Creating new group travel features for a better desktop experience
project overview
january 2024-may 2024
KAYAK is a metasearch engine for travel services that strives to help its customers experience the best travel expedite by finding the best flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages.
Our goal for this project is to create new features that implement group travel for KAYAK’s website.
click here to skip ahead to my final designs and what I learned
my impact
team leader
Led a team of UX designers with varying skill levels, providing guidance, mentorship, and fostering collaboration to achieve project objectives and elevate the quality of the design work.
led meetings with stakeholders
Organized and facilitated meetings with stakeholders to gather feedback, address concerns, and ensure alignment with business goals and user needs throughout the project.
redesigned and improved features
Led the redesign of core features by analyzing user insights and collaborating with the team to improve usability, functionality, and overall user satisfaction.
conducted and created usability tests
Planned and conducted usability tests, synthesizing user feedback to drive design improvements and ensure a seamless, intuitive user experience.
current experience
KAYAK currently has no group travel features on its site.
milestone 1:
identifying relevant users and beginning to explore the user journey
I began this project by exploring and gathering insight from previous research on travel booking behaviors. I researched current travel trends, challenges, and priorities. I also worked to narrow down our user group by researching the major demographic of the problem space, specifically focusing on who might book group travel.
what are user trends on booking group travel?
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One person often takes the lead and makes major when planning travel
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Price, location, cost, and safety are the most important factors
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2024 projected to be biggest year for travelers
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Many group members often look at the same time to find the "best deal"
what are some pain-points for booking group travel?
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Users have difficulty compromising on vital aspects of the trip (budget, location, dates, etc.).
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There is less flexibility, freedom, and privacy with traveling in groups
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It's difficult to communicate among group
who is kayak's primary user group for group travel?
Older Gen-Z and Millennials
*insights found via scholarly research & 30+ interviews
milestone 2:
understanding the user journey in booking travel experiences
Next, we delved into our user group even more. We interviewed members of our user group and I performed a long-term contextual inquiry to understand the user journey when booking group travel. We also ran a workshop to better understand the booking process on KAYAK as well as other sites
Budget, dates, and location were again the most important parts of booking. Additionally, users have a difficult time navigating Kayak.
journey map
Determining dates, budget, and location, all occur at the same time. There were also some other highlights throughout the user's journey.
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Users have different preferences during the “planning” stage making it difficult to determine a straightforward journey
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Users main priorities with trip planning are choosing the location of the trip, the budget, and the date on which the trip will be taken
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Not every member of a trip has the same ideal location, budget, or date they can travel
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There is a need for constant communication
Ultimately, the most important part of planning a trip is also the most complicated: budget, dates, and location.
milestone 3:
pinpointing improvements to streamline and elevate the KAYAK user journey
This milestone focused on exploring KAYAK’s competitive landscape and current services to deepen understanding of the group travel planning space. Competitor analysis surfaced key strengths and patterns that informed design recommendations and shaped a more effective approach to group trip planning.
competitive analysis
Findings:
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Certain platforms have platforms for group travel that align with sketches and existing ideas.
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Users should be able to change their location, dates, or any part of the trip at any time.
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Each member should be able to input a suggested destination that the group can vote on.
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Each individual should have their own budget breakdown in addition to the entire groups.
heuristic evaluation
Findings:
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“Add to trip” feature was hard to find and understand.
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No good way to add/explore activities.
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The map is not displayed while you are choosing, only when you add something.
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Preferences reset every time a new category is selected.
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A new tab is opened every time you interact with a deal on KAYAK’s website.
milestone 4:
implementing new features into kayak's platform
what did I learn?
balancing user needs and business goals
Through my work on journey maps, feature redesigns, and usability tests, I gained a deeper understanding of how to balance user needs with business goals. I learned to identify areas where trade-offs were necessary and how to prioritize design changes that would have the greatest impact on both user satisfaction and business success.
improved design consistency
Managing multiple design updates and iterations helped me understand the importance of maintaining consistency across different features. I learned how to ensure a cohesive user experience across the product by aligning design patterns, visual language, and interaction principles.
agile design process
Collaborating within an agile environment strengthened my ability to design iteratively and adapt quickly. I learned to manage evolving priorities, communicate progress across teams, and contribute effectively within a fast-paced, cross-functional workflow.