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Overview

As a UX Designer and receptionist at 1708 House Bed and Breakfast, I improved the guest booking experience by addressing website navigation issues. Through extensive research involving surveys, usability tests, and user data analysis, I found that elderly guests preferred a personal approach and the website lacked room rate information. These findings raised concerns among stakeholders, leading to a proposed solution. The solution included a user-friendly website interface for elderly guests, personalized phone reservations, and accessibility features. The goal was to provide an accessible online platform and enhance the user experience.

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Goals

• Significantly reduce the volume of phone calls
• Take advantage of the benefits of online bookings.

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Hypothesis

• Guests cannot find information about Rooms and Rates online, making them call the hotel.
• Most of our guests are returning customers that are used to calling.

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Research

The stakeholders sought to understand guest preferences for reservations and website usage. They aimed to improve user experience, make online information more accessible, and reduce phone-based interactions. My research, blending quantitative and qualitative methods, including interviews and usability testing, provided insights into repeat user booking behavior. This informed improvements in lead generation, revenue, and administrative workflows.

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Findings

• Guests cannot find information about Rooms and Rates online, making them call the hotel.
• Most of our guests are returning customers that are used to calling.
• Elderly guests that have come a few times to the hotel feel more comfortable calling and having a friendly interaction with a real person.

As seen on users quotes, they became confused about how to locate the room rates.

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While booking the room, guests have difficulty finding prices, making them feel confused and call the hotel.

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Personas

By using my Personas as a guide, I was able to create a Room Rates page that effectively communicated the value of staying at the 1708 House and appealed to the specific needs and preferences of my target audience.

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Design Process

Following my research, I delved into addressing the second key finding: Guests struggle to locate information about room rates.
At the 1708 House, room rates vary by season, and each of the 15 accommodations is priced uniquely, making it impractical to list fixed prices for each room. However, to enhance user experience, we could consider including a reference price to give guests a better estimate of the approximate cost.

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Firstly, it aimed to simplify the user experience by providing a more concise rate display, thereby reducing cognitive load. Secondly, it aimed to eliminate the necessity for users to engage in extensive scrolling to access rate information, thus significantly improving overall usability.

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However, during usability testing, user feedback indicated some concerns with the layout and color scheme. While users appreciated the directness of the design, they expressed reservations about the crowded appearance and the lack of spacing, which contributed to a sense of clutter.

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To address this concern, I took steps to enhance the interface. Firstly, I removed the "Show Rates" button, effectively decluttering the page and providing a cleaner appearance. Furthermore, I introduced icons strategically to improve the page's scannable making it more user-friendly and visually appealing.

Final Thoughts

The project initially centered on deep research, but my curiosity drove me to expand its scope in a quest to improve the user and stakeholder experience. My goal was simple: enhance user satisfaction. This led to a new approach – displaying approximate rates beneath each room listing, providing users with a clearer view of costs and reducing the need for them to call the hotel.
This venture into UI design was a unique challenge for me, primarily a UX designer. It meant delving into elements like shading, precise spacing, and color selection for better accessibility – a valuable learning curve. I've only just begun exploring this aspect of design, and I'm excited for the opportunities my next project will bring.

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