Farm & Cottage launch free new 'app' this week
The ’Cottages’ app, the most comprehensive UK holiday cottage booking tool currently available on the iPhone and iPad, incorporates the same intelligent search facility used on the main Farm and Cottage Holidays website, allowing users to search by holiday dates, cottage size, property facilities such as ‘open fire’ or ‘hot tub’ and local facilities, like a pub or beach.
The interactive mapping function also allows users to search for cottages in a particular location via Google Maps. Users are presented with details of all available cottages that fit their criteria and can make an instant reservation.
James Garnett, online director at Farm and Cottage Holidays says: “We see mobile phone apps as a huge growth area and we wanted to be one of the first cottage companies out there – creating something that complements our website and is just as easy to use.
The app is fast and user-friendly, opening with a search page that takes you straight to the available properties where you can instantly reserve your cottage. You can read the review of the cottage, browse a gallery of images to help you decide and searches can be saved so that if you go back to them later, the list of properties will be updated with current availability.”
“We’re really proud of the new app and we really see this just as the start. We will be adding more functionality as time goes on. If it’s successful, we’ll also be looking to roll out the app into other formats such as Android as the technology progresses,” adds James.
Full features of the ‘Cottages’ app include:
Intelligent search – Search for available properties based on location, holiday dates, size of property, property facilities and local facilities
Interactive maps – The interactive mapping function allowing users to search for properties in a specific location using Google Maps
Instant reservation – Once a suitable cottage has been found reservations can be made instantly and a member of the Farm and Cottage Holidays team will call back to complete the sale
Detailed reviews – Browse detailed write-ups of each property covering property facilities, location and what to do in the surrounding area
Area guides –View detailed area guides covering Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset down to town level, including information on days out, events and food and drink
Image galleries – Browse images of each property to help you decide
Special offers – Search for up to date last minute availability and special offers
Saved searches – Return to a previous search and see up-to-the-minute availability
The ‘Cottages’ app from Farm and Cottage Holidays has been created in conjunction with award winning Devon based web and app design company Createanet. The app has been configured for the iPad as well as the iPhone and iPod Touch and is available to download now for free from the iTunes Store.