Stay.com is a desktop app developed during my UX Design Professional Diploma, aimed at addressing common user experience issues found in hotel booking platforms.
Many hotel booking websites suffer from poor usability, frustrating users with confusing navigation, unclear information, and inefficient booking processes.
Such issues often lead to user frustration and booking abandonment, signalling a need for a solution that balances functionality with user satisfaction.
The goal was to create a website that prioritises intuitive design, clarity, and efficiency, delivering a smoother and more pleasant booking experience.
The aim was to address these user frustrations with a user-centred, research-driven design process that would reduce abandonment rates and improve user satisfaction.
To identify key issues, I conducted user research through competitive benchmarking, surveys, and user testing. The data was synthesised into six key issues through an analysis that included affinity mapping and customer journey mapping.
Early design concepts were explored with user flow diagrams and low-fidelity sketches, leading to a high-fidelity interactive prototype in Figma. This prototype was tested for effectiveness, and several points for further development were identified.
To ensure credible findings, I applied triangulation—combining competitive benchmarking, user surveys, interviews, and usability testing. This approach helped identify patterns and insights, grounding design decisions in comprehensive research.
Using tools such as affinity mapping and customer journey maps, I synthesised the research data into six key insights that guided the design direction.
Busy interfaces with poor readability frustrated users and increased cognitive load.
Users frequently experienced disjointed flows, leading to restarts and premature decisions.
Buggy calendars and difficulties finding hotel locations made search tasks cumbersome.
Excessive scrolling and information overload prevented users from effectively comparing hotels.
Unclear descriptions, confusing pricing, and inconsistent options created friction when adding extras.
The lack of transparency in the final booking steps created uncertainty for users.
Improve readability by minimising clutter and enhancing clarity.
Ensure a smoother, forgiving booking journey.
Implement reliable calendar and map features to streamline searches.
Reduce scrolling with effective filters and layouts.
Provide clear descriptions, transparent pricing, and consistency in extras.
Ensure a clear, summarised final step for user confirmation.
To refine the booking path, I created a user flow diagram that highlighted potential points of confusion and allowed for quick iterations.
To quickly visualise the booking flow, user interface, and layout, I began with low-fidelity sketches. These sketches identified potential issues, helped refine the design early and formed the basis for the final design/prototype.
After refining the design through sketches and user flow diagrams, I created a high-fidelity interactive prototype in Figma for evaluative testing.
Click on the image below to interact with the prototype in Figma.
I designed a simplified interface that prioritises key booking elements, reducing cognitive load and allowing users to focus on essential tasks.
The booking flow uses progressive disclosure, guiding users step-by-step. Breadcrumb navigation helps users track progress and backtrack easily.
The calendar and map integrate familiar elements to make searches intuitive. The interactive calendar gives real-time feedback, and the map updates dynamically with hotel options.
A horizontal filter bar was introduced, allowing more space for a grid layout to display hotel options, reducing scrolling.
A dedicated extras modal offers clear descriptions, pricing, and a dynamic booking summary that updates as extras are added or removed.
A detailed booking summary lets users review selections before confirming, with editable fields for last-minute adjustments.
I conducted user tests to evaluate design effectiveness, having users complete a hotel booking in the prototype. The following summarises the findings:
Users found the design clean, but text size was occasionally too small.
Smooth overall; breadcrumb navigation seemed to have minimal impact.
Calendar was smooth, but map needed slight refinement.
Effective, though users wanted more overview information.
Clear navigation, but checkboxes were sometimes confusing.
Satisfactory, but larger text was preferred.
Based on user feedback, I identified several key areas for future improvement:
Increase text size in key areas for better readability.
Provide more overview information to reduce uncertainty during option comparison.
Ensure breadcrumb navigation is consistent across all booking stages.
Refine map functionality for smoother interaction.
Clarify the purpose of checkboxes in the extras window to reduce confusion.