Project #3: Case Study

IMPROVING USER EXPERIENCE AT THE MOXY HOTEL

THE BRIEF

For project three of General Assembly’s User Experience Design Immersive course our group of three tackled a design challenge for Moxy Hotel, which is a brand under Marriott International created to attract Millennial travellers. The hotel currently markets itself as a hotel meets hostel type of atmosphere, but in our project brief we were informed that the company wants to increase its market share by attracting young business travelers as well.

Here’s the full brief:

“Marriott’s research found that Millennials gather in public to schmooze, work and drink. Marriott’s Innovation Lab is gearing up to offer hospitality features, content and social means for the guests in these communal spaces to easily connect. They need ideas!”

RESEARCH

Field Research

With the brief in hand we began our research by visiting several local hotels to perform observations, contextual inquiry, and user interviews. While conducting observational research, we focused on the hotels’ communal spaces including bars, lounge areas, coffee shops, and workspaces. We noticed that the hotels that offer common spaces with a wide variety of options with regards to seating arrangements, food, and bar offerings tended to be most heavily utilized.

Survey

We also conducted a survey about business travel, which we dispersed on travel forums, hotel Facebook pages, and throughout our own networks. Our survey focused on what people find most important during their business travel, services people typically use while traveling for business, and how people spend their free time on these trips.

Secondary Research & Competitive Analysis

We collected secondary sources to get a feel for what the brand is all about and found that Moxy is viewed as a bold, design-oriented chain providing relatively low-cost options for young adults. Moxy is more established in Europe and is currently in the midst of a large push into the US market with 32 properties in the works. Moxy developers work under the assumption that millennials “don’t care about the size of their hotel rooms because they don’t want to be in their rooms other than to sleep,” following the idea that this generation is more concerned with experiences than accomodations. Additionally, Moxy is designed for “savvy travellers who thrive on self-service and embrace new technology.”

In order to understand Moxy’s competitive landscape, we explored other lodging options available to young business travellers, including Airbnb for Work, a recently launched feature of Airbnb catering to business travellers, with guarantees including 24-hour check in, high speed wifi, and a private workspace, boutique hotels like the The Ace and Acme, and Niche hotels under under larger hospitality groups.

User Interviews

User interviews proved to be the most crucial component of our research efforts. We spoke to about 20 people in all and had the most in-depth conversations with people in their twenties and thirties traveling for business, because they fall within our target demographic. Interview participants were found during our field research as well as through our social networks. During our user interviews we tried to get participants to reveal what they found most enjoyable about business travel and pain points they encountered, as well as a general understanding of their travel routines and how those may or may not differ from their routines and life at home. Here are a few of the quotes from these interviews that proved important later on in the design process:

“I like to be in my own world because traveling is so dynamic.”- Kim

“I would rather do my own research [when finding restaurants], because people are generally bad at estimating my needs and desires.” — Steven

“When I’m travelling for work I make a point to do things and try food that I can’t get anywhere else.” -Bert

“When I’m travelling, my routine gets thrown off, which is really stressful. Hotels aren’t designed for people to be self-sufficient.” -Lauren

INSIGHTS

After amassing such a wide variety of findings the team regrouped to distill and try to pick out the most telling pieces of information. After conducting our exploratory research, we started thinking of different ways to make sense of what we found and recognized different patterns and insights stemming from the process.

• Although most people look for authentic, local experiences, when they are constrained, they will use hotel options out of convenience.
• Many people become stressed when they feel they don’t have control over their routines.
• People usually favor lodging experiences where they feel at home, autonomous, and comfortable.
• People are motivated by incentives and a feeling of value.
• When it comes to socializing, individuals’ attitudes towards this will change depending on the circumstances and their emotional state.
• People often use Yelp and Google (or equivalents) to find restaurants and activities. This is because:

They don’t trust hotel resources to know what kinds of experiences they are looking for.

They like to see things for themselves during the search process and make their own judgements.

• There is a disconnect between many of Moxy’s physical spaces & stated intentions and the company’s branding & online experience.

In attempt to look at things from a broader lense, and see the ‘whole picture’, we identified six core needs our hotel users expressed.

• COMFORT
• CONTROL
• AUTHENTICITY
• CUSTOMIZATION
• (TO FEEL) VALUED
• CONSISTENCY

We kept these needs in mind as continued to synthesis our findings. In doing so, we determined that the design we were envisioning and the design suggested by Moxy’s website did not match. We then decided to expand upon the project brief so that it would still meet the project goals, but through a design not yet currently adopted by Moxy’s brand. From this, we developed the following design opportunities and principles:

Design Opportunities

• Provide users with local and authentic experiences that are not typically associated with “stuffy business hotels”.
• Increase the trust between users and hotel resources, particularly when searching for restaurants, bars, and other activities.
• Provide social opportunities for users who are actively seeking them.
• Bridge the disconnect between Moxy’s physical spaces and the online experience.

Design Principles (Solutions should…)

• Give users a sense of control over their hotel experience.
• Create a sense of comfort for hotel users.
• Provide users with an authentic experience on their own terms.
• Be customizable to fit user needs.
• Make users feel valued.
• Provide consistency between the user’s online and in-person experience.

When trying to identify and categorize the different types people who participated in our research, we created a user matrix. With this we identified three main types of users we would cater to and picked a representative from each group for our personas.

Personas

Kim

• 32 year old woman, works in the sales industry.
• Self-proclaimed introvert, claims she needs time to be alone, but doesn’t want to feel lonely — “…to be alone, but surrounded by other people…”
• Claims networking is part of her job, so she avoids doing it in her spare time.
• Enjoys travelling to large cities.
• Usually stays at hotels during business trips.

Steven

• 30 year old man that works as a consultant.
• Likes local experiences.
• Needs social outlets after work hours.
• Wants a more trustworthy way to find local activities and local places to eat and drink.
• Needs additional confidence in his decision to stay at the Moxy.
• Prefers hotels that are stylish, but not overdone.
• Good at “going with the flow”
• Usually travels alone

Lauren

• 30 year old woman, works as a writer for a men’s lifestyle magazine.
• Has to “recharge” in the evening after a tough day at work, usually enjoys relaxing at home and watching TV.
• Likes sticking to a routine in order to keep on track
• Needs a quiet place to properly function
• Isn’t too fond of sightseeing
• Likes going to cafes and coffee shops
• Prefers group over individual activities
• Likes being self-sufficient

The question we were tackling with Kim and her counterparts was: How might we help Kim have a more comfortable and customized hotel experience, while making sure she has time for herself without feeling lonely?

Design Studio

After formulating our design principles and personas, it was then time to start ideating concepts and ultimately come to a design solution. The first step of our design process was to collaborate with other groups in our class to quickly create concepts based on the needs of our personas. In this process, which we called, “design studio”, we were able to come up with sixteen viable concepts that could potentially be our solution.

• Quiet Zone
• Food Delivery
• Discounts
• Event Hall
• “Meet-up” Application
• Ice-breakers
• Room Customization
• Activity Table with reviews
• 360 degree interface
• Spa
• Overview of the Moxy space
• TV Login system
• Local integration
• Socializing via food
• Workout class
• Smart room

To narrow down our ideas, we elected to use a numerical system. We would take each concept and rank them against each design principle. To do this, we would take a concept and rank them on a scale of 1–5 a total of three times, one for each persona. The three rankings, each made by how much it applied to the persona, were then averaged out to determine a base score for that particular principle. So in the end, each concept had a total of five base scores, one for each principle.

The Design Solution

After determining the scores, we were able to select two ideas to develop which were of equal importance:

• Local integration
• A smart room

We then took these concepts and revised them into our two design solutions:

• Moxy Business — a new bedroom style that would cater to the specific needs of young business travelers.
• Moxy Local — a web and service-based online experience that helps hotel guests connect to local food and social opportunities around the Moxy they’re staying at.

These two, we determined, would holistically provide a user experience that addressed all of our design principles, especially the principles of control and authenticity.

USER JOURNEY

To better illustrate how this solution would be implemented in the user experience, we decided to create a storyboard-driven user journey that follows how a user inspired by our personas would benefit from our design solutions. I created the storyboards while my colleagues worked on developing screens for the various interfaces we envisioned.

The user journey begins with a young user needing to book a room at the Moxy hotel for a business trip. The user stumbles upon the Moxy’s website and upon looking at what they have to offer, the option for a room specially designed for business travelers catches their attention. He books the room, and immediately receives a confirmation email. On the day the user checks into the Moxy and enters their room, they are immediately welcomed by the various features we’ve included as a part of our business room’s design. These features include high speed wi-fi, a charging station/desk, and a whiteboard to emphasize feelings of control. Other features such as the mini-fridge and soundproof walls support the user’s comfortable experience. And features such as access to one’s streaming account and bluetooth functionality allows users to experience customization. In addition, we designed a communal space by the Moxy’s bar which offers a relatively quiet workspace for the business travelers who need it.

In addition, the user journey also highlights the areas we’ve designed to emphasize a local experience. When they first enter the Moxy, the user is introduced to an aesthetic that showcases local decor, popular beers in the area, a monitor that show the area’s sports teams, etc. When they enter their room and log on to their account on Moxy Local, they are immediately introduced all the local bars, restaurants, and events that are in partnership with the Moxy. Moxy Local allows guests to find places to eat, reviewed by locals, as well as the option to RSVP to events they wish to attend. This is when the user decides to attend a group dinner offered on the website. Later on in the journey, the user finds a coaster at the bar that allows them to receive a discount at a restaurant Moxy has partnered up with. This experience allows users to have a more authentic food experience, while feeling valued for their decision to stay at the Moxy. At the group dinner, the user is able to connect with travelers under circumstances that are comfortable for them, leading to a more customized and authentic experience overall.

CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS

The design solution we created serves to address the concerns of young business travelers by giving them an experience that prioritizes control, comfort, customization, self-value, and consistency. We found though our research that the brief given to us by Moxy Hotels, in their pursuit to attract more young business travelers, suggested an approach that did not sufficiently address the main concerns of the demographic. As such, we expanded on the project goal by determining the true needs of this particular audience, and restructuring the Moxy’s existing brand to fit our findings.

To better quantify how successful this design solution will be, we believe that measuring how often hotel guests use the facilities offered in our room design is the first approach. Also, measuring the amount of traffic on the Moxy Local website will help determine the effectiveness of our design.

For further research and to expand upon our design, we suggest that the Moxy add more authentic, local restaurants into the hotel chains. In addition, more in-depth research can be conducted and prove valuable in optimizing the usability of our interfaces. Definitively, the best course of action would be to improve the system that connects the user experience of the hotel to that of its surrounding areas.