Case study: Airbnb with augmented reality
Part 2: Reimagining travel experiences with UX storyboarding
Heard of or been in at least one travel experience where you reach the spot only to find out a no-show from the host? Or unable to reach the host, or you lost track with nobody to assist in check-in to the booked venue?
Part 2 of the Airbnb series explores how to enhance the experience for the guests and its likely spill-over effect on the business as a whole. I have elaborated particularly experiences during the stay for the illustrations. There is more scope to exploring and enhancing experiences at pre-booking, booking, and post-stay stages as well. I have brainstormed and assumed the most probable pain points and some good-to-haves while a guest arrives at the booked venue.
With a no-show from the host, travel and stay experiences can get overburdening, exhausting and most of all, feeling lost!
Inspiration
Airbnb had published in a blog about their interests in including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) as a part of their experience. It got me inspired to reimagine the user flow around the AR experience. This has nothing to do with Airbnb but a simple learning exercise.
Idea
A scenario is taken when a guest arrives at the booked venue and the user journey during the stay is shown in the form of storyboards in freestyle.
The beginning of a story — Alex in his wonderland
Alex, an enthusiastic wanderlust, has been yearning to go to his favorite spot which is high on his budget; also he is busy for most of the year. With proper planning and budgeting, he finally manages to find the time to make a visit booking an Airbnb stay.
Episode 0: Present sir
Location: At the Airbnb venue
Assumptions: Augmented reality is speech-enabled
Alex gets his first AR experience finding the key in an otherwise invisible spot. It’s a relief for a jiffy and he is clueless again about what to do, where to go once he is inside the venue.
Episode 1: All hail Alex
Location: Inside the venue
To his utter surprise, the host shows up in AR with a warm welcome and a brief introduction about himself, and the property.
The host walks Alex through the amenities, activities facilitated in the property. Alex is curious and thrilled to look at the fun activities.
Episode 2: AR ride all the way
Location: Within the app
Fish spa by the pond runs through AR. He is shown the navigation with a voice-over with a video which goes till showing all details of the spa experience.
Next up shows the bonfire techniques and BBQ sessions, with safety tips provided by the hosts. Not every fire is built the same way, it delves into the three ways of lighting up the bonfire.
Alex found it very new to add his experiences and tips for the next set of visitors. He can leave behind his footprint. Guitar classes with event scheduling seemed totally out of the world for him. He moves to the showpiece area, scans the vintage silver coffee pot. He didn’t expect the historic storytelling. He begins to understand the impact of AR and what it can do.
He definitely has a lot more to take back home than memories — knowledge about fireflies, spices, and their properties, most of all, a deeper connection with the place.
Impact of AR
Picking up good spaces and providing good experiences are indeed two sides of the same coin.
What is given here is a sample set. The catalog of experiences depends on the guest’s interests, the host’s preferences, and feasibility. Augmented reality impacts the most when executed right. It is beautiful when each one interacts and experiences in their unique way adding up to myriad possibilities of exploring a single space. What one feels, is also passed on as a tip or feedback to the successive visitors — the caveat might be missing out on the surprise elements. Otherwise, these remarks go a long way to build a better connection between the guests and the place. The stay could transcend from temporary feel-good moments to an experience people would love to come back to; make deeper connections with the hosts; recommend others to follow suit.
