As part of my Professional Diploma in UX Design at the UX Design Institute, I decided to work on a hotel booking website. As a frequent traveler, I was familiar with the usual frustrations such as unclear prices, endless steps, and a somewhat constant sense of uncertainty. For a long time, I assumed this was simply “how it works” in hotel booking.

That changed last summer during a trip to Paris. Despite having prepaid, I arrived to find my room unavailable, and the payment non-refundable. It was frustrating and stressful, and it almost spoiled the trip.

With my growing understanding of user-centered design, I realized this experience wasn’t inevitable - it was fixable. A booking journey should be simple, secure, and give travelers confidence at every step. This became the starting point for my project: designing a hotel booking website that helps users find the right accommodation easily, while feeling certain their time, money, and expectations are respected.

https://youtu.be/Z3sJf60Imvk

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Travel is back - and so are the challenges of booking it. According to TTN Online, global tourism in 2024 reached 99% of pre-pandemic levels, with nearly 1.4 billion international tourists which is an 11% increase from the year before. This rebound means more people than ever are booking hotels online.

But the experience isn’t keeping up with demand. A study by SiteMinder revealed that over half of travelers (52%) abandon their hotel booking because of poor online experiences, from confusing pricing to a lack of trust during payment. Similarly, HospitalityNet reported that about 34% of travelers struggle to find suitable accommodation in the first place, pointing to the need for clearer and more user-friendly search flows.

What travelers really want is simple: secure payments, clear pricing, reliable information, and confidence that their booking is valid. With so many people facing friction at these critical steps, it became clear that redesigning the hotel booking journey wasn’t just a personal project—it addressed a widespread problem in the travel industry.

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Research Process

To design a booking experience that felt transparent, fast, and trustworthy, I approached research from several angles: secondary research, competitive benchmarking, surveys, and usability testing.

• Secondary research helped me understand the landscape of modern travel. I explored who travelers are (partners, families, solo adventurers), how often they travel, and emerging trends like “bleisure” and spontaneous short breaks. Reports also highlighted recurring issues like choice overload, hidden fees, poor booking flows - that shaped my focus early on. Full research details are available here: Figma Board
• Competitive benchmarking across eight platforms (Booking.com, Airbnb, Agoda, Trivago, etc.) showed me the industry’s strengths - like powerful search and filters -but also its inconsistencies. Cluttered layouts, hidden CTAs, and unclear refund policies signaled opportunities to improve clarity and build trust. Full version of the competitive benchmarking can be found here: Figma Board.
• Survey (21 participants) validated these pain points. Almost every respondent named transparent pricing as the most important factor in booking, followed by reviews, visuals, and a quick process. Interestingly, most still booked on desktop, though mobile was a common frustration - pointing to the need for responsive design that feels equally reliable across devices. Full version of the survey can be found here: Figma Board.
• Usability testing brought these findings to life. I saw firsthand how users struggled with room selection, cancellation policies, and overwhelming add-ons. The lack of visuals created hesitation and doubt. These observations reinforced how critical information architecture (IA) is: if core content isn’t organized and prioritized around user needs, even a visually polished design can fail.

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Through this research, I not only uncovered the pain points but also the design opportunities:

1. Transparency – clear pricing and policies build trust.
2. Efficiency – streamlined booking reduces frustration.
3. Clarity of IA – information hierarchy drives confidence in decision-making.
4. Trust signals – strong visuals, reviews, and flexible cancellation reassure users. </aside>

These insights became the foundation of my design approach, ensuring that every decision—from layouts to microcopy—was grounded in real user needs.

Analysis

Affinity Diagram

I organized research findings into an affinity diagram to identify patterns in user behavior.