Redesigning a hotel booking journey to reduce friction and build trust
A concept UX case study focused on decision-making, clarity, and reassurance in high-stakes flows.
Product designer (UX/UI) — end-to-end
Benchmarking, usability testing, synthesis, journey mapping, wireframes, prototyping
Concept redesign (hotel booking flow)
I redesigned a hotel booking journey to reduce decision friction and build trust at key moments — especially during room selection, policy review, and add-ons.
Through usability testing and benchmarking, I mapped where uncertainty accumulates across the flow and translated those insights into clearer hierarchy, more scannable room information, and better-timed prompts that support confident decision-making.
-
Restructured room cards so price, cancellation, and breakfast are visible without digging
-
Shortened and reorganised room descriptions into scannable chunks with visual cues
-
Moved add-ons after room selection so upgrades feel supportive, not pushy
-
Added a reassurance-focused summary step before confirmation to reduce last-minute doubt
In prototype testing, the redesigned flow reduced visible hesitation and improved decision confidence. Participants compared rooms more decisively, asked fewer clarification questions about policies, and engaged more thoughtfully with add-ons once they appeared later in the journey.
The redesign focused on reducing cumulative friction (how doubt builds over multiple steps), rather than “optimising” isolated screens.
-
Smoother progression: fewer backtracks and reduced scrolling at key decision points
-
Higher perceived trust: clearer pricing and cancellation policies increased confidence to commit
-
More deliberate upgrades: add-ons felt helpful rather than pushy when introduced after room choice
-
Redesigned the booking flow to reduce cognitive load and build trust at key decision points
-
Used usability testing and synthesis to uncover where confidence eroded across the journey
-
Introduced clearer information hierarchy, scannable layouts, and better-timed add-ons
-
Focused on reassurance patterns before confirmation to prevent last-minute doubt
If this moved into implementation, I’d validate the design with live behavioural data and keep iterating on the moments where people hesitate or abandon.
-
Instrument the funnel to track drop-off by step (rooms → policies → add-ons → payment)
-
A/B test room card layout (policy visibility, total price clarity, “what’s included”)
-
Improve comparison tools (pin key attributes, highlight differences, reduce re-reading)
-
Refine reassurance patterns at checkout (clear summary, transparent fees, edit-in-place)
The biggest takeaway was learning to treat hesitation as data. When people pause, scroll, or re-open details, they’re telling you exactly where trust is fragile.
I also learned that “more information” isn’t the same as “more clarity.” The real work was deciding what needed to be visible now, what could wait, and how to make the path forward feel safe.
Lastly, I learned that trust is cumulative and often eroded by small structural decisions rather than single major failures. Product design means managing that accumulation deliberately.
Booking a hotel is an emotional purchase disguised as a form. People want to feel excited, but they behave like risk managers the moment pricing or policies get unclear.
This project reminded me that good UX isn’t only about speed — it’s about reducing doubt. When the interface communicates clearly, users don’t just move faster; they commit with confidence.
NDA-safe deep dive. Below is a detailed walkthrough of the design explorations, iterations, and UI solutions developed throughout the project.
The target audience consisted of travellers aged 30–60 who value comfort and quality and are willing to spend more when the experience feels reliable and thoughtfully designed.
They approach booking with a mix of excitement and caution: eager to plan, but sensitive to uncertainty around pricing, policies, and what is truly included.
Defining insights from research:
Users seek reassurance early, especially around cancellation policies and total price
Long descriptions and dense layouts increase hesitation rather than confidence
Photos, reviews, and summaries strongly shape trust and decision-making
Research phase
To familiarise myself with hotel-booking patterns and hospitality platforms, I ran competitive benchmarking, analysing how other businesses surfaced critical information and guided users through booking decisions.
In parallel, I conducted usability tests to understand where friction emerged, how uncertainty built over time, and which moments triggered hesitation or second-guessing.
Four recurring themes came up across participants:
1. Flexibility & user control
Users rely on different methods to complete tasks (e.g., typing dates vs. using a calendar).
Remembering selections prevents repetition when navigating back and forth.
2. Information clarity & hierarchy
Essential details (price, cancellation, breakfast) should be visible early.
Long room descriptions discourage reading; users prefer scannable summaries.
Icons/visual cues improve comprehension of amenities and features.
3. Visual content & decision support
Photos, maps, and reviews strongly influence trust and decisions.
Visuals help users judge room size and quality before committing.
4. Add-ons & transparency
Add-ons should appear after room selection — earlier feels pushy or misleading.
Relevant add-ons perform better than generic bundles.
A clear summary page is critical for reassurance before confirming.
Synthesis & insights
To make sense of the findings, I organised observations into an affinity diagram. This helped surface behavioural patterns, cluster pain points, and highlight design opportunities that could meaningfully improve the booking experience.
Key insight clusters
1. User flexibility & control
People complete tasks differently; multiple pathways reduce friction.
State retention prevents frustration when comparing or revisiting choices.
2. Clarity & information hierarchy
Policy and price certainty drive confidence early.
Scannable content beats completeness at decision moments.
Visual cues reduce reading load and ambiguity.
3. Visual content & first impression
Trust is built through photos, reviews, and summaries.
Visuals help users make “mental simulations” of the stay.
4. Add-ons & transparency
Timing matters — add-ons belong after the core decision.
Relevance improves acceptance and reduces “upsell fatigue.”
Reassurance at the end prevents last-minute doubt.
Journey mapping & experience gaps
Mapping the journey revealed how friction compounds over time rather than appearing in isolation. Although the biggest pain point showed up at add-ons, frustration had already been building earlier: excessive scrolling, dense descriptions, and key details hidden in secondary areas created repeated micro-moments of doubt.
By the time users reached add-ons, that hesitation had intensified. Even after completing the booking, some users described a lingering feeling that something might still go wrong.
Ideation & early concepts
Early ideation explored multiple directions before committing to a single structure: different information densities, card layouts, progressive disclosure for policies, and sequencing options for add-ons.
The goal was to find the balance between enough information to feel safe and not so much that users get stuck rereading.