Marriott has agreed to act on my user research recommendation made in your memo, and has asked your agency to take on a user research project as part of their broader re-design program. In your role as user research practitioner, you have now been asked to create the inputs to a user research plan for Marriot’s digital properties.

1. MARRIOTT HOTELS RESEARCH PLAN

2. SUMMARY
• Imagine an experience tailored to each
hotel guest. From booking to check out,
from dining to entertainment, every
request is met in a timely and efficient
manner. This is where we want to take
Marriot hotels, but where do we begin?
• In order to achieve this experience, we
need to review the current condition of
the user's experience. By assessing what
the hardships are, what's been
successful and some areas for
improvement, we will deliver an action
plan that will help Marriott Hotels
achieve their goals.

3. BUSINESS GOALS
• Increase hotel bookings via digital properties
by 10%
• Increase reservations for their Luxury and
Lifestyle Collection hotel categories
• Gain 10,000 incremental members of the
Marriott Rewards loyalty program in the first
quarter after the redesign
• Decrease by 20% the number of people
starting and then abandoning a reservation
• Increase by 5% the number of people
choosing a hotel and flight package (vs. just
booking their hotel alone)

4. HOW GOALS AREN'T BEING MET
• Website not optimized for mobile/tablet users.
• Poor visuals, video and photography
• Insufficient showcasing of the Marriott event space and
property information
• Possible shortage of customization when hotel guests
are booking
• Pricing is either hard to find or confusing to understand
• Overlooking the important of Search Engine
Optimization
• Demonstrating a one-size fits all approach to hotel
booking
• The lack of sufficient customer service hours
• Having extremely high requirements to meet
certain elite statuses
• The lack of enticing rewards
• Property upkeep.
• The lack of unifying sister brand reward
programs
• Packages appear expensive or lack discounts for
booking
• The website booking system loads slowly due
too much multimedia content
• The absence of a return stay option for valued
guests.

5. HOW CAN MARRIOTT
ADDRESS THE ISSUES?
• Redesign the website to work
on both mobile and tablets.
• Offer a discount when
booking on a portable device.
• Use the iPhone’s fingerprint
scanner to preload guest
information and Marriott
Rewards number.
• Add Marriott brand images
that invoke luxury.

6. HERE ARE YOUR USER RESEARCH QUESTIONS
So What Are Your Guests Looking For?

7. • What is the demographic makeup of our user population?
• How do people choose a hotel?
• Why do people start a hotel search and then not complete
a reservation?
• When do people use the Marriott website vs. the mobile
app?
• What value are customers looking for in a hotel loyalty
program?

8. FOCUS GROUPS AND USER
TESTING THAT ADDRESS CLIENT
QUESTIONS
• Conduct a focus group to understand
what guests want in their hotels loyalty
program.
• Conduct user tests to demonstrate the
success rate of booking via the mobile
website vs the desktop version.
• Poll recent hotel guests and conduct a
focus group to understand what made
them choose Marriott over their
competitors.
• Conduct a focus group with hotel
rewards customers to understand what
makes them loyal to a particular hotel
brand.

9. OUR GOAL ORIENTED QUESTIONS
• How many users book hotels with a smartphone or tablet device?
• What makes a guest loyal to a hotel brand?
• How frequently do guests shop around for the hotel deals?
• What’s the benefit of booking with places like Travelocity, Orbit, Trivago,
etc.
• Are mobile apps the way to go to book hotel stays?
• What makes a hotel’s loyalty program attractive?
• What makes a website attractive to a business guest, family, or vacationer?

10. RESEARCH SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
• When booking a hotel, what’s the most
common device you’ve used?
• Can you give us a time where you’ve
abandoned a reservation?
• Do you belong to a rewards program? What
makes brand X’s loyalty program attractive?
• What are some of the loyalty programs
benefits that you like and dislike?
• What are some of your favorite places to look
for hotel deals and packages?
• Can you demonstrate how you search for
hotel discounts or discounted packages?
• What mobile platform are you more familiar
with? Android or Apple?
• Would you consider yourself a person who is
tech savvy person? Why or why not?
• Would you be more inclined to use a mobile
application that utilizes the iPhone’s
fingerprint scanner? Why or why not?
• Would you say that being able to check-in
with a mobile application is important to you?
And Why?
• When looking at a hotel’s website/mobile
app would you say imagery/video gives you
an idea of what the hotel is like? And Why?

11. Working together on our next steps

12. Focus Groups
User Testing
At Home User Testing

13. Prototype Testing
Website Testing
Website Testing

14. REVAMPING THE MOBILE APP
Our Final Recommendation: