A Traveler’s Dream

I selected the WithLocals travel app as my first case study as I felt traveling and vacations are now closest to everyone’s heart and I observed that the guests, hosts, and the company can benefit from the solutions provided by the new app design named LocalTravelBuddy App.

#1) WithLocals travel app

 

I explored the WithLocals travel app and noticed some customer pain points.

While making a travel booking, after selecting a travel date, the guest needs to click on the Back arrow. Instead, the guest or user should be automatically taken to the booking screen.

While creating and saving a new profile, when a user clicks on the Next button on the previous screen, the address field is not shown to the host, the screen scrolls directly to the map area without collecting the address of the host. The map shows a blank background and does not show any physical location on the map even after entering and saving the address.

On the “How can we stay in touch?” screen, there is no way to exit from the entire process of editing the profile of a host. Save button does not work and Back button takes the user to the previous screen.

Customer Paint Points 

#1 Problem:

Guests are unhappy with the hosts canceling their tours a few minutes before the scheduled time and ruining their travel plans. They are also unhappy that they do not receive any professional and clear communication from the host and the travel company. The guests expect a prompt telephone call from the company with a valid reason for the cancellation.

Guests also do not get any SMS, they are unhappy with an unprofessional and poorly-written automated email. They also do not get clarity on when they can expect the refund amount.

#1 Solution:

Make a strict rule that a host should not be able to cancel a tour within 48 hours of a scheduled tour.

The tour cancellation workflow for a host can be as follows:

1. When a host clicks on the Cancel button, the app must automatically send a message: “The host <Email ID of the host> has canceled this tour with the necessary tour details such as the itinerary” to the support team and all the hosts who have subscribed for the cancellation notifications.

2. A message box should open for the host to explain the reasons for canceling the tour.

3. Once, the reason is entered and submitted by the host, the support team must inform the guest immediately by sending an SMS and email in a professional voice and tone with empathy and ask the guest whether the guest is fine with rebooking the same tour with another host from the city and provide the links to the hosts who match the travel experience and other specific requirements of the guest.

4. A copy of this email must be sent to all hosts whose profiles match at least 3 out of 5 requirements of the guest. These hosts should not be able to contact the guest directly, however they should be able to write to the support team to convey their availability.

5. Only the guest should be able to book the tour again within 48 hours of canceling the previous tour to make things simple and avoid confusions.

6. The support team must track the rebooking with urgency, special care, and ensure prompt communication and confirmation from the new host.

7. The App blacklists a host and hides the profile of a host if a host cancels two consecutive tours without a valid reason.

#2 Problem:

Guests do not like the app crediting travel credit or coupons by default without their consent.

#2 Solution:

When a tour is canceled by the guest or the by the travel company, the App presents radio button options to choose the type of refund: 1) Cash refund 2) Travel Credit required while canceling the tour. When the host or the travel company cancels the tour due to any reason, they must email the guest asking whether the guest needs a cash refund or a travel credit.

#3 Problem:

WithLocals’ current model of the Pay-first-then-confirm booking business model doesn't work with super busy travelers who have packed itineraries. The mechanical booking workflow does not create a personal touch, a confirmation from the host before booking and paying for the tour. The whole process of touch basing with the host and booking the tour is not integrated seamlessly.

#3 Solution:

The workflow for booking a tour can be slightly changed to build more trust. First, the booking should be confirmed followed by a personalized message and a confirmation from the host. After the confirmation, the modes of payment page should be shown to the guest to pay and confirm the tour.

I created the UX design screens for the LocalTravelBuddy App to make the lives of the guests and hosts easy and more fun, with some useful features such as the option to create a personalized travel experience, additional travel search options, and text and voice chat-based travel assistance.

To resolve customer issues and make the lives of the customers easy, I started redesigning some screens of the app and renamed the app as LocalTravelBuddy app.

#2) LocalTravelBuddy App

 

OBJECTIVES

Create a travel app that is friendly like a local travel buddy that offers:

  • Travel search options based on desired season, travel experience-based, type of tour, and guest’s budget

  • Explore and book a travel experience

  • Choice to guests to create and share what they want to experience with their hosts or guides

  • Find and book a travel buddy

  • Conversational chat-based, voice-based, and user interface based travel assistance

 
TIMELINE

Within 2-3 weeks

PLATFORM

A mobile travel app for both iOS and Android platforms

 

TARGET AUDIENCE

The primary audiences are the product designers in the travel and tourism industry. The secondary audiences are hosts, travelers, travel guides, and agents who might want to provide valuable suggestions and ideas to improve the travel app.

A Traveler’s Journey – the persona of a typical guest

A prospective traveler is excited and at the same time a bit apprehensive about traveling to an unknown place. Our busy work and personal lives and a huge amount of overwhelming travel information from countless websites make researching, selecting, and booking a travel destination a tiresome and difficult task. Travel safety, precautions to be taken at a specific spot is also important when you are traveling alone or with a nuclear family. Locals of a city are the best people to have intricate knowledge about the best travel locations within a city and not-so-good locations that can be skipped, and lesser-known locations that are not known to many people.

FEATURES OF THE APP

LocalTravelBuddy app allows you to:

  • Sign up as a guest or a local travel host

  • Search a travel destination based on desired season, travel experience, type of tour, and even budget based travel search option is available

  • Look for a local travel buddy by selecting a destination from the Find a travel buddy drop-down list.

  • Book a local travel guide by clicking on the Book a Travel Buddy button

  • Explore a travel experience from the Select a travel experience to explore the drop-down list

  • Create a personalized travel experience by clicking on the Create a unique travel experience button. It’s an option available to guests to create and share what they want to experience with their hosts or guides.

  • Book a travel experience by clicking the Book this experience button

  • Communicate using text and voice chat and menu-based travel assistance

  • Book, change, view, or cancel travel plan and contact guide, explore places

Please note, I haven’t included the UI screen for the other features such as exploring an online travel experience.

fINDING A SOLUTION

 

CHALLENGE

Help guests to have the most comfortable and memorable user experience right from finding, searching, booking, and making changes to the tour to providing feedback to hosts.

The travel company does not have a mission and vision statement or a brand book or a style guide to create a unique, personal, and conversational tone and voice.

 



SOLUTION

  • Redesigned some of the screens of the WithLocals app.

  • Rebranded the app as LocalTravelBuddy app.

  • Suggested new workflows for existing features to resolve the problems reported by guests.

Tools & Methods

  • Competitive/Comparative Analysis

  • Prototyping and redesigning with Whimsical tool

  • Squarespace to publish this case study

HOW I HELPED

I conducted user research by reading the reviews about the WithLocals app and different online complaint boards, listening to different travel podcasts, and reading travel blogs. All these things gave me a sound understanding of the requirements of generic and specific travel audiences. It helped me to bring necessary and useful new features to the new app LocalTravelBuddy app.

I collaborated with UX designers and UX writers and enhanced the design and messages.

I conducted user research on travel blogs and user forums.

I reviewed and edited existing microcopy, rewrote the onboarding messages to improve the user experience, and provided useful UI elements and labels.

While writing the onboarding messages, I ensured the messages conveyed the unique value propositions of the app in the most user-friendly manner.

Team: Name of the vendor

This travel app solves many pain points of guests. With the help of locals, guests get the best value for their time and money with safe, unique, and personalized travel experiences.

I feel it would be great and helpful if the LocalTravelBuddy app sends personalized tips to the guests related to the specific city while the guest is traveling considering their special requirements such as pets, health conditions, and needs for continuing their meditation and exercise regime such as pilates workout, aerobics, group meditation such as vipassana meditation even while they are on a trip. It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

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