A LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP : RECONNECTING HOTELS WITH THEIR GUESTS VIA INTUITIVE DESIGN

Abstract: Currently for travel planning, guests will research via hotel websites while still preferring to book through third-party sites, which leads to a disconnect between hotels and their guests. A chat widget artifact that is added onto the hotel’s website and linked through messaging applications was created by a start-up company, Bookboost, to bridge this gap. The current intuitiveness of the artifact and future improvements that may increase intuitiveness was investigated through a case study of user and expert analysis. 10 participants – 5 hotel staff users and 5 guest users – were sampled at hotel lobbies via systematic sampling and non-random sampling. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 65 years old, with 30% being millennials. Task analysis, an interview, and a questionnaire were used for user analysis. The researcher acted as an evaluator and examined the artifact for flaws and possible improvements using activity theory’s human-artifact model (HAM). Analyses suggest that current intuitiveness is fairly high, but there is room for improvement. There seems to be a difference between millennials and non-millennials, especially regarding the amount of time taken and preference for the artifact (versus more familiar methods for communicating with others). Interest and comfort in technology usage was a factor in intuitiveness. Generally, those more comfortable with technology had higher zone of proximal development (ZPD) scores. Improvements have been suggested that may increase artifact intuitiveness, although this was not tested due to the scope of the study. Future research can continue to examine if the suggested improvements have indeed increased intuitiveness in the artifact for users of all ages.