CHALLENGE

As last minute travel continues to be a common hobby, the need for unique location apps increases which can be seen with platforms like HotelTonight or AirBnB. Modern travel lovers will agree that finding local hotels can be a burdensome and complicated task.

SOLUTION

Mavinn helps users filter hotels based on their occasion, making staycations a stress free process. Users can find unique hoteling spaces such as boutique hotels or houses in a fast and easy manner.

DISCOVERY

To understand this unique need and user, I conducted user surveys and interviews to discover 70% prefer hotel experience over location and 66% reserve hotels last minute for special occasions or getaways.

Taking this research, I also reviewed popular booking apps such as HotelTonight, Hotels.com, and Booking.com asking users what they liked or disliked about each app experience. Many users agreed map views and list views were difficult to toggle between. With this feedback, I created user personas to help guide my design process.

Personas

Aiden and his wife travel to different cities at least 2-3 times a month for their growing wedding photography business. Hotel living is their speciality and they enjoy exploring new rooms experiences. They usually book last minute hotels for their team or clients based on their photography needs. As a user, Aiden is frustrated by current apps not showing unique hotels and wants to view and reserve hotels on a map for efficiently.

User Flows

Based on research and competitive analysis, users were frustrated by complicated map views and reservation processes. Focusing on this unique need, user flows were created to ensure less confusion when searching hotels on a map and reserving them.

IDEATION

When developing the brand, users wanted an organized, fast and friendly application which brought me to the name Mavinn, a combination of “Maven” and “Inn” or in other words an expert in hotels. Simple typeface and playful colors were chosen to reflect reliability and ease. I also created wireframes to visualize the user interaction and create a simple booking experience.

User Testing

I tested my design through both navigation and click tests. Users were asked to reserve Hotel Zetta and provide their feedback in terms of ease and experience. 58% of users found the map screen overwhelming at first. This led to adding unique map icons and an onboarding screen for guidance. Users also clicked on the entire hotel card vs the “view” button, which led to refining the hotel card to be more intuitive.

CONCLUSION

Mavinn solves a unique user goal and gives new age travelers a more efficient way to book special hotels. Users can find local hotels that fit their situation or occasion as well as read and share relevent reviews. Through research and design, a welcoming interface was created based on user testing. I would like to refine the design more for all devices and continue user testing. View the prototype below to experience the Mavinn app.