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Redefining the digital experience of a fast-growing vacation rental brand
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Date

2024

Industry

Vacation Rental / Hospitality

Type

Digital Transformation

Skills

Experience Strategy

Experience Design

Team

Freddie Scutt

Harriet Dennis

Back
Redefining the digital experience of a fast-growing vacation rental brand
Visit live site

Date

2024

Industry

Vacation Rental / Hospitality

Type

Digital Transformation

Skills

Experience Strategy

Experience Design

Team

Freddie Scutt

Harriet Dennis

Overview

Villatel is an Orlando-based luxury vacation rental and resort brand with 100+ homes across sought-after US destinations. With further expansion underway, including new resorts in development, the brand was rapidly growing its portfolio and proposition for families and groups seeking more than a traditional hotel stay.

The challenge

Villatel’s existing website struggled to scale with the brand’s growth, limiting visibility of new properties and destinations. The challenge was to improve discoverability, clearly communicate product differentiators and create a more intuitive, visually rich experience that better met user needs while driving conversion.

Results

A redesigned website that better served the needs of Villatel’s core family and group audiences, supporting the journey from discovering destinations through to booking multiple vacation homes.

My role

Experience Designer, leading the project end-to-end from discovery and UX strategy through to design and handover to the external development team.

Overview

Villatel is an Orlando-based luxury vacation rental and resort brand with 100+ homes across sought-after US destinations. With further expansion underway, including new resorts in development, the brand was rapidly growing its portfolio and proposition for families and groups seeking more than a traditional hotel stay.

The challenge

Villatel’s existing website struggled to scale with the brand’s growth, limiting visibility of new properties and destinations. The challenge was to improve discoverability, clearly communicate product differentiators and create a more intuitive, visually rich experience that better met user needs while driving conversion.

Results

A redesigned website that better served the needs of Villatel’s core family and group audiences, supporting the journey from discovering destinations through to booking multiple vacation homes.

My role

Experience Designer, leading the project end-to-end from discovery and UX strategy through to design and handover to the external development team.
Restructuring the site architecture to improve page hierarchy and product discovery

We mapped out the new site structure to clearly show how Villatel’s brand, its resorts, and individual properties would be represented. The goal was to make the product architecture easy to understand and capture key features early on, setting a strong foundation before moving into design.

Restructuring the site architecture to improve page hierarchy and product discovery

We mapped out the new site structure to clearly show how Villatel’s brand, its resorts, and individual properties would be represented. The goal was to make the product architecture easy to understand and capture key features early on, setting a strong foundation before moving into design.

Sitemap and information architecture was defined after understanding customer and business priorities.

Removing friction by simplifying product structure

We identified the sheer number of nearly identical property listings as a key blocker to discovery. With over 250 results, users found it difficult to compare and narrow down options to suit thier needs.

By simplifying the product structure and grouping properties by type and size, we made it easier for users to scan, explore, and move toward conversion, while still allowing for personalisation later in the flow.

Removing friction by simplifying product structure

We identified the sheer number of nearly identical property listings as a key blocker to discovery. With over 250 results, users found it difficult to compare and narrow down options to suit thier needs.

By simplifying the product structure and grouping properties by type and size, we made it easier for users to scan, explore, and move toward conversion, while still allowing for personalisation later in the flow.

The proposed product architecture aligns better with user mental model when comparing properties.

Designing high intent and low intent journeys

We designed the discovery experience to accommodate different user behaviours - from those searching with intent to those browsing more openly.

Designing high intent and low intent journeys

We designed the discovery experience to accommodate different user behaviours - from those searching with intent to those browsing more openly.

Key landing pages were identified and journeys mapped out to ensure property discovery was seamless from every entry point.

The new homepage clearly communicates Villatel's value proposition and enables seamless discovery while balancing conversion.

Refining the search experience

We streamlined search to help high-intent users view relevant results quickly. We explored a listing page design that reflects the proposed prouct structure, showing grouped properties by product type to reduce choice paralysis.

We also designed a map view for users who wanted to understand each property’s location in the context of the wider resort.

Refining the search experience

We streamlined search to help high-intent users view relevant results quickly. We explored a listing page design that reflects the proposed prouct structure, showing grouped properties by product type to reduce choice paralysis.

We also designed a map view for users who wanted to understand each property’s location in the context of the wider resort.

The refined search experience is simplified to only display essential search fields, enabling the user to view results quickly.

Displaying properties as groupings on the property listing page helps reduce choice paralysis.

The new search experience was designed mobile-first.

A conversion-first product detail page

The goal of the PDP was to better surface the unique features and details of each property group. We focused on creating a clear, structured layout that highlights key information incuding room configurations and amenities, some of which was missing from the existing design.

A sticky booking panel also enables the user to easily check availability and enter the booking flow.

A conversion-first product detail page

The goal of the PDP was to better surface the unique features and details of each property group. We focused on creating a clear, structured layout that highlights key information incuding room configurations and amenities, some of which was missing from the existing design.

A sticky booking panel also enables the user to easily check availability and enter the booking flow.

All essential information and functionalities either sit above the fold or are easily acessible from the booking panel.

The final property detail page design balances conversion with visually-led components that brings the property to life.

Defining the new multi-home booking journey

The booking flow was enhanced to support users who wanted greater choice and flexibility, particularly those who:

  • Wanted to select a specific property, especially when choosing between themed homes.

  • Wanted to book multiple homes in one transaction, supporting larger groups travelling together.

These needs informed a more flexible booking experience, with a new 'pick my own villa' feature and a new cart enabling multi-home bookings.

Defining the new multi-home booking journey

The booking flow was enhanced to support users who wanted greater choice and flexibility, particularly those who:

  • Wanted to select a specific property, especially when choosing between themed homes.

  • Wanted to book multiple homes in one transaction, supporting larger groups travelling together.

These needs informed a more flexible booking experience, with a new 'pick my own villa' feature and a new cart enabling multi-home bookings.

Various edge-case scenarios like booking for multiple properties, each for different dates were considered when defining the new booking flow.

The new cart functionality enables groups to easily book multiple properties in the same transaction.

The final booking flow consists of an optional 'pick a unit' step and a streamlined checkout step.

The new booking flow design utilises mobile patterns like slide-up drawers to chunck up complex steps.