of writing this, Hopper has planted 23,831,970 trees.

And lastly, if you wish to get in touch with customer support, you can do so by clicking on the bear with a headset on (located in the lower right corner).

What Platforms is Hopper Compatible With?

Hopper has a mobile application that is available to both iOS and Android users through their app stores. Hopper also has a website version of their mobile application that can be used to look up deals on hotels.

Hopper Cloud is available online, and anyone can access it.

What Does Hopper Cost?

The Hopper mobile app is 100% free to use. There are also no hidden costs involved with Hopper. Hopper has previously secured funding from many well-known investors such as Goldmans Sachs, Westcap Group, and Citigroup.

However, there is a $5 tip that is added to bookings automatically. This tip is optional, and you can unselect it if you do not want to pay it. Hopper also offers different add-ons such as trip insurance and rental car insurance. These add-ons do cost additional money that can vary based on several factors such as the length of trip, the dates of the trip, and location of the trip.

Hopper Cloud’s costs are unknown. Hopper Cloud offers pieces of Hopper’s infrastructure, software, and other travel fintech as white label products. Businesses looking to partner with Hopper for their travel and travel fintech will need to submit a form through their website to open a discussion about partnering with Hopper and costs associated with a partnership.

Businesses interested in a partnership can choose any combination of Hopper’s price prediction, price freeze, price drop guarantee, cancel for any reason, or flight disruption guarantee options. This means buyers can piece together a custom solution fit to their travel fintech needs.

How is The Support?

According to reviewers on several tech review sites, Hopper seems to receive mixed reviews about their customer service. Some users report having exceptional customer service interactions, while others report several struggles with the service they receive. Issues that have been reported pertain to accidental bookings/charges, being unable to reach support through their phone number or app, and occasional incorrect pricing predictions.

That being said, it’s important to note that Hopper actively scans review sites for issues such as these and reaches out to people to resolve these issues with a more hands-on effort.

Alternatives to Hopper Cloud

Alternatives to Hopper Cloud include Egencia, Emburse, and SAP Concur.

Egencia

Egencia is Expedia’s business travel branch, and an industry leader for travel management solutions. Egencia is partnered with over 290 airlines and 650,000 lodging providers located around the globe. They also use AI and machine learning to save customers on travel arrangements, but also use their software to focus on traveler wellbeing and sustainability.

Egencia is used by over 9,000 companies around the world, and has services over 2 million travelers. Egencia also recently launched resources to help with assisting customers who are returning to travel after the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic. These resources focus on international and domestic travel policy settings, a focus on reliability and employee wellbeing, and tools to help with stakeholder engagement and leading business travel management.

It’s also worth noting that Egencia has tools to help with expense management and maximizing business travel ROI.

Emburse

Emburse Go is another big name in the travel management industry. Emburse Go allows all business traveler’s reservations to be listed into a central location, and managed under a single itinerary. Emburse Go offers two versions of their product: Emburse Go and Emburse Go Premier.

Emburse Go allows customers to manage their expenses using a business travel program. Emburse Go Premier offers a fully customizable solution that can be branded to your business, and offers a support system.

Emburse Go stands out from other travel companion applications in that it allows you to sync with other suppliers which includes online booking tools, travel management companies, and duty of care providers.

Features of Emburse Go include:

• Capture rebates: Making it easier for travelers to book with preferred suppliers and negotiate rates to leverage rebate programs. (Credit card offers, restaurants, etc.)

• Actionable data

• Flexible Integrations

• Duty of Care: Allowing you to keep travelers safe and informed with in-app messaging.

• Controls: Allows you to keep spending in-policy with customized controls and pre-approvals.

• Customizable Interface

• City Guides

• Multi-language support features

SAP Concur

SAP Concur is another product that offers a unified view of travel bookings and spending data from one location. SAP Concur also allows you to automate manual processes which results in smoother operations that can produce more visibility and analytics.

SAP Concur offers 4 main products which make up travel and expense management solution for your business. These products are: Concur Expense, Concur Travel, Concur Invoice, and Concur Detect by Oversight.

Concur Expense: With the ability to integrate your expense data, you can manage your company’s spending from anywhere at any time.

Concur Travel: This product increases compliance and allows you to control your company’s expenses from one location.

Concur Invoice: Streamline processes through automation, which can eliminate manual processes and increase your visibility when it comes to spending.

Concur Detect by Oversight: The last product uses AI and machine learning to detect and analyze expense reports. This results in quicker audits and helps to resolve compliance issues.

Alternatives to Hopper for End Users

Some alternatives to Hopper include Booking.com, Expedia, and Priceline. Each of these organizations competes with Hopper directly, but in different ways. However, both Booking.com and Hopper hold the majority of the market share for travel booking applications.

According to Sensor Tower, in the first quarter of 2021 Hopper dethroned Booking.com and Expedia, and took the number 1 spot for most travel application downloads across the app store markets. In total, these three travel booking companies made up 75% of all downloads in this market category. (27%, 27%, and 21% respectively)

Booking.com expands to more than just flights, cars, and rentals. They also have a hand in the European bus and train ticket market, and allow users to book dinner reservations through their app using OpenTable.

Expedia is another giant in this space that also allows users to book more than just flights, cars, and rentals. Expedia users can also book cruises and various event tickets through their platform.