Problem: Users lost confidence during booking because of unclear feedback, confusing navigation, and hidden pricing - causing drop-offs before confirmation.
What I did:
Conducted surveys and usability tests
Mapped the booking journey
Redesigned the booking flow and product pages to improve information structure and support user decision-making.
-Competitor benchmarking
-Online survey
-User testing
-Customer journey mapping
-Information architecture
-User flow diagrams
-Design system
-Hi-fidelity prototype
-Annotations
B2C
Travel & Hospitality
Web Application
Figma
Miro
Google Forms
UX Researcher & Designer (Solo Project)
6 Months
Why this matters
Complex travel decisions make users sensitive to trust signals and clear information. For hotel bookings, even small UI uncertainties (bad images, unclear pricing) can stop people from completing a reservation.
Competitive analysis: Reviewed 3 platforms (Airbnb, Booking.com, MakeMyTrip) to benchmark trust signals, pricing transparency, and usability, identifying best practices and gaps to address.
Survey: 17 respondents to identify booking habits and device preferences.
Usability testing: 3 task-based sessions to observe booking flows and gather quotes.
Journey mapping: 9-stage customer journey to surface points of abandonment.
Analysis: Combined quantitative and qualitative findings to prioritize solutions.
Device split: 53% mobile usage; users prefer desktop for complex bookings.
Top decision factors: Location, price, reviews, amenities.
Pain points: Unresponsive search, poor photos, hidden pricing, confusing add-ons.
Emotional impact: Poor visuals and copy reduced perceived trust and increased abandonment.
Mapped nine stages from discovery → booking confirmation. I highlighted three moments of highest abandonment and mapped design interventions to each.
Design goals
Increase user confidence at every step.
Make pricing fully transparent.
Improve visual quality and consistency.
Surface progress and confirmation feedback.
Key solutions
Enhanced search with immediate feedback and map overlay.
Transparent pricing panel with line-by-line breakdown.
Image standards: Consistent aspect ratios, room galleries, contextual photos.
Sticky booking summary with progress indicator and clear CTA.
Flow & prototypes
I defined the ‘happy path’ booking flow and iterated on it using high-fidelity prototypes, supported by a design system and annotated components.
Key interaction improvements: immediate input validation, loading states for search, and success confirmation with booking reference.
Design system highlights
Established typography scale, trust-building color tokens, key components (search bar, price card, gallery carousel), and interaction patterns for consistency — all documented in a component library
Given the project’s academic timeline, I focused on designing and validating the core booking flow for desktop, prioritizing usability and functionality over extensive visual polish or advanced features. While user research and instructor feedback offered valuable insights, time constraints limited deeper validation such as A/B testing or mobile optimization - areas I’d explore in future iterations to ensure broader usability.
Working independently strengthened my end-to-end decision-making and problem-solving skills, though collaboration with technical and business stakeholders was beyond the project’s scope. Moving forward, I aim to incorporate cross-functional feedback, refine the visual hierarchy, and extend the experience across devices to create a more cohesive and engaging booking journey.
