How can Hyatt deliver personalized, thoughtful care to their loyalty guests by connecting a previously disparate digital and physical experience?

When they hired us, Hyatt already had a mobile app that could open doors. But they wanted a full on digital-transformation. They needed to connect the digital app experience to what was actually happening on the hotel property, and in doing so, care for their guests above and beyond a screen.

Create the Mobile App Vision

Hyatt allowed us the time to dream up how to achieve this big goal - changing their current digital products, bringing them up to speed with their competitors, but also leveraging new and emerging technology to deliver something highly personal to their guests. Below is an early concept based on research guest pain points - the experience is focused and streamlined, giving guests only what they need in the moment - turning data and engagement into a highly personalized experience.

Concept Hypothesis

Concept Sketches

Key Screen Wireframes (these wireframes illustrate a detail of design in order to tell a story, not to send to development)

We then interviewed travelers regarding different concepts and took their feedback to the next round of design and iteration.

Understand the Customers & the Pain Points

As we proceeded to methodically work with the client prioritizing each guest pain points we would solve for, we built a product framework for each new feature going out. Is this solving the right problem? What are the knowns and unknowns going forward? What are the business goals this achieves and what KPIs will tell us if it’s truly successful?

Product Framework (abbreviated)

Test Your Assumptions and Validate Pain Points

Since we can’t fully have empathy for 100% of customers all of the time, we must find a way to test our assumptions about the pain points we’ve assigned them.

Analyzing an interview behind the scenes…

Our team interviewing a frequent traveler about transparency behind a digital concierge chat

Facilitating a focus group to gather guest journeys and understand the pain points regarding privacy and housekeeping

Get Out Into the Real World and Learn for Yourself

Actually living (or observing) an experience can be critical to understanding both your customers and your competitors.

Who has the best property discovery > search > book mobile experiences? Test to find out…

The best part is getting to be the guest… Here’s an example of an assessment of how different brands fulfill in-room requests.

Implementation - Customer Experience & Service Design

Because Hyatt wanted to bridge the gap between the digital and physical customer service guests receive at the hotel, there was a great deal of collaboration that had to happen between guests, staff, current legacy systems on property, and newly integrated solutions. It was our job to highlight how these digital features would actually come alive and be a success in the real world.

Basic customer service flow for scheduling housekeeping

Service Design “Map” for each stakeholder and system in guest chat

Annotated Wireframes and Flows of App Experience

Example of Schedule Housekeeping Documentation based on day/reservation states

App Roadmap Concepts

Hyatt was focused not only on a first release, but the overall evolution of their digital platforms. One of their main values is guest wellbeing - how could they bring that to life in an app? I was tasked at building out a roadmap for this feature - after understanding their systems, what would I recommend they do now, and what should they plan to do in the near future?

App Roadmap Items around sleep, wellbeing, and guest requests

Results

Hyatt launched the new design of their mobile app on July 31st, 2019 to the public. Here are some of the results so far:

Thanks for scrolling! My favorite part of this project was the competitive research and analysis - how could it not be? Getting to stay in all different sorts of hotels and play with technology, request services, and observe how guests are cared for is an absolute dream job.