INTRO

From increasing cultural understanding to aiding in the conservation of wildlife, there’s no denying the positive impact travel can have on the world.

The travel industry is one of the world’s most powerful—but there are negative side effects, too, like visitors putting a strain on cities, the lack of tourism dollars benefitting local communities, and the use of fossil fuels by major airlines.

The following case study explores the possibility of helping users book sustainable hotels though a mobile application, with simple ways to offset their environmental impact without totally overhauling their trip.

I’ve broken this study into five parts:

1. Research

2. Ideation

3. User Flow

4. Design

5. Prototyping

Research Process

The first step in my research was to dive into the user’s mind. Through a series of in-depth interviews I discovered the ways users book their travel, their needs, motivations, and pain points when booking and also tested the assumption that travelers who prefer eco-friendly hotels find it difficult to discover these options.

Through an affinity mapping I was able to synthesize the data from my user interviews to find patterns and form insights.

Two key insights from my research showed that users really desire sustainable travel options but lack the tools to do so. With that in mind, I created a persona of my primary user - Jay, a nature-lover by highlighting his behaviors, goals, needs, and pain points - to guide me through the design phase.

Design Process

In the design phase, I set out to create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that addresses the problem discovered in the research phase.

Some of the issues I seem to find with existing travel apps is the lack of simplicity and minimal steps for the user. I would like to try to keep this app as light and functional as possible, refining the core features that will actually be useful to a user. Below is a list of core features added to the product.

• Eco hotels list

• Recommendations

• AR technology

• Donations

• Social/messenger

• Environment education

• 360 view

Ecostay is an eco-friendly travel app concept. Through the app, users can book sustainable hotels around the world, discover nature using AR technology, meet the locals, and experience their exciting recommendations all at one place.

Prototype