App Hoteles City Express

By 2018, Hoteles City Express was Mexico's fastest-growing homegrown hotel chain in the limited-service segment, with 150+ hotels operating across Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Costa Rica, focused on business travelers. The guest profile—busy executives, short stays, high frequency, need for quick booking—made mobile the most strategic channel ahead.

The challenge was twofold: the hotel industry faced pressure from OTAs (Booking, Expedia, Hoteles.com) taking significant commissions per booking; meanwhile, City Express had a solid loyalty program (City Premios) whose members deserved a branded digital experience matching in-property service. The goal: build a direct mobile channel to recover bookings, strengthen loyalty, and operate with the efficiency City Express is known for.

• OTA dependency.A significant share of bookings went through third parties, eroding margin per night and limiting brand control over guest relationships.
• Insufficient mobile experience.The responsive website worked, but lacked the speed and frictionless flow business travelers need—booking from an Uber, airport, or between meetings.
• Underutilized loyalty program.City Premios had no native channel for members to check points, redeem stays, and access benefits in real time.
• Distributed operations.With 150+ properties and constant growth, any solution had to scale without adding operational burden to each hotel.

We designed, developed, and maintained the Hoteles City Express app for iOS and Android over five years as the chain's primary direct booking channel. The solution included:

• Native booking engine with real-time availability and inventory across the entire hotel network.
• City Premios integration: check balance, redeem nights with City Premios Rate, auto-accumulate points.
• Exclusive App Rate with 5% discount on public rates (launched September 2021).
• Geolocation and express booking to solve 'hotel near me' in under three taps.
• Full stay management: confirmation, changes, fee-free cancellation, and billing.
• UX/UI design aligned to City Express brand: clean, direct, built to complete the booking.
• Continuous maintenance and updates 2018–2023: new versions, iOS/Android support, local payment integration, performance optimization.

• The app became a leading direct booking channel, reducing OTA dependency and improving margin per booked room.
• The App Rate proved a strong migration lever: the 5% discount incentivized repeat guests to move from third-party channels to direct.
• Strong loyalty program adoption on mobile: City Premios members found the app the natural hub to manage points and redemptions.
• Five years of uninterrupted operations, scaling with the chain's expansion.
• The product survived and evolved through a critical period for the industry, including post-pandemic recovery.
• In 2023, when City Express was acquired by Marriott International, the platform had built an active user base and direct booking history that became a relevant digital asset in the transition to Marriott Bonvoy.