/ Project Story

Premier Inn.
Optimising the booking experience for the UK's largest hotel brand across its digital landscape.

UI (Visual) Designer • Premier Inn

/ An Overview

Every week, over 1,000,000 customers rely on Premier Inns' booking system, which drives 95% of our hotel room reservations. During our re-platforming initiative our mission was clear: Identified key areas to optimise the customer experience whilst implementing responsive web design across x5 breakpoints.

As the UI Designer I collaborated closely with a team consisting of; a UX Designer, Copywriter, three Frontend Engineers, a Product Manager, Data Analyst, and SEO Specialist. My responsibilities included:

  • Conducting a thorough review of existing data and research to identify key findings.

  • Building strong relationships with key stakeholders and other chapters within the business.

  • Facilitating workshops to foster collaboration and innovation.

  • Exploring a range of radically different concepts to discover innovative solutions.

  • Facilitating design critiques to ensure continuous improvement.

  • Supporting customer testing to validate and refine designs.

  • Bridging the gap between design and engineering for seamless implementation.

  • Owning the quality and delivery of the final product.

/ Approach

This project was a part of a six-month digital transformation, where we used the Double Diamond framework for Discovery. By exploring and defining the problem space, we gained a deep understanding of user needs and business objectives. This approach paved the way for innovative and effective solutions to enhance the booking flow.

/ The Process

01.

Exploring the Landscape:
A Thorough Review for Strategic Insights

We kicked off the project by carrying out a comprehensive analysis of the hotel landscape in the UK to provide us with valuable context, identify gaps, and gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities available in the market for further exploration.

02.

Unveiling Insights:
Harnessing Data Analysis for Informed Decision-Making

Collaborating closely with our data analyst, we extract valuable insights to enhance the user experience. Our primary objective was to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the booking process's shortcomings and to pinpoint areas for improvement.

03.

Formulating Hypotheses:
Leveraging Data Insights for Targeted Improvement

In collaboration with a Project Manager, we formulated a series of hypotheses as our first steps towards testing and validation. These hypotheses provided the groundwork for our experimentation phase, ensuring a user-centric approach throughout the process.

04.

Spark Creativity:
Lighting Demos and A Digital Inspiration Board for Collaborative Ideation

As a team, we explored a variety of products and services that exemplified exceptional user experiences. This collaborative design activity served as an inspiring platform, sparking engagement and fostering meaningful discussions among team members. Inspired by this, I set up a digital inspiration board to capture these ideas, fostering ongoing collaboration and conversation across the wider team.

05.

Design Ideation

Coupled with a rich array of valuable insights and fuelled by creativity, I explored a diverse array of innovative ideas. My objective was clear: to better understand and address customer expectations and pain points with empathy.

06.

Design Critiques:
Driving Meaningful Discussion

Prioritising ongoing engagement with fellow designers was a key throughout the project. Design Critiques became instrumental sessions for leveraging the diverse perspectives and expertise of our design team spanning various product streams within the business. This collaborative effort played a role in driving significant enhancements to the user experience.

07.

Refining User Experience:
Usability Testing and Analysis

To validate usability enhancements to the booking flow, we conducted testing with six individuals aged 18 to 49, seeking summer staycations in the UK, focusing on ease of task completion, information accessibility, design effectiveness, content clarity, and overall satisfaction. We then engaged in discussions to analyse the outcomes.

08.

Design Iteration:
Enhancing the User Experience

Drawing from insights gathered during usability testing, we refined our designs to address user feedback. We documented small-scale A/B tests that we wanted to explore to evaluate incremental changes and their potential revenue impact, prioritising those to be implemented post-MVP.

09.

Crafting Responsive Designs

To guarantee a seamless user experience across various devices, I meticulously crafted designs across four breakpoints. This approach ensured that users could effortlessly view and interact with the site, irrespective of the device they were using.

10.

Enriching the Design System:
Documentation for a Seamless Transition to Build

To enhance consistency and efficiency in our product development process, we deconstructed the Booking Flow pages into components that would then be seamlessly integrated into the Premier Inn Design System.

11.

A/B Testing

We conducted mini experiments throughout the booking flow post-release to enhance key performance indicators.
One such experiment focused on button colour, revealing a significant increase in conversion rates with red CTAs.
Another experiment focused on the placement of breakfast options, leading to higher purchase rates when presented during the booking flow. These experiments enabled us to refine the user experience and drive improved outcomes in the booking process.

/ The Outputs

  • A Responsive Booking Flow with a Fresh Visual Design Direction.

  • A robust reusable component library crafted to ensure uniform user experiences across diverse digital products.

  • Recommendations from A/B testing pinpoint revenue-driving opportunities throughout the business.

/ The Results

  • Accelerated booking completion speed.

  • Achieved a 5% increase in conversion rate among leisure customers through the booking flow, resulting in over £1,000,000 in additional revenue per month.

  • A 13% increase in conversion rate for Breakfast and Meal Deal sales through the booking flow.

  • Successfully secured investment to refine Premier Inns' Food and Beverage offering across the site.