Design Cost Hotels App

Improving Bookings Through Best Rate Visibility

Timeline

4 weeks

ROLE

UX/UI Designer

Platform

Mobile App

Industry

Tourism

Introduction

Coast Hotels needed a dedicated mobile app to streamline services and enhance the overall guest experience. We designed an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that prioritized seamless mobile booking by showcasing the best available rates exclusive to the app along with access to self-service features and intuitive navigation.


Value Proposition

Coast Hotels attracts guests by offering a mix of prime locations, diverse room offerings, and a generous loyalty program. These elements guided our app design by emphasizing:


  • Quick access to Coast Rewards membership benefits.

  • Simplified discovery of room options across locations.

  • A seamless, mobile-first booking experience that reflects the brand’s service-first values.

Problem

Guests Struggle to Find the Best Rate and Book Rooms Easily on Coast Hotels’ Digital Platforms

Guests often feel confused when trying to find the best rate and room options based on their membership level. The absence of a dedicated mobile app and limited accessibility added friction especially for on-the-go users highlighting the need for a more intuitive, mobile-first experience.

Process

Interview

Stakeholder Interviews Revealed the Need for Flexible Booking and Real-Time Support.

Through multiple stakeholder meetings, we identified two key priorities for the app experience:


  • Enable users to reserve, modify, and cancel bookings directly within the app.

  • Integrate real-time customer support features to reduce call volume and improve response time.


Assumptions

Why Users Might Prefer a Mobile App Over the Coast Hotels Website

Based on stakeholder input and our understanding of the existing digital experience, we made the following assumptions to guide our research and design process:




Desk Research

Confirming Key Assumptions Through User Research




Interview

Customer Support Interviews Uncovered Usability Issues Behind High Booking Call Volume

We collaborated with the customer service team and analyzed call data using Ice Bar software over a one-month period. This helped identify key usability issues and digital pain points:



Learning from Leading Hotel Apps

Competitive analysis revealed strong booking features across hotel apps, but gaps in Coast Hotels’ mobile accessibility and support.

To align with user needs and industry trends, we conducted desk research on leading hotel apps such as Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Hyatt. The goal was to evaluate how these apps address self-service, best rate visibility, and real-time support through AI assistants.



Persona

Who are the main Coast Hotels guests seeking a faster, more self-sufficient booking experience?



Ideation

RICE Prioritization for HMW Questions

We used the RICE method (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) to evaluate and prioritize our ideas. This helped us identify the most valuable features for the MVP based on user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility.


Key Solutions



Turning Research Insights Into Real App Experiences

After closely studying leading hotel apps like Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott, and identifying key needs from Coast Hotels personas, we designed a mobile app that simplifies booking, enables self-service, and improves access to support, ultimately enhancing the guest experience.


Solution One

AI-Powered Real-Time Support:



Solution Two

Clear Best Rate Indicators:


  • Special rate filters on the search page help users find the best deals.



  • Users can compare rates and book multiple rooms at once.


Solution Three

Mobile-First Self-Service Features:


  • Users can modify their reservations and access their booking history.



  • Users receive updates about their stays and related information through in-app messages.



Test & Iteration

User Feedback Sparks AI Assistant Relocation and Menu Redesign

Although the AI assistant was findable, placing it inside the menu made it inaccessible from individual pages. Users had to interrupt their task flow to reach it. The new design introduces a persistent AI assistant icon available across all screens, ensuring seamless support access.


Conclusion

The Impact: Why This Design Matters


  • This design goes beyond aesthetics,it enhances the guest experience and delivers measurable value to the business. By improving feature accessibility, booking flow, and AI assistant visibility, the app supports both user satisfaction and operational efficiency, turning everyday interactions into opportunities for loyalty and growth.


What We Learned Along the Way

One major challenge was designing for guests booking on the go. While we focused on mobile-first features, it was crucial to make tools like booking, check-in, and AI support easily accessible across screens. Testing in real hotel contexts was limited, which taught us to prioritize real-world usability over ideal scenarios. This helped us better understand how guests interact with hotel apps in fast-paced situations.