RESEARCH
User interviews
I conducted 5 customer interviews to better understand their behavior and the issues they encountered.
Most of them said,
“It’s not complicated to plan a trip for yourself or as a couple, but it takes a lot of time to plan a trip when traveling with a large group.”
As a result, I gathered my research and discovered the problem
To find out what problems people have when planning a trip, I conducted four types of research
- Market research
- Usability testing
- Survey
- User interviews
But I only brought two of them in to form a “How Might We” question.
Survey
I did a survey with google Forms, The survey result came from twenty Thai respondents to the survey.
I was bringing the problem to create the “How Might We” question.
IDEA
My idea comes to solving the point of showing recommended properties based on their travel behavior to reduce friction when finding a property with the group on Agoda.
I created a user flow to highlight the problems customers have while using Agoda to plan a group vacation.
People share links to properties they find on Agoda with their friends. They will reserve it if they determine that it works for everyone. If not, they should identify another and debate it further.
Solution & Prototype
I came up with an idea that makes it simpler to look for and book a hotel, flight, and activities with a group on Agoda to address the issue that people encounter while planning a group vacation.
There are three key flows
1. Creating and inviting friends to trips
Selecting a destination and date (which can be flexible if not decided yet), then inviting everyone you want to travel with.
2. Take a questionnaire
Everyone needs to answer the survey, questions will depend on date and destination at the first step.
When you finish the survey, Agoda will show a badge with your travel behavior so that everyone can see it and better plan a trip for anyone.
3. Show recommendation results and reserve the property
It's time to explore! Agoda will show the properties that mostly match with your group, everybody can vote to show what you prefer.
After successfully a trip, you will receive a count of your booking to advance the progress of Agoda VIP, but not just you; everyone in the group will receive one as well!
FEEDBACK
I tested my prototype with two friends who have previous group travel experience.
🙂 Cool findings!
- It helps when planning a trip with friends.
- There are various types of questions. Make it interesting.
- Like to see friends behavior badge.
😎 Suggestions
- May suggest activities separate from other people.
- Would like it highlighted on the page recommendation that the more properties you book, the more discounts you receive.
🤔 To improve
- For the checkout stage, WOULD some people pay without waiting for agree/like from their friends?
What I learned
- Possessing a strong hypothesis will facilitate thinking of improved solutions.
- Using gamification expertise to develop solutions.
- Sharing thoughts with others will reveal viewpoints that I hadn't considered.
If I had more time...
- Research more to identify additional travel planning issues that would be more beneficial to both the user and the business.
- Spend more time refining my solution and testing my ability to travel alone.
- Sharing my work to get feedback from another more.
Last but not least,
I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to all of Agoda team (Darren, Bantita, Tanisa and Rachel) and Momo (TDC Director and Behaviour Design & Gamification expert) for their invaluable advice and for providing me with this opportunity.
I truly appreciate the knowledge and guidance you have provided :D
