Designing the StayNow OTA Platform & App
Duration
1 year
Team
2 Product Designers
1 Product Owner & 20+ Developers
Tasks
Research, UX, UI, Prototyping
About StayNow
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StayNow is an Online Travel Agency (OTA) platform designed to provide seamless booking experiences for travelers while offering robust management tools for hotel owners. This case study outlines the UX design process, challenges, and solutions implemented to create an intuitive and efficient platform.
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Problem Statement
The primary goal was to design an OTA platform that:
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Simplifies hotel discovery and booking for travelers.
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Enables hoteliers to manage their listings efficiently.
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Provides a frictionless transition between mobile web and the mobile app.
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Encourages users to download and use the StayNow app while ensuring a functional mobile website.
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Addresses usability challenges such as map pin congestion and the need for an expense ledger for travelers managing group trips.
UX Research
Step 1 - Competitive Analysis - We analyzed top OTA platforms like Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb to identify strengths and weaknesses in their UX patterns.
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Step 2 - User Research - We conducted user interviews and contextual inquiries, shadowing hoteliers to understand their pain point with their existing PMS and Super Admin panels of OTAS with:
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Travelers (frequent and occasional) to understand booking preferences.
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Hotel owners to identify challenges in property management.
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OTA industry experts to assess industry trends.
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Contextual Inquiry Conducted
Interviews
Conducted
Participants Profile
16
Days of Shadowing Hoteliers and taking part in their day to day operations
40+
Interviews with Hoteliers, Travelers & OTA Experts
80+
Travelers, Hoteliers & OTA Experts
Key research insights
"Travelers prioritize price transparency, real user reviews, and ease of modification/cancellation."
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" Hoteliers need clear property performance metrics and an intuitive management dashboard."​
"A mobile-first approach is critical, but many users still prefer desktops for extensive research."
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" Ecolab's Virtual Assistant is not useful as it does not provide useful response"
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Step 3 - Affinity Mapping - We conducted an affinity mapping session to organize our insights and showcased this to our clients to build the roadmap of how we can launch StayNow. We categorized key pain points and feature requests under:
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Booking Experience: Search, filters, comparisons, checkout friction.
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Map Experience: Congestion, navigation clarity, discoverability.
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Group Travel Features: Expense tracking, shared booking management.
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Hotelier Needs: Listing updates, overbooking prevention, pricing insights
Design Phase
Step 1 - User Personas - We created user personas to better understand the distinct needs, behaviors, and pain points of our primary users, allowing us to design more targeted and effective solutions.
Mark (Traveler)
Goals:
Find budget-friendly stays, read reviews, book hassle-free, and track expenses with friends.
Pain Points:
Confusing refund policies, hidden fees, lack of clear property images, difficulty selecting properties in crowded areas due to map congestion, and challenges in managing shared expenses on group trips.
Mark (Hotel Manager)
Goals:
List and manage properties effortlessly, optimize pricing, and track performance.
Pain Points:
Difficulty in updating listings, managing overbookings, and syncing with multiple channels.
​Step 2 - Information Architecture - We created the information architecture to ensure a clear and intuitive navigation flow, making it easier for users to complete tasks efficiently while aligning with the client's expectations to keep everyone on the same page.
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​Step 2 - Establishing a Design System -
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Created a comprehensive UI component library using Figma.
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Defined typography, color schemes, button styles, icons, and spacing rules.
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Implemented design tokens for scalability across mobile and web platforms.
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Ensured accessibility compliance for color contrast, touch targets, and readability.
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Final Designs
After testing the first set of wireframes, I iterated based on feedback from stakeholders and developers to check the feasibility of the designs and created the final prototypes using Figma.
Handling Map pin congestion
In high-density travel areas, overlapping property pins made it difficult for users to select the right listing. We introduced a clustering mechanism that automatically grouped nearby properties, allowing users to zoom in for individual selections. A priority sorting system was also implemented, highlighting relevant listings based on user preferences and search filters. Additionally, interactive tooltips were added, enabling users to hover or tap on clusters to preview multiple properties within an area before making a selection.
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Before
After (UX Improvements)
Trips
StayNow introduces a Trips feature that allows travelers to attach bookings, plan itineraries, vote on activities, and share pictures with their group. This collaborative tool enhances group travel planning, making it easier for users to coordinate stays, experiences, and expenses in one place.
Seamless Booking
The platform emphasizes a streamlined booking process with intuitive navigation, clear pricing, and flexible cancellation policies.
Support for Independent Hoteliers
Understanding the challenges faced by independent hotel owners, StayNow provides a dedicated portal that allows hoteliers to manage bookings, pricing, and guest relationships with ease. The platform's low commission rates and user-friendly tools empower hoteliers to maintain control over their offerings while reaching a broader audience.
Outcome
We identified and fixed the usability issues of the existing ES&S app and redesigned it so that it is relatively easy to use. These designs were then handed off to the development team to integrate these changes into the existing app gradually. I presented my final prototype to Sales agents and received great feedback.
StayNow recently raised $2.2 million in seed funding, as highlighted in this article. The funding supports StayNow’s mission to empower independent hotel owners by providing them with low-commission booking options and better visibility in the OTA market, ensuring fair competition with larger hotel chains.
“Your focus on user pain points, data-driven design decisions, and a well-structured UX strategy makes this a solid, industry-standard case study. The way you've incorporated affinity mapping, user personas, and a design system shows thoughtful UX leadership.”
Sidd , StayNow
"What stands out is how you kept the business goals and user experience balanced.."
Product Owner, StayNow
Learnings
Designing StayNow reinforced the significance of aligning UX decisions with business goals. While improving user experience was the primary focus, every feature also needed to support independent hoteliers, drive app adoption, and increase conversions. Striking this balance was key to ensuring both user satisfaction and business growth.