Hilton
Industry
Hotel
Roles
Category
01 Research & Analysis
Competitive Analysis
Competitors: Swiss Deluxe Hotels, Expedia, Booking.com
Takeaways:
Hilton’s main website may be able to provide discounted rates that OTA’s cannot, with their Hilton Honor program
Can use location based search bar user flow used in OTA’s on Locations page in Hilton’s website (most similiar would be the destinations page on the Swiss Deluxe Hotels website)
Give some more information on destinations to help users decide a location
User Interviews
5 user interviewees
Ranging from 21 years old to 50+ years old
3 out of 5 have a Hilton's membership
Takeaways:
Why book directly on a hotel’s website?
All interviewees feel safer booking hotels on the hotel’s direct website than with third party websites (OTA’s)
Most interviewees feel that the OTA’s customer service is bad
3 out 5 interviewees have a Hilton membership: they can use and gain points if they book on Hilton’s website
Top OTA's
Expedia
Booking.com
Air BnB (for interviewees who are looking for more unique stays and not a hotel)
02 Synthesis
Affinity Mapping
Takeaways:
OTA’s pain points:
Bad customer service experiences
Having to go through multiple steps to cancel or change a booking
Can’t see hotel membership discount prices
Does not feel as safe to book as booking directly on a hotel’s website (4 out of 5 interviewees)
Likes to choose hotels that are close to restaurants, sightseeing and public transportation
All interviewees have mentioned booking unique stays (Air BnB, hostels, boutique hotels): this can lend well to Hilton’s many sub-brands (Tapestry, LUX, etc.)
4/5 interviewees mentioned that they like to stay in cities where food, sightseeing and public transportation are closer is proximity
Methods of hearing about potential destinations:
Social Media
Word of mouth recommendations
Googling top destinations
Personas
Based on the interviews, I was able to break down the personas to two archetypes:
The Adventurer: A user who is looking for more unique stays or has particular taste in what they're expecting from a hotel and a vacation experience
The Wanderer: Someone who is in need of some R&R and is looking for a conveniently located hotel
03 Product Definition
Project Goals
Takeaways:
Easily find and book a hotel that fits a user's criteria
Safe hotels and safe booking experiences
Easily research destinations and inspire adventure
Well-organized page navigation
Problem Statements
Point of View (POV):
I’d like to explore ways to improve the Locations page of the Hilton website so that users can better find potential destinations and what hotels they can find in that area
How-Might-We's (HMW's):
How might we further personalize the Hilton experience for:
Those who are seeking for hotels that are unique?
Those who do not want to venture far from their hotel but still be able to access what a destination has to offer?
Those who are planning a vacation and have yet to pick a destination?
How might we make Hilton stand out amongst the competition (OTA’s, Airbnb, etc.)?
Content Mapping
Original
Information a bit all over the place
Hard to use search directories
Booking bar could be refined as it is the main function of the website
04 Architecture
User & Task Flows
Takeaways:
Since I was only editing the existing content on the page, I focused on three tasks:
Navigating the recommendations to find a hotel in that location
Using the Regions Directory to also generate region-specific destination recommendations
Utilizing the Our Brands section to find more unique and personalized stays
I imagined the persona The Adventurer liking the Our Brands section and the persona The Wanderer finding the destination recommendations useful
User Flows (Final Version)
Low-Fidelity Wireframes & Testing
Results & Feedback:
05 Prototype
High-Fidelity Wireframes & Usability Testing Results
Key Takeaways:
Final Product
Navigating U.S Destination Recommendations
Using the Region Directory
I made the regions selected area larger so that it's clear that the recommendations below the directory change depending on the region
Our Brands
To further make the grid easier to digest, I created categories for each row of brands
Next Steps
If I were to have more time on this project, I would:
Make a design system where a location's hotel list looks the same for every location page
Add a search bar and filter for the Our Brands grid, in case someone already knows what brand they want to look at
Prototype the hotel booking bar