Improving Conversion and UX While Minimizing Risk
Do you have a ‘third-rail’ product that is difficult to optimize?
By adopting lean startup methods, Hotwire developed a new hotel booking interface that improved the user experience and increased booking conversions, all while mitigating potential revenue risks.
The Hotwire Hotels user interface featuring mapped search results.
Situation
Hotwire, a subsidiary of Expedia, operates a unique ‘opaque’ marketplace where hotels sell unsold rooms at significant discounts in exchange for anonymity. The company offers hotel, airfare, and car rental products, with the hotel segment being its top performer.
Challenge
User research revealed that customers often found the opaque booking model confusing, leading to frustration and decreased conversions. Approximately 80% of users experienced difficulties understanding the product offering, indicating a misalignment between the interface and user expectations.
Question
How can Hotwire redesign its hotel booking interface to align with user expectations, reduce confusion, and improve conversion rates without jeopardizing existing revenue streams?
Identified customer pain points
- Through Listening Labs interviews, the team discovered that the opaque booking model was difficult for users to understand, leading to frustration.
- Identified the ‘confused traveler’ cohort, highlighting the need for better geographic context in hotel listings.
Testing with innovation sandbox
- Developed a controlled environment to experiment with new interface designs, allowing rapid prototyping and testing while minimizing risks to the core product.
- Enabled the team to implement changes, gather user feedback, and make data-driven decisions efficiently.
Map feature improved UX
- Incorporated a map feature into the booking interface to address users’ need for geographic context, reducing disorientation during the selection process.
- This addition aligned the product offering with user expectations, making the opaque model more transparent and user-friendly.
Experience map of hotel bookings.
Results
Controlled testing for improvements
- Initially rolled out the new interface to 1% of site traffic to gather quantitative data while limiting potential revenue impact.
- After four iterations, the new design outperformed the control, leading to a full-scale launch and sustained use of the map-integrated interface.
- Front-door traffic conversion increased by 3.5%.
Industry recognition
The case study was featured in Cindy Alvarez’s book, Lean Customer Development, highlighting its success in applying lean methodologies to product design.
Conclusion
By focusing on user-centered design and iterative testing within a controlled environment, Hotwire successfully redesigned its hotel booking interface, leading to improved user satisfaction and increased conversion rates while effectively managing business risks.
Lean Customer Development: Build Products Your Customers Will Buy, Cindy Alvarez (O'Reilly)
