Prince Smart Inn's motto, "seamless and innovative," is evident in the manner in which they greet and treat guests during their stay. However, without an app that facilitates a smooth transition from the digital to physical realm, customers of Smart Inn may encounter discrepancies between promised and delivered services, leading to feelings of frustration and stress.
Through this project I aim to create a new app that makes the process from booking to checking out easy and ensure that the digital service aligns seamlessly with Smart Inn's hospitality to ensue a consistent experience.
How might we develop a user-centric app for Prince Smart Inn that merges the digital and physical experiences, ensuring a seamless alignment with the hotel's motto, "seamless and innovative"?
To gather context around the problem statement I began with researching Prince Smart Inn and the company that owns the chain. Owned by Seibu Corporation, Prince Smart Inn is the fourth hotel brand under the company and is considered to be a mid-scale hotel. With it's marketing strategies and locations, it can be seen that their main target users are those traveling for business or low-budget travelers looking for a comfortable and easily accessible place to stay.
Over the first few days of my internship I gathered data from popular booking sites and apps to analyze what was working and what was not.
Airbnb
Booking.com
Hotels.com
Trivago
Expedia
Whether you are a first time user or a returning customer, I created a flow that would allow the user to complete the booking process in just a few clicks. I added features such as being able to check in luggage or viewing hotel amenities along with the booking process to avoid having the user search for it - avoiding stress and frustration.
To accelerate the check in process, users can upload their passport information and check in ahead of time to skip the line once they arrive at the hotel.
Once settled into their room, customers can access all information pertaining to their stay through this app. From requesting amenities to their room key, everything can be done at the convenience of this app.
To retain and keep customers coming back, I created a reward system in which users are able to redeem points gained after stays for free meals and more.
My internship at teamLab Japan has been one of the most influential experiences in my design career. The short timeline pushed me to work fast and make design decisions quickly without sacrificing good design. Over the course of my project I learned many valuable lessons. Here are a few of them.
After my final presentation to the design team I realized that I still have many points to improve upon and I realized that the design of a product never truly ends. Here are some potential points I gathered that I could improve upon.
