PROTOTYPE
|
|
Marriott |
Marriott's purchase of Starwood in 2016 gave it a significant lead globally in terms of locations (over 6,000 hotels and more than 1 million rooms), brands (over 30) and locations (122 countries). Looking internally at management and performance became imperative as that lead came with new responsibilities and pressure.
To comply with a disclosure agreement, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information. |
The hospitality industry is in flux as it adapts to a changing customer base, dynamic technologies and innovative competition. Our job with the client was to take a good look at what was going right, where there was room to improve and build the changes that would move the needle forward. I defined new destination linking and search pages with my project manager partners. I evangelized customer goals and balanced business goals. I prioritized and negotiated features for launch and beyond.
|
|
|
|
My Role |
This project required me to attain a deep understanding of Marriott's current technology and other proprietary systems. My day-to-day role was to design & advise the team, present all deliverables, work with internal tracks to ensure the platform met all client requirements, daily meetings with internal teams and Marriott stakeholders, including presentations to Marriott Executives. My efforts focused on redesigning the main locations search and services to address customer pain‐points related to the browse and discovery experience.
|
I partnered with two project managers and one lead strategist to uncover insights and translate concepts into features that could address customer behaviors and motivations.
All of the work was in collaboration and consideration of the clients internal teams and department heads. Ultimately they would be responsible for implementing some significant updates. |
The BrandMarriott has repeatedly been recognized as a top company including the Top Hospitality Company on FORTUNE's Most Admired Companies. Our goal was to make Marriott a technology platform for all kinds of travel accommodations.
|
Target and challenge |
We wanted to create frameworks and prototypes to share the vision, design principles and content strategy. This would help evangelize ideas, gain alignment and drive decision making. We wanted to create a solution with strong internal linking for existing destination related pages via a Destinations ‘Hub Page’. It was important to address the Marriott ‘Priority Needs’ Markets, defined as any market that needs additional support in meeting RN/Rev goals and/or a market that is prioritized by the region from an opportunity standpoint.
|
Using research, we wanted to understand and present the primary factors influencing a user’s Hub Page search experience and identify value-add opportunities that drive increased bookings. For example, investigate activity/interest type content; or focus on value of destination, including cost, best time to travel, and cultural experiences. Use data driven web-page design that drives strong SEO and additional Room Nights/Revenue for Marriott
|
Scope & Collaboration |
With a large team of stakeholders at Marriott, every page, component, and interaction across the site needed to be meticulously documented for approval. We had daily stand-ups with the internal tracks (Design, Development, Content Strategy, and Business) to ensure alignment as we created the changes and pages.
|
This also helped streamline our sprint delivery to the clients internal and off-shore development teams. Working together we scoped the clients approval timelines and a staggered development and release schedules.
|
Asking Questions |
We conducted long in depth user interviews as qualitative research around modern travel. First we defined a set of goals that we wanted to discover with our research.
background (such as ethnographic data)
use of technology in general use of the product user’s main objectives and motivations user’s pain points |
After scheduling all the interviews, we made sure the space was comfortable and had several internet connected devices for testing. The interviews were connected to live video conferencing so the client partners were able to listen in and take notes.
In addition to the prepared Question & Answer portion we walked the users through hypothetical scenario building exercises led by the interview subject. We asked users to think about a trip they are currently planning or will plan soon. Then we asked them go online using any device of their choosing to learn about or make decisions associated with that travel. |
Speaking to
|
|
User Journeys,
|
Who Are Our Users?We sorted our qualitative data into groups based on shared preferences and interests. I used those groups to inform "travel personas". Together we were able to discuss my design decisions as they relate to our personas to make sure we were focused on solving for real pain points of our target users.
|
Client Workshops
|
Presenting InsightsWe went on-site with the client to present research findings, personas and design themes. The themes would drive our ideas for the solution.
|
|
Ideas
|
|
Solution |
With a large team of stakeholders at Marriott, every page, component, and interaction across the site needed to be meticulously documented for approval. We had daily stand-ups with the internal tracks (Design, Development, Content Strategy, and Business) to ensure alignment as we created the wireframes and prototypes. This also helped streamline our sprint delivery to the internal development teams.
|
The updated destinations framework deck was created for the Marriott Executive leadership, and some department managers to help explain the complexity and benefits of the changes as we began designing for Marriott. The presentation included a variety of diagrams and videos detailing how the platform would scale across Devices, Content Management, Personalization, and Transactions.
|
|
Sample of the final landing page for the locations search experience.
|
Prototype
|
|
Next Projects
