Work

Experience

Blog

FAQ

Resume

Work

Experience

Blog

FAQ

Resume

Work

Experience

Blog

FAQ

Resume

Staynow OTA Platform

StayNow is an OTA platform aimed at simplifying hotel bookings for travelers and operations for independent hotel owners. In this case study, I walk through how thoughtful UX design transformed complex, fragmented experiences into a seamless, user-friendly journey for both guests and hoteliers.

My role

Sr UX Designer

Duration

Duration

1 year

Location

Location

Monterey, California

Design team

Design team

2 Junior UX Designers

Industry

Industry

Travel & Hospitality

Funding raised

Funding raised

$2.2 Million (Seed)

Challenge

Independent hotels often struggle to compete with large hotel chains due to limited visibility, high third-party commissions, and lack of direct digital tools. These challenges prevent them from reaching their full potential and growing sustainably. Our goal was to design a platform that empowers independent hotels to stand out, attract more guests, and manage their business efficiently without relying on costly intermediaries.a

Results

As part of StayNow’s 0–1 product build, we designed a unified ecosystem including the Super admin dashboard, Hotel admin panel, Customer-facing app, and website. Each touchpoint was crafted with a clean, intuitive interface to reduce friction, simplify navigation, and drive meaningful user actions across both hotelier and guest journeys.

25%

Sign-up to property listing conversion in the first 30 days

35%

User retention in the first month

300+

Properties onboarded in the first release cycle

Research

Competitive analysis

We studied platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and MakeMyTrip to identify UX patterns, gaps, and opportunities. Insights from their onboarding flows, map interfaces, and listing tools helped shape StayNow’s guest experience and hotelier dashboard with a focus on clarity and usability.

Competitive analysis

We studied platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and MakeMyTrip to identify UX patterns, gaps, and opportunities. Insights from their onboarding flows, map interfaces, and listing tools helped shape StayNow’s guest experience and hotelier dashboard with a focus on clarity and usability.

Competitive analysis

We studied platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and MakeMyTrip to identify UX patterns, gaps, and opportunities. Insights from their onboarding flows, map interfaces, and listing tools helped shape StayNow’s guest experience and hotelier dashboard with a focus on clarity and usability.

Key findings

Need to build an OTA platform that excels at building trust through storytelling, reviews, and visual design.

Common gap: All platforms have complex workflows for small property owners, making onboarding and performing regular hotel operations overwhelming.

Key findings

Need to build an OTA platform that excels at building trust through storytelling, reviews, and visual design.

Common gap: All platforms have complex workflows for small property owners, making onboarding overwhelming.

Key findings

Need to build an OTA platform that excels at building trust through storytelling, reviews, and visual design.

Common gap: All platforms have complex workflows for small property owners, making onboarding overwhelming.

User Research

We conducted in-depth user interviews and contextual inquiries, including shadowing hotel owners, to understand their real-world challenges with existing OTA platforms and their Hotel admin panels.

This mixed-method approach gave us a well-rounded perspective and helped shape user personas, product direction, and feature priorities.

User Research

We conducted in-depth user interviews and contextual inquiries, including shadowing hotel owners, to understand their real-world challenges with existing OTA platforms and their Hotel admin panels.

This mixed-method approach gave us a well-rounded perspective and helped shape user personas, product direction, and feature priorities.

User Research

We conducted in-depth user interviews and contextual inquiries, including shadowing hotel owners, to understand their real-world challenges with existing OTA platforms and their Hotel admin panels.

This mixed-method approach gave us a well-rounded perspective and helped shape user personas, product direction, and feature priorities.

16 Days

On-ground shadowing and contextual inquiries with hoteliers to uncover real operational pain points.

On-ground shadowing and contextual inquiries with hoteliers to uncover real operational pain points.

On-ground shadowing and contextual inquiries with hoteliers to uncover real operational pain points.

50+

User interviews with hoteliers, travelers, and OTA experts to gather deep qualitative insights.

10+

Datapoints synthesized including field notes, journey maps, and interviews to define key personas and core problem areas.

Key findings

"Hoteliers feared being buried in crowded listings. Highlighting key amenities and guest-loved features helps listings stand out and reach the right audience faster."

"Hotel owners expressed frustration with the limited control they have on existing OTAs (for example, restrictions around pricing, content, and direct guest communication)"

"Travelers reported that changing or canceling bookings is one of the most friction-filled parts of their experience."

"Hoteliers often juggle multiple channels and find the process cumbersome and time-consuming."

"Many travelers felt overwhelmed by lengthy or complicated booking forms, indicating that a more streamlined, step-by-step process could reduce cognitive load and improve completion rates."


And yep, this is just a peek there’s a whole buffet of insights, but I’ll spare you the scroll (for now). 😄


Key findings

Need to build an OTA platform that excels at building trust through storytelling, reviews, and visual design.

Common gap: All platforms have complex workflows for small property owners, making onboarding overwhelming.

Key findings

Need to build an OTA platform that excels at building trust through storytelling, reviews, and visual design.

Common gap: All platforms have complex workflows for small property owners, making onboarding overwhelming.

Experience mapping

Experience Mapping helped us visualize the end-to-end journey for both hoteliers and guests spotting key pain points, emotions, and opportunities across each touchpoint. This guided our design priorities with clarity and empathy.

Experience mapping

Experience Mapping helped us visualize the end-to-end journey for both hoteliers and guests spotting key pain points, emotions, and opportunities across each touchpoint. This guided our design priorities with clarity and empathy.

Experience mapping

Experience Mapping helped us visualize the end-to-end journey for both hoteliers and guests spotting key pain points, emotions, and opportunities across each touchpoint. This guided our design priorities with clarity and empathy.

User Personas

We crafted user personas based on interviews, surveys, and field research to represent key user types, helping align design decisions with real needs, behaviors, and goals.

Small Property Owner


Property Size 10–15 rooms

Location Tier 2 town

Tech Comfort Low


Needs

  • Easy onboarding and listing setup

  • Simple tools to update room status


Pain Points

  • Overwhelmed by complex OTA dashboards

  • Doesn’t understand how to price competitively

  • Misses bookings due to lack of real-time sync

Boutique Hotel Owner


Property Size 20–40 rooms

Location Tourist-heavy Tier 2 city

Tech Comfort Moderate


Needs

  • Unified dashboard with calendar and pricing control

  • Reporting on performance and occupancy trends


Pain Points

  • No easy way to run discounts or track trends

  • Feels invisible on major OTAs

  • Switching between tools wastes time

Multi-property Owner


Property Size 3+ properties

Location Tier 1 city

Tech Comfort High


Needs

  • Multi-property management from one login

  • Real-time analytics and price optimization tools


Pain Points

  • Struggles with bulk edits

  • Too many logins, lack of central control

  • Needs integration with external CRMs or tools

Design system & IA

Creating the Design System

We built a scalable design system from the ground up using design tokens for color, spacing, and typography, ensuring consistency across the web, app, and admin panels. Components were modular, responsive, and optimized for reusability to support rapid product growth and visual harmony.

Information Architecture

We mapped out a clear and scalable information architecture to streamline user flows across the Super Admin, Hotel Admin, and guest-facing platforms.

Final Designs

Handling Map Pin Congestion


In crowded travel areas, overlapping pins made property discovery frustrating. We introduced smart clustering, priority based sorting, and interactive tooltips, making it easier for users to explore, zoom in, and find the right listing without the clutter.

Before

After

Seamless Booking


We designed a frictionless booking flow with intuitive steps, transparent pricing upfront, and clearly stated cancellation policies building trust and reducing drop-offs at checkout.

Hotel Admin Panel


The Hotel Admin panel was designed to simplify daily operations for property owners. It includes a clear dashboard, intuitive listing and calendar management, real-time booking controls, and smart pricing tools. The goal was to reduce complexity and give hoteliers full control without technical friction.

StayNow App


The StayNow app was designed to offer travelers a fast, intuitive, and trustworthy booking experience. With clear navigation, smart filters, map-based discovery, and upfront pricing, users can easily find and book stays that match their preferences. Key focus areas included building trust through transparent policies, rich visuals, and simplified checkout

“ Working with Rohith was a game changer. He had this rare ability to deeply understand both our users and our vision, and turned that into experiences that just made sense. The way they approached problems with empathy and clarity is a big reason StayNow feels so intuitive today.”

Siddharth Raj

CPO, Co-founder | StayNow

Conclusion

Building StayNow from 0 to 1 wasn’t just about launching a product it was about solving real problems for real people. By blending deep user research with clear design thinking, we turned complexity into clarity for both hoteliers and travelers. From streamlining onboarding to creating trust-driven booking flows, every decision was rooted in empathy and usability. The result? A platform that feels effortless, intuitive, and ready to scale.