WEEKEND EXCHANGE CASE STUDY

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Client

An app redesign project inspired by Holiday Swap.

Problem

Travelers need a way to pay less for accommodations because they want to save money while enjoying new experiences.

Hypothesis

We believe that by creating an app to exchange living spaces with other travelers, we will help our users save money on travel accommodations, which will enable them to travel more frequently and form more social connections, all the while giving back to humanitarian causes to help others with their own journeys. We will know this to be true when we see an increase in home exchanges, social engagement, and financial contributions via Weekend Exchange (WE).

Project Type, Duration, Tools, Deliverables

Self-selected project initiated prior to and completed after GA UXD Immersive | On and off for 4+ weeks | Sketch | Case Study

Role & UX Skills

 UI/UX Designer | User Interviews, Prototyping, Usability Testing, User Interface & Experience Design

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Competitive Analysis

To start the product design process, I did a quick analysis of the major apps on the market, starting with the inspiration and most popular one, Holiday Swap.

Interview

I then interviewed three people who travel frequently to understand their goals, frustrations, and motivations.

Following the interviews, I synthesized the findings using affinity and empathy maps to distill key themes and pain points.

Affinity Map Themes

-       Description and fees

-       App and host reliability

-       Preferences and pets

-       Security deposits and insurance

-       Phone number, address, and fast response time

-       User ratings and referral systems

-       Cheap accommodations

-       Listing options and amenities

-       Peer-to-peer transaction and ability to negotiate

-       Map search and flexibility

 Empathy Map

·       Think: Enjoyed better rates from Airbnb than Hotel Tonight and VRBO.

·       See: Experienced misleading listing descriptions and photos, hidden fees, outdated ads, non-specific reviews, and missing amenities

·       Do: Communicated with hosts indirectly because of lack of phone number listed, needed home address to map activities ahead of trip, and used Google maps to search for accommodations within a price range and radius

·       Feel: Didn’t like security deposit or insurance: higher listing prices

·       Hear: Slow response time from property managers from VRBO app

·       Wish: Convenience, peer-to-peer transactions, cheaper accommodations, security, ease and flexibility in booking, brand credibility, ability to negotiate to fit budget, filter preferences for pets, additional listing options, amenities, rating system and history of reviews, more brand exposure so people in remote places can host on Airbnb too, more competitively-priced options, worldwide choices, a referral or promotion system to save money, reliable app and host, upfront fees, and homey and interesting accommodations.

Persona

Next, I aggregated this information into a persona to visualize our target user.

·       Name: April, 28 years old | Environmental Scientist | Married | Washington D.C.

·       Quote: “I’m looking for a site that will simplify the planning and booking of my travel accommodations.”

·       Bio: April is an environmental scientist who travels 4-6 times a year with her husband. She would like to save money on her travel accommodations, so she can travel internationally more often.

·       Traits: Free spirit | Compassionate | Adventurous | Hardworking | Organized

·       Goals: To save money on accommodations. | To have a pleasant experience when searching for and booking accommodations. | To have a positive travel experience.

·       Frustrations: Not being able to find cost-effective, reliable, and homey accommodations that meet her travel budget and needs.

·       Motivations: Travel | Experience | Price | Comfort | Convenience | Speed | Loyalty/Ratings

·       Brands: Kayak | Expedia | Airbnb | VRBO

Define

With enough research information extracted, I began to craft the problem and hypothesis statements.

Problem

Travelers need a way to pay less for accommodations because they want to save money and enjoy new experiences.

Hypothesis

We believe that by creating an app to exchange living spaces with other travelers, we will help our users save money on travel accommodations, which will enable them to travel more frequently and form more social connections, all the while giving back to humanitarian causes to help others with their own journeys. We will know this to be true when we see an increase in home exchanges, social engagement, and financial contributions via Weekend Exchange (WE).

Design Thinking 

  • User Desirability: To travel for less and experience the world.

  • Business Viability: To make a profit and help others; the business of good.

  • Tech Feasibility: To create a reliable and innovative product.

Product Management 

  • Why? Travelers want to pay less for their trips, experience the world, and rely on a user reviews system to verify listings. This app will encourage users to go on more adventures, experience new cultures, and give back along the way.

  • How? Develop an accommodation and social networking app that allows travelers to exchange their living spaces within their social networks and beyond to enable them to make a positive impact.

  • How Much? Social entrepreneurship model: users will have the option to contribute based on the perceived value they receive from using the WE app. WE will donate 50% of the contributions to humanitarian and worthy causes listed on the app. Users are not required to pay anything to use WE.

  • What? An app that will encourage people to travel more, connect more, and give more. The platform will promote adventure and awareness, mutual understanding and social connection, and bring people together for a common purpose: to give more.

  • Constraints? Feature differentiators, market entrance and timing, ensuring the contribution model is practical and feasible, marketing and media, etc.

Sketches & Wireframes  

In the next step, I sketched and wireframed different versions of the app based on basic MVP features to satisfy early user needs and get feedback for the next iteration. I did not map out all possible features and functionalities.

Hi-Fidelity Prototype

How It Works

1.     Log in and connect your social media accounts to Weekend Exchange (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.)

2.     Browse accommodations around the world based on your filtered preferences

3.     Swipe right or tap on the Star icon to like listings, or scroll up to pass listings, and match with users around the world

4.     Use the interactive map to search for accommodations based on your filtered preferences

5.     Read reviews and feedback from other members, view mutual friends and connections, and match within your social network and beyond

6.     Chat with other users, confirm travel information, contribute as much as you would like, and WE will donate 50% of it to humanitarian and worthy causes listed on the app

7.     Travel, connect, make a difference – one Weekend Exchange at a time.

On-boarding Value Proposition

1. Travel: Explore the unknown and discover worlds beyond our own.

2. Connect: Experience new cultures and form meaningful relationships.

3. Give: Contribute what you can and help others with their own journeys.

Version 1

Version 2

Usability Testing

Positive User Feedback

  • Easy to understand logo, clean UI, appealing layout, useful interactive map

  • Helpful mutual friends network concept, intuitive navigation, engaging swiping and scrolling functionality

  • Enjoyable and intuitive user experience, cool niche market

  • The preferences feature is easy to locate, useful, and meets user needs for initial and general searches

  • The feature icons (i.e. Wi-Fi, kitchen, etc.) are very helpful upon first glance

  • Seeing the photos of upcoming trips gets user excited

  • Overall experience is intuitive as user does not like to read instructions, and with few clicks through the app, she was able to complete her tasks as a new user.

Negative User Feedback

  • Unclear payment process

  • Too many icons in the listing description box

  • Confusing star and magnifying glass icons

  • Unclear hiding functionality for unwanted listings

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Next Steps

To update the UI and UX of the app based on user feedback and new research information.