Luxury Access Club

04 02
Case Study

Project Overview

Research and validation of a new mobile website that will allow users to use the facilities of luxury hotels and resorts, without having to pay for a room. This is done either with membership or with a single-day guest pass.
It will also offer hotels an opportunity to attract day guests in low-season dips, creating a more constant revenue stream.


  • Duration

    3.5 weeks

  • Designer

    Paul Harvey

    Raisa Moreira

  • Role

    Research

    Surveys

    Competitive analysis

    Journey mapping

    Interviews

    Prototyping

    Usability testing

lac mock up

Working Method

Following the double diamond design thinking process, I started the project with the research to discover and gain insights into the problem before synthesising my findings. From there, I ideated my solution and finished with my MVP prototype deliverable.

double diamond

Research

Target Audience 1 - Users

10 interviews had already been conducted by our stakeholder before the start of the project. From this existing data we were able to define our user side target audience as people in their 30's. We discovered that this age bracket was much more likely to pay for comfort, luxury and well-being when travelling.


Target audience 2- Suppliers

The supplier side target was luxury hotels / resorts. By partnering with Luxury Access Club, they could offer non in-house guests access to the hotels facilities via a day pass. This would produce a revenue stream in low-season dips, positively impacting sales of services within the hotels.


Stakeholder Contribution

Although we had the results from the interviews already conducted by our stakeholder, there was a potential issue- all of those previously interviewed, had, in some way, a connection to our client.


To eliminate any potential bias, we conducted a further 14 interviews with people who had no connection whatsoever to our client or the project.

Interview Key Insights

As a key feature of what Luxury Access Club would be offering, it was important for us to understand how we could create a better solution to what is currently being offered.

We asked our user side target audience if they had used hotel facilities without paying for a room and if so, what had their experiences been like-

60% said that they had for an event.

60% said that they felt uncomfortable using hotel facilities without being an in-house guest.

80% said that there were limited facilities available to non-paying guests.

14 Interviews

I wasn't really sure if I would be allowed in. I felt like I didn't belong.
...yes but only for a wedding or party.
Disappointing, the bar & restaurant were empty & we couldn't use them.

Survey Key Insights

The survey results showed that- the majority of our users travel with their partner-
59% travel with their partner.
85% prefer to stay in hotels.
69% said that the most important factor when booking accommodation is cost.

77 Responses

We love staying in hotels but they're expensive.
Hotels feel more luxurious.
Some hotels might offer more but the location is more important.

Research Findings - Users

From our research we identified 2 user personas.


Those that travel a lot and are prepared to spend more as they like to stay in hotels for the experience and luxury.

Those concerned about cost but try to experience luxury on a budget when they can.

Personas

jose persona mia persona

Interview Key Insights

I also conducted 5 interviews with luxury hotel managers and consulting subject matter experts on the supply side to hear their opinions, thoughts or concerns. Their main concerns were focused around the safety and security of the staff and guests and also how their full-price paying guests would feel.

5 Interviews

For many, 5 star means exclusivity.
If paying guests found out that could be problematic.
Staff safety is a concern.

Research Findings - Suppliers

From our research we identified our supplier persona.


George has been in the industry for 25 years.He has worked in luxury hotels and resorts all around the world. His key concerns are safety for his staff and guests, low-season revenue dips and maintaining the reputation and exclusivity that paying guests expect.

Personas

jose persona

Competitor Analysis

DayPass App & ResortPass App are the only direct competitors to Luxury Access Club. Both offer a similar product but neither offer a membership option as yet.

competitive analysis table

Future Opportunities


Global listings
Membership for security
Favourites for easy tracking

Key Opportunities


Payment options
Day pass info
Reviews & ratings

Solution Design

We started the design with wireframes that addressed the key opportunities.
Throughout the design process,consideration was given to contrast checks and accessibility to ensure adherence to WCAG standards.


Testing showed issues such as-

  • -wrong placement of date/ time input fields

    -top rated hotels were hard to find

    -where is the confirmation?

    -how do I add favourites?

lac prototytpe screens lac prototytpe screens

Final Design


Day pass option

A CTA was added on the page of the chosen hotel giving users the option to purchase a single day pass or become a member.

Noticing that most users didn't know the difference between the two options, and could possibly give up on the purchase, we added a "Find Out More" CTA to the home page for clearer explanation.

empty iphone mockup image

Final Design


Membership option

Here we demonstrate what the user's flow would be like when registering for membership and easily purchasing it.

empty iphone mockup image

Post Project

I tested the product again after the project was complete with users. The numbers were more favourable of this time around.

  • 70% found it easy to use.

    80% said they may try it in the future.

    100% said they were intrigued by the idea.

    40% were interested in membership.

Client Feedback


Thank you for all that you've put together with this project. Also thank you for your professionalism with everyone that you interviewed on behalf of Luxury Access Club- everyone that I've spoken to were really happy to work with you & your chat.

Key Learnings


SMEs mentioned that they appreciated having the Hi-Fi prototype to interact with. I was glad that we managed to over deliver and produce the design for the client.
Offering an interactive prototype was a valuable contribution for the approval process, allowing stakeholders to actually understand how the Luxury Access Club website would work.

Future Steps

Overall, the MVP has addressed all key needs.
But it is important to explore additional opportunities that would benefit users and stakeholders.
There is a clear benefit from having a user portal in the future with history of purchase/ day-use passes/ remaining passes to use, and showing different membership option levels.
There is also further opportunity in defining what will be included in day passes, as well as allowing users to share their reviews and feedback on their holiday experiences.