--- static_export_time: "2026-07-30T17:35:21+00:00" title: "ASO Review #4: Hotels.com vs Booking.com" description: "Read these key takeaways from the ASO review series to understand the impact of the ASO efforts of Hotels.com vs Booking.com." url: "/en/aso-blog/aso-review-4-hotels-com-vs-booking-com" locale: "en-US" image: "https://www.apptweak.com/img/2023/03/ASO-Review-4-Hotels.com-vs-Booking.com_-2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&q=95" --- # ASO Review #4: Hotels.com vs Booking.com ![Madeleine Hoy](/img/2023/03/madeleine-hoy.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=200&h=200&fit=crop)by  **Madeleine Hoy** App Growth Consultant at AppTweak Last updated on February 12 2024 — 11 min read Summarize with AI Subscribe to our monthly newsletter Subscribe to our monthly newsletter Welcome to another ASO review! In November 2020, we started a series comparing the **ASO efforts** of **two industry leaders** from the same category, challenging them to a head-to-head ASO matchup. [Discover our last ASO review on two leading dating apps](/en/aso-blog/aso-review-3-match-vs-bumble "/aso-blog/aso-review-3-match-vs-bumble") After a tough year marked by strict travel regulations, the travel and hotel industry is slowly recovering from the impact of COVID-19. Since the vaccine roll-out began, more and more tourists have been taking the opportunity to travel during their summer holidays. In this ASO review, we will take a closer look at **two mobile apps** from the **travel industry** to understand the **impact of COVID-19** on their **daily downloads** and establish whether they have been actively updating their **metadata** to get ahead of the competition. * * * To present relevant key takeaways, we have chosen two apps that are very similar in terms of performance and core product. In this head-to-head matchup, we will compare the ASO efforts of **Booking.com** and **Hotels.com** , both of which are leading apps in hotel reservations. We will focus on the following metrics for both iOS apps in the United States to try and declare a winner: - App power - Estimated downloads - Current metadata and creatives - Recent metadata/creative updates - Keyword growth - Ratings & reviews ## App power & download estimates **App power** is a performance score developed by AppTweak to measure an **app’s popularity in the stores**. The higher the app power, the more authority an app has and the easier it will be to rank on certain keywords. The app power accounts for daily downloads, overall category ranking, and the varying competitiveness between different categories. With an average score of 98, **Booking.com** has consistently held a **higher app power** than Hotels.com. However, Hotels.com is getting closer to its competitor: since Jan 1, 2021, Hotels.com’s app power has increased by 25%. Both apps were negatively **impacted** by the second wave of **the pandemic** as we see decreasing app powers from the end of October until the start of 2021. Booking.com’s app power moderately decreased by 3% whereas Hotels.com suffered more than its competitor, decreasing by 11%. Nonetheless, both apps’ **app power** quickly **rose again** **from January 2021** and have remained quite stable since April. The gap between both apps is getting smaller: in one year, the difference between their respective app powers has decreased by 44%. ![Booking.com and Hotels.com App Power comparison](/img/images/2021/07/18/700 x 424 (1).png?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=1200 "App Power Evolution")To no surprise, AppTweak estimates that **Booking.com** has the **highest number of installs**. For both apps, download estimates experienced the same drop at the end of 2020 as their app powers, showing the close correlation between the two metrics. Since January 2021, both apps’ downloads have risen again. From December 2020 to July 2021, both apps’ downloads doubled. With the highest app power and downloads, **Booking.com** is the **winner of this round**! ## Metadata & creative updates Next, we will consider the ASO efforts these apps have made to increase their organic installs. Looking more closely, we can use AppTweak’s [Timeline tool](/en/aso-tools/aso-timeline-history) to **dig into the** **metadata changes** for both apps in the last twelve months to learn more about their [ASO strategies](/en/aso-blog/aso-strategy). ![Booking.com and Hotels.com metadata frequency updates](/img/images/2021/07/16/metadata update.png?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=1200 "Metadata Update frequency")Both Booking.com and Hotels.com made **few updates** to their **metadata** in the past year and neither made any changes in the past six months. While updating **descriptions** and **promo text** can impact an app’s conversion rate, the keywords included in these sections **do not impact** the **App Store** **ranking** algorithm. At first glance, it seems Hotels.com has been more active, however, from a keyword optimization perspective, both apps are on the same level. Remember – we are not able to see the **hidden iOS keyword field** so it is possible that keyword field updates were made for each app. ### Booking.com #### Subtitle ![Changes Booking.com made on its subtitle to include new keywords](/img/images/2021/07/16/metadat boooking.png?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=1200 "Booking.com metadata update")In March 2021, Booking.com ran several tests on two versions of its subtitle – one included the term “vacation rentals” and the other one included “flights & car rentals”. On the one hand, adding “car rentals” and “flights” did **increase** Booking.com’s **ranking** on these **keyword combinations** ; on the other hand, the app **did not reach the top 10**. After **removing** the keyword “ **vacation rentals** ” from its metadata in March 2021, Booking.com was **pushed out of the rankings** for this search term despite ranking in the top 5 in February 2021. We estimate this keyword combination generated 11 daily organic installs; **Booking.com lost installs** **after removing keywords** and didn’t gain any installs from new ones. #### Title Although Booking.com did not update its title in the past year, we will still consider the keywords targeted here. Besides being a very well-known hotel booking app, including the **popular generic keyword** “ **booking** ” in its brand name **extends its visibility**. ![Booking.com's visibility on each keyword included in its title](/img/images/2021/07/16/700 x 426.png?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=1200 "Booking.com's title keywords")”Travel” is a great term to target in the title as it is relevant to the app and has a high search volume. The **App Store algorithm does not account for keyword repetition** when attributing the app a position in the search results. Therefore, even though the keyword “hotels” has a very high search volume, adding it in both the title and subtitle will not increase Booking.com’s visibility on this keyword. Booking.com should therefore include a different relevant keyword to increase its visibility on a range of search terms. Booking.com ranks #1 on its brand name and #4 on its competitor’s brand name, “hotels”. ### Hotels.com #### Title ![Changes Hotels.com made on its title to include new keywords](/img/images/2021/07/18/hotels.com title.png?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=1200 "Hotels.com metadata update")We will now look at the updates made by Hotels.com in the last 12 months. The app changed its title, removing “book hotels & more” to instead add “travel” followed by its competitor’s brand name, “booking”. Removing “hotels” from Hotels.com’s title was a great decision since **repeating keywords will not help to increase an app’s visibility on the App Store**. From a volume score perspective, Hotels.com made the right decision removing “book hotels & more” since these keywords are not often searched for. However, adding the keyword combination “travel booking” may not have been the best option as it also has a **low volume score**. Hotels.com already included “travel” in its subtitle but moved this keyword to its title. This does not seem to have had a particularly positive impact; the app’s ranking stayed stable but Hotels.com lost 9 daily installs. The single keyword “booking” has a very high volume score but Hotels.com was already ranking in the top 2 and is unlikely to rank above Booking.com for this term. Hotels.com added a whole new set of keywords to its subtitle: “hotels” and “vacation rentals”. **Hotels.com might have seen an opportunity to target the keywords that Booking.com removed** from its subtitle to increase its ranking for those keywords. ![Hotels.com subtitle changes including new keywords](/img/images/2021/07/18/subt HH.png?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=1200 "Hotels.com subtitle updates")While targeting “vacation rentals” is both relevant and strategic for Hotels.com, adding “Hotels” twice to its subtitle is counterproductive. As Hotels.com is already ranking #1 for its brand keyword, it **misses** out on some **opportunities to rank for more high-volume keywords**. Hotels.com’s ranking remained stable for the keyword combination “vacation rentals” but gained one daily organic install. Its visibility increased for the single terms “rentals” and “vacation”. Hotels.com has made **more impactful metadata updates** in the last year and targets more **high-volume keywords** ; therefore, **Hotels.com** **wins this round**! ## Screenshots In the App Store search results, apps are listed with their icon, title, subtitle, and **first three screenshots** in portrait format. Therefore, it is crucial for apps to be particularly careful in those first three screenshots: apps should raise users’ interest by communicating a clear **value proposition** and an **appealing design**. Both apps use their screenshots to highlight in-app features and functionalities. Besides using divergent orientations, their designs are quite different. On the one hand, **Hotels.com** ’s screenshots are more **colorful** and **busy** ; on the other hand, **Booking.com** presents its app through **minimalistic** and **plain** screenshots. #### Hotels.com With centered text written in red and outlined by a white border, Hotels.com drives **users’ attention** to its **headlines**. As opposed to Booking.com, **the** **phone** **only** **takes up a third of the space** available. Adding a lobby character makes their screenshots more lively and provides a sense of high-quality service. While Hotels.com decided to focus on the text, they use varying font sizes for this **text** that is quite **long** in length. They include even more text lines at the bottom of the screenshots. Shorter and more **straightforward** **sentences** would **help** users **understand** its **value proposition faster**. The app functionalities shown could be better emphasized: the phone displays a **lot of information** written on the screen so it is **less easy** for users to **identify** the **app’s benefits**. #### Booking.com Booking.com has chosen a **simple** , **plain** set of portrait screenshots, with a **landscape** screenshot added in the **sixth position**. They display an iPhone screen with a zoom-in effect to outline the app’s core features. Booking.com focuses the **users’ attention** on the **iPhone screen** which takes up 70% of the space available. The headlines and varying phone positionings guide users towards the last screenshot. Booking.com might have chosen to add a landscape screenshot to further attract users’ attention. However, they may not have realized that this landscape screenshot would be displayed in portrait orientation. **Zooming** in on **one particular feature** allows Booking.com to ensure users understand the app’s core features and are not distracted by other elements. The **value proposition** is **clearly stated** from the first screenshot. Each screenshot headline is short and straight to the point. Here, we declare **Booking.com** as the **winner** because its value proposition is well communicated from the first screenshot. ## Ratings and reviews ![Booking.com and Hotels.com's average rating and rating from reviews](/img/images/2021/07/19/ratings.png?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=1200 "Booking.com and Hotels.com's average ratings") **Hotels.com** currently has the **highest rating of 4.82** and has far **more ratings** overall. Booking.com also has a very good rating of 4.8. However, in terms of **ratings from reviews** , Hotels.com has a **much lower score of 2.86**. Having positive reviews is an important element for conversion and, as such, **Booking.com** is **performing better in reviews**. Besides improving customer support and increasing their ratings, apps can rank higher on the keywords included in their reviews. Currently, **neither app** regularly **replies to its reviews**. Because of **Booking.com** ’s **high average rating scores** , we will declare them the **winner** **of this section**. ## Keyword rankings To determine which app has produced the biggest results for its ASO efforts, we look back to its keyword install growth from one year ago – July 2020 – compared to now. ![Booking.com and Hotels.com have gained organic installs following the ease on travel restrictions](/img/images/2021/07/19/700 x 431.png?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=1200 "Daily organic install and ranked keyword increase on Booking.com and Hotels.com on the US App Store")Booking.com ranks on more keywords and gains more organic installs than Hotels.com. Both apps have seen a great increase in organic installs and ranked keywords thanks to their **brand popularity**. As users have started traveling again **after the COVID-19 pandemic** , **brand keyword search volume** has **organically increased** and boosted the visibility and installs of both Booking.com and Hotels.com. [Check this link to discover AppTweak’s All Ranked Keywords Performance feature and find out which keywords drive the most organic downloads to your app.](/en/aso-tools/aso-keyword-master) * * * ## Conclusion **Each app** is very **powerful** and well-positioned in the overall market. Although they have **not recently been very active in ASO** , it is worth analyzing the impact of each app’s metadata updates. Booking.com includes new high-volume keywords in its subtitle at the expense of losing its high position on “vacation rentals”. Hotels.com, on the other hand, was able to obtain more results from its metadata updates. By **targeting keywords** its **competitor** **removed** from its subtitle and adding high-potential keywords, **Hotels.com** seems to have taken more **strategic decisions**. Even if both apps include high-volume keywords in their metadata, there is still room to target search terms more effectively. **Repeating keywords does not increase apps’ rankings** on the App Store. By adding “hotels” to their title and subtitle, Booking.com and Hotels.com are losing opportunities to target other relevant keywords. While **Hotels.com** has a higher average rating, they receive **poorer ratings** from their **reviews**. Booking.com’s average rating is slightly under Hotels.com but ratings coming from their reviews are quite close to its average rating. Though **Booking.com** has better visibility and generates more organic downloads, they have not recently been very active in ASO and so are **not in the position of winning this ASO review match**. Stay tuned for the next edition of AppTweak’s ASO Review Series where we’ll take a deeper look into two more apps, measuring the effectiveness of their ASO efforts and store listing updates. _Discover how AppTweak can help you to fuel growth for your apps and games worldwide by providing actionable insights in a simple interface._ [Start a 7-day free trial](https://app.apptweak.com/accounts/new) * * * by **Madeleine Hoy** , App Growth Consultant at AppTweak Madeleine is an App Growth Consultant at AppTweak helping apps increase their visibility. She has a passion for learning new languages & photography. [![](/img/2023/09/aso-book-2022-menu.jpg?auto=format,compress&fit=crop) Advanced App Store Optimization Book Whether you’re an ASO newbie or an industry veteran, explore the foundations of ASO as well as the latest tips, techniques, and best practices for app growth success. Get your copy ](https://www.asoebook.com/?utm_source=apptweak&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=aso-book&utm_content=apptweak-blog) * * * More articles in Advanced ASO - [ Advanced ASOProduct UpdatesStart ASO April 28, 2026 AI-powered performance dashboards for ASO & app growth Discover the most important app store reporting dashboards, key metrics to track, and how AI can help you analyze performance … ![Georgia Shepherd](/img/2025/03/20240415-Georgia_01.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=300&h=300&fit=crop)Georgia Shepherd ](/en/aso-blog/must-have-dashboards-for-app-store-marketing-and-aso) - [ Advanced ASOArtificial Intelligence (AI) January 29, 2026 AI in ASO (2026): Your burning questions. Answered. 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