CHALLENGES
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Build a simplified, non‑technical CMS for front‑desk and marketing staff to manage rooms, promos, blogs, and content.
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Develop an owned booking engine integrated with the website, inventory, and channel management to reduce dependency on OTAs and improve direct bookings.
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Ensure booking reliability, real‑time availability, and simple rate/room-type management for staff with limited technical skill.
MY ROLE
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Project Manager: led planning, stakeholder coordination, sprint scheduling, and delivery with engineering and QA.
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UX Designer: led research, information architecture, booking flow design, CMS UX, and high‑fidelity prototypes.
APPROACH
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Stakeholder discovery: aligned goals with hotel management, front‑desk, reservations, marketing, and IT to define success metrics and operational constraints.
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Employee interviews & workflow mapping: observed reservation processes and interviewed staff to capture pain points, approval flows, and edge cases (modifications, group bookings, cancellations).
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Competitor & market analysis: benchmarked hotel booking flows and CMS patterns from regional hotels and hospitality platforms to identify best practices for conversion and operations.
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QA & staff training: ran acceptance testing with staff and delivered role-based documentation and short training sessions for CMS and booking operations.
DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS
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Clear, conversion-focused booking flow: prominent date/room selector, visible rate rules, upsell options (breakfast, transfers), and one‑page checkout to reduce abandonment.
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CMS built for non-technical users: intuitive editor for rooms, photos, promos, blog posts, and flexible promotion scheduling with preview and approval steps.
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Reservation dashboard for staff: unified booking list with search/filters, guest details, status updates, modification/cancellation actions, and printable confirmations.
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Inventory sync & Online Travel Agents controls: basic channel management toggles and real‑time inventory flags to avoid overbookings when needed.
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Mobile-first responsive site: optimized room browsing and booking on mobile with fast-loading imagery and simplified navigation.
RESULT
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Improved website traffic and higher direct booking conversions due to clearer booking UX and owned booking funnel.
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Staff efficiency gains: front‑desk and reservations teams can manage bookings and modifications directly in the platform, reducing manual processes and errors.
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Faster marketing agility: marketing staff can publish promos, blog posts, and time‑bound offers without developer support, reducing time‑to‑market for campaigns.
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Reduced reliance on Online Travel Agent's: increased share of direct bookings improved margins and strengthened guest relationship data capture.
