Senior Product Designer • UX • Mobile • Brand
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Hotels.com Apps

Hotels.com Apps

Hotels.com is an online travel agent that operates in 90 points of sale in 41 languages, and lists properties in over 200 countries and territories. Receiving around 165K bookings per day.


A Contextual Home

PLATFORMS: iOS & ANDROID • YEAR: 2016 (REFRESH - 2019)

  • The first project at Hotels.com to add personalistion and expose contextual content to the customer

  • Moved away from a dated static layout, towards a modular, scalable and coherent system

  • Introduced a consistent look and feel through brand language, across iOS and Android

Why?

  • To open up the opportunity to test better, enhance and understand the product, giving the customer the best experience.

RESULTS

  • Overall strong positive: +5% Conversion uplift / 25% uplift in Engagement rate / +20% sign in rates / +85% account creation

THE BIG UPDATE

  • To introduce the global product rebrand and brand language, ensuring parity across all platforms and channels

  • Push previous learnings and focus on personalisation, introduce a conversational UI, be a concierge for the customer, inspire to drive engagement

  • Add machine learning to certain modules such as recommended destinations, travel guides etc.

  • Create excitement, before, during and after the trip

BEYOND A CONTEXTUAL HOME

  • Create a space for the customer

  • Make planning easier, introduce a social element, add properties, create a timeline, build anticipation

  • Expose Travel Guides, recommend and inspire the customer

  • Leverage advertising space / sponsored listings in a non aggressive contextual manner


Search Experience

PLATFORMS: iOS • YEAR: 2018/19

  • Provided the customer with an improved way to see their search results

  • Tested three different adaptive layouts

  • Allowed for more content, gaining further insights

Why?

  • Refactor the legacy SRP, removing the static card based framework, moving towards dynamic cards, allowing for more content for testing purposes

  • To enhance Conversion and Engagement metrics

Results

  • Overall strong positive: results driven by US POS / increased returning customers within 30 days / increased behavior in shortlisting


Hotels.com Lite

PLATFORMS: iOS • YEAR: 2019

  • An innovation project focusing on speed - ‘the fastest way to book’

  • Considered for POS’s with low bandwidth, reduced API calls

  • Experimented with brand language, introduced one tap payment - Apple Pay

  • Dark mode test - iOS13 and Android Q ready

  • The iOS developers demoed the initial build below, which enabled the UX/UI of the Lite app


App Store Optimisation

PLATFORMS: iOS & ANDROID • YEAR: ONGOING

  • Enhance and test various styles of app store screenshots to gain maximum visibility

  • Work with Mobile Marketing and guide an external agency (ASO CO) with creative direction, to maintain the brand

Why?

  • Increase download potential and get in-depth insights for ultimate app growth

Results

  • 50% increase of installs Apr 17 - Apr 18 / rating score and reviews above industry standard / regularly featured on iOS across all regions

Additional

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/hotels-com-hotel-room-booking/id284971959?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hcom.android&hl=en_GB


Small Enhancements - Big Wins

PLATFORMS: iOS & ANDROID • ONGOING

  • Ongoing MVT programme that involves Product, Design, Developers and Analytics

  • To create a strong test and learn environment, to fail fast, and iterate quick

1 - Image gallery (Android)

2 - Search recap (iOS)

3 - Sign in module (iOS and Android)

Why?

  • Create hypothesis to give us an opportunity to learn, not to predict

  • To enhance Conversion and Engagement metrics

EXAMPLE TEST Results

  • 1 - Image gallery (Android): Positive impact on CVR / customers interacted with the gallery more / sent more qualified shoppers to the booking form

  • 2 - Search recap (iOS): Negative impact on CVR / retest without check in details

  • 3 - Sign in module (iOS and Android): Ongoing test