Viator - Booking

Viator, a TripAdvisor company, is a leader in the fastest growing sector of the travel industry - destination experiences. Everyday, millions of people worldwide use Viator's website and mobile apps to book tours and activities.

This project was a redesign of the mobile website.

Role: Product Designer

THE CHALLENGE

The main user group in the Viator ecosystem is travelers. The existing website interface worked on desktop, but it was overwhelming and clunky for users on a mobile device. I joined Viator's design team to redesign the experience, starting with the mobile website and expanding to optimize the desktop website and mobile apps.

MOBILE-DEDICATED SITE

Created a dedicated mobile website which is completely distinct from the full desktop site. It lives under a separate URL (m.viator.com) and contains features and content that are a subset of what is available on the desktop site. By designing the mobile website specifically for mobile phones, I was able to focus on the core functionality and only include what is absolutely imperative to users. 

DISCOVERY

To better understand the problem, I interviewed travelers and asked them questions to help identify our customer's needs. What are the steps that people take when they start to plan a trip? What resources do they currently use? What are the most important elements of a tour or activity? 

Through the research phase, we discovered our main goal: Design a mobile experience that elegantly curates ideas for people who are planning a trip, while also enabling travelers to find nearby tours and activities and easily access their bookings during the trip.

EXPLORATION

During the exploration phase I played with numerous layouts for filtering options, individual product screens, and calendar and booking concepts. Travelers wanted the ability to sort through top-rated tours, attractions, and recommendations based on travel dates and availability.

EARLY CONCEPTS

I came up with a wide range of booking concepts for the individual tour screen. The first mock-up shows a "Book Now" button on the top right side of the screen, while the second mock-up features a fixed "Book Now" button in the bottom center section.

Both concepts are meant to guide users to complete the transaction. My instinct was that the fixed "Book Now" button would be too pushy. We A/B tested both design options and tracked conversion rates. Users responded negatively to the persistent button, with a 21-26% decrease in sales.

FINAL SOLUTION

Throughout the mobile website, the navigation allows users to easily and intuitively find the information they need. People planning a trip can explore tours and activities in popular destinations and set search filters based on their preferences. Travelers on-the-go are able to see tours and activities near them based on their physical location, plus access important details about their bookings.

I worked closely with the engineers during the implementation phase. Overall, the user experience we designed for the mobile website was seamless and ensured that users were able to find what they need efficiently.