HotelsCombined App/Site Redesign

A UX/UI PROJECT

The challenge

Improving a successful hotel search experience to remain competitive in a hyper-crowded market, and deliver value to a wide range of users and needs

The initiatives

I redesigned all facets of the product, from the member’s account and calendar, to the booking funnel and map search views.

– 1. Booking calendar and search redesign

– 2. Matching traveller types’ needs to filters

– 3. Member’s account redesign

– 4. Optimising the journey for all traveler types

– Outcomes

1. Improving the booking calender and search

Contextual observations, market research, UX/UI design, user testing

To improve the app that was already doing well, I looked at the key entry element—the calendar—for any friction or pain points. I gave users simple tasks to perform on our existing calender and observed their experience.

Key Insights: A frictionless experience all depended on the smoothest micro experiences, such as when a user chose a check-in date and moved to select the check-out date, etc.

I also studied other hotel booking and calendar-based apps to gather the best micro-interactions. I asked the developer who worked on the original calender to join me in these activities so he could advise on technical considerations.

I wire-framed and tested various solutions to validate or disprove assumptions, and to determine the best combinations of micro-interactions.

I evolved the design and then tested with A/B testing, where it succeeded in out-converting the existing experience.

Try the prototype to see the micro-transitions

Book a trip from the 8th to the 13th.

2. Matching traveller types’ needs to filters

Desktop research, concept testing, A/B testing

To better understand traveller types, I researched industry leaders, review sites, and travel blogs to identify five main profiles: Solo, Couples, Business, Family, and Groups.

I then reviewed user feedback comments from 40+ more travel sites and blogs to capture key words used by each traveller type and determine key needs and terminology.

Key insights: The 5 traveler types had their own sub groups with different needs.

With this more succinct understanding of traveler types, I mapped traveler type needs to our hotel features to display preset filters and/or recommendations per traveller types

These filters were A/B tested with various experiences.

3. Members account redesign

Try the prototype

4. Optimising the journey for all traveller types

Co-design workshop

We wanted to ensure key pages provide key needs for all traveler types

At HotelsCombined, the team had a lot of ideas, and they collectively fitted into all of our traveler types. So I gathered together people from each persona and ran a workshop to explore how they booked a holiday, from initial research to clicking ‘Book now’ to arriving at the hotel.

We asked each participant to map out their experience on the wall, talking aloud as they did, creating a booking experience timeline from multiple perspectives.

Key insights: We later analysed this to determine what were the common needs and content elements preffered by all traveller types at each stage.

We then asked the group to review competitor search-result page designs and capture their thoughts and feelings.

Key insights: We later analysed this to determine how we could improve our search results page.

The collective insight from the workshop helped guide wireframes for a new booking journey flow.

Outcomes

Combined, these initiatives contributed to a 4.5% increase in bookings and 400% increase in customer accounts in the first few months, which was significant in such a competitive market with powerful players such as booking.com, Expedia, and Trivago.