Travellers have a wealth of options when it comes to accommodations, especially with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) rising in popularity. Through a digital audit, PSYKHE evaluates areas where APAC brands might be falling behind their digitally-savvy competitors.

Written by Shin Chan

Asia Pacific is poised to lead a resurgence of the travel industry in 2024, with Skift projecting a 20% increase in revenue in the region. With both leisure and business travel surging in the post-pandemic era, players in the hospitality industry need to be well-positioned to capture travellers’ shifting interests and demands. A frictionless digital experience in the travel journey is a critical opportunity for brands to attract, engage, and build trust with potential guests.

The APAC Hospitality Industry

Research conducted by Google and Kantar shows that travellers from APAC consider only 5 brands on average when making travel bookings. Travel accommodation providers must stand out fast to make it into users’ narrow consideration sets; providing an excellent website experience is among the most influential ways to set a brand apart.

On the customer loyalty front, prior positive booking experiences are considered by at least 33% of users as they narrow their options, Expedia found. Those who are satisfied with their overall trip-planning journey are three times more likely to have strong repurchasing intent with the same accommodation provider. Investing in users’ digital booking experiences will thus move the needle toward increased booking revenue and lowered acquisition costs.

Heuristics Evaluation of Regional Hospitality Sites

PSYKHE has worked with a number of regional hospitality brands over the past few years. Our User Experience (UX) experts applied PSYKHE’s Hospitality Heuristics Framework to independently assess the websites of 3 regional hospitality brands: Frasers Hospitality, Millennium Hotels and Resorts World Sentosa.

Heuristics are rules of thumb based on design best practices and frequently occurring UX issues. Heuristics evaluations are a cost-effective method to identify problem areas with a user interface without having to test with participants; they are also powerful in benchmarking exercises against competitors in the market.

Our evaluation of these hospitality brands’ customer-facing desktop sites yielded insight into their current usability scores as well as some critical design gaps.

Our Framework is broken down into 6 main pillars:

1. Ease of Use: Evaluates the amount of effort users must put in to learn and use the site

2. Control and Familiarity: Evaluates how confident and in control the user feels when taking action

3. Feedback and Error States: Evaluates how well the site provides feedback, as well as prevents and handles errors

4. Aesthetics and Engagement: Evaluates the attractiveness of the site’s visual feel and content

5. Credibility: Evaluates the amount of trust the site inspires in users

6. Accessibility: Evaluates the inclusivity of the site toward users with disabilities or different needs

These pillars, alongside their series of sub-questions, form the basis of users’ experiences within hospitality websites and are weighted equally for each website’s final usability score.

Top 3 Critical Design Gaps in Hospitality Sites

All three hospitality brands faced significant gaps in the Ease of Use pillar and saw varied performance with other metrics. Three major points of improvement were identified that, once improved, will bring measurable business impact.

1. Showcase the value proposition clearly on the home page

Frasers Hospitality, Millennium Hotels and Resorts World Sentosa all have a significant opportunity to strengthen their value proposition and differentiators on their home page. Travel accommodation brands must showcase their unique value-add clearly and early – travellers’ wealth of options and short attention spans means that brands have only a few seconds to pique users’ interests.

Homepages that do not have inspiring visuals and well-defined value offerings will suffer low user engagement rates. According to the Nielsen Norman Group, users spend the majority of their time and focus above the fold of a page before they decide whether to scroll down or click further. The content on the homepage is the make-or-break moment for accommodation providers: users need to see enough reason to add your brand to their consideration set. Only then will the rest of your site have the opportunity to convince them to make a reservation.

Marina Bay Sands’ website is a powerful regional example of a homepage that makes a statement. Users are intrigued by the “world like no other” tagline and compelled by the grandeur captured in the hero visual; one scroll then brings them to Marina Bay Sands’ promise of unparalleled luxury and exceptionality.

2. Make it easy to compare between options

Frasers Hospitality and Resorts World Sentosa can ease users’ browsing journeys by better supporting comparison of properties, rooms and prices on their sites. Users looking to make hotel reservations are seeking the best possible option. Travel is a relatively high-stakes endeavour that involves thought, consideration and planning; users need to feel confident that your brand’s offerings meet their needs. Giving them suitable choices and enabling simple comparison will significantly ease users’ mental load.

Baymard’s travel accommodation research found that straightforward and clear property information is crucial in helping users make faster decisions. This includes property locations as well as prices of rooms. Brands with multiple properties within a city should help users select the hotel most aligned with their location or style preferences; side-by-side placement of various rooms’ characteristics allows users to quickly judge which room type best meets their needs. An easy selection process is paramount to users’ positive experiences with your site and brand, thus building long-term customer loyalty.

Agoda makes comparing hotel options straightforward by fronting crucial details about each property. Users do not have to click on each property in order to view the location, guest ratings and lowest price, enabling them to make an informed decision early in their journey. Guests can immediately identify properties that are most suited to their needs.

3. Provide alternatives to enrich and prolong user journeys

All three brands currently cause their users’ browsing journeys to terminate prematurely. While searching for accommodation, users inevitably input search parameters that return “no available results”. Hospitality websites should go the extra mile in such cases to provide users with appropriate alternatives. This allows users to continue with their reservation journey without facing a dead end.

Alternative property, date or room recommendations can save users significant frustration and confusion during their reservation journey. Salesforce research shows that relevant recommendations can drive revenue, increase conversion rate by 4.6X and contribute to longer visits. Users are also likely to return to sites that make it easy for them to find what they want, thus fostering ongoing brand loyalty.

Expedia’s booking engine displays an error statement that provides value to users. On top of indicating that there are “no rooms available” for the user’s search parameters, it provides a concrete suggestion as to what action to take next. The travel giant also suggests similar properties with availability, enabling the user to continue with their browsing journey at a hotel that better meets their needs.

The Importance of Customer Experience

Investing in user and customer experience (CX) drives significant business returns. A McKinsey analysis shows that companies who are investing in CX achieved more than double the revenue growth of “CX laggards” between 2016 and 2022. As APAC travellers get more familiar with their accommodation options and one-stop-shop online travel agencies become more widespread, delivering an excellent customer experience has become non-negotiable.

A comprehensive heuristics evaluation is the first step to determine where design and UX gaps lie in your website. On top of knowing your usability score, it is important to test your site with real users and do a deep dive into your website’s performance analytics to build a holistic understanding of your current digital touchpoints and define a delightful, differentiated experience.

• Usability testing allows you to see users interact with your site in real-time. Pinpoint the pages and elements that are creating confusion and learn your users’ stories, thought processes and unique contexts.

• Analytics evaluation looks at data collected about your customers’ behaviour. Get an aggregate of the major problem areas based on your users’ journeys on your website and have the numbers to shore up your UX needs to stakeholders.

Delighting your customers helps you stay ahead of the hospitality curve and deliver business results. Contact us to find out more about our Heuristics Framework and better engage your customers.

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