FOUND
Is a start-up that delivers personalized travel recommendations to the guests of vacation rental properties.
Overview
Business to Growing Business
The vacation rental industry is growing at a staggering rate of 6.9% In the US, there are
* over 2 million rental properties
* 26,000 vacation rental property management companies
Millennials and Gen Zers are driving the growth in vacation rentals as they prefer the more local, customized approach to traditional corporate hotels. To gain traction in this competitive market, it's crucial that rental companies deliver personalized experiences.
One attempt made by most rentals to provide a personal touch is the notorious printed guidebook. 84% of properties include one but most guests don't use them. A key feature of these guidebooks is often the local attractions section. Unfortunately, these recommendations are usually generic. Maybe that's why 87% of rental companies want to improve their local recommendations.
That's where Found comes in. Found is a start-up aimed at delivering personalized travel recommendations curated for the guests of vacation rentals.
By providing a contemporary travel guide experience, their platform can offer value to guest stays, build guest loyalty and increase revenue. Found came to us to design their MVP. They will be releasing exclusively through business to business in their early stages. They plan to offer their services in white label form so that rental companies can market it as part of their own brands.
Project scope and role
Project Manager + Designer
Found came to us to build them an MVP. We had four weeks to build out a prototype from scratch. I worked as Project Manager and Interface Designer together with a Lead Visual Designer and a Lead Researcher. In addition to managing the timeline and running team and client meetings, my responsibilities included:
User interface design of the mobile prototype and portions of the desktop
Conducting user and domain research
Crafting user persona and user journey
Running usability tests
Personalized recommendations
Discover new places
All info in one places
Integrated feedback feature
Research
How do people plan their trips?
Through our survey of eleven travelers and an additional five user interviews, we discovered:
Persona
Our users universally described the frustration of information overload, unverified sources, and poor organization. Morgan's experience below is representative as she seeks information from many sources online, which may or may not be relevant to her interests and then forgets all the recommendations by the time she arrives to her destinations
Our users universally described the frustration of information overload, unverified sources, and poor organization. Morgan's experience below is representative as she seeks information from many sources online, which may or may not be relevant to her interests and then forgets all the recommendations by the time she arrives to her destinations
Data Gathering
Data is the backbone of the Found platform
Found needs to gather information about users to tailor recommendations for them and also needs user feedback to hone their deep learning process and recommendation database.
The initial information gathering process largely depends on the platforms of future rental company partners who will already have an onboarding process established that provides basic guest info. We created a model for additional questions that could be asked of guests to create more complete travel profiles.
The initial conceptualization of feedback revolved around overlays that appeared when user GPS registered that the user was in the recommendation location. However, because of budgetary constraints, the MVP is mobile responsive rather than a native app. For that reason and because users expressed privacy conerns, it was determined that pop-ups were not the best option.
Instead, we integrated the rating system into the website so that users would be be enticed to give feedback but would be able to choose whether to do so.
White labeling
Vacation Rental Company Integration
As Found will be rolling out their MVP directly to rental companies, their travelers will all be using the platform after booking accommodations. The Trips window allows guests to access each of their curated travel guides through information cards associated with their original bookings. This page is likely to be the most altered depending on the company who purchases the Found platform and will reflect the company's own booking process.
Prototype
