Responsibilities
Team
Duration
Tools
Usability testing, Persona mapping, Wireframing, High fidelity prototyping, User testing
Abhishek Dhane
Nicholas Yuan
Pranav Meda
Poorva Jain
Sep 2023 - Dec 2023
Figma
Zoom
Google Sheets
01 Problem
In US, there are two major vacation rentals VRBO and Airbnb. VRBO has 48 million users compared to Airbnb’s 150 million. Airbnb has almost 3x users of VRBO.
The objective of this UX case study is to explore the underlying reasons for VRBO's lower user adoption compared to Airbnb and develop design solutions to enhance VRBO's user experience, thereby increasing its competitiveness in the vacation rental market.
02 Kicking Off
We began by conducting a competitive analysis, comparing VRBO, Airbnb, and Booking.com. Our goal was to identify gaps between these three products and understand what differentiates them. through this analysis.
Parameter
VRBO
AirBnB
Booking.com
Accommodation Options
Focuses on private properties like homes, apartments, and condos, with options to specify accessibility needs.
Offers diverse accommodations, including private and shared spaces, with filters for special needs.
Provides a commercialized selection, including hotels and vacation rentals, with added vehicle and flight arrangements.
Searching for a rental
Features curated destination lists and travel guides on the home page.
Allows filtering by property type and map view early in the search process, enhancing discoverability.
Includes a search feature for locations and accommodations, with additional offers and car rental options.
Owner-Guest Communication
Emphasizes direct communication between guests and owners, with an in-app messaging center.
Encourages communication through a prominent in-app message center.
Lacks emphasis on direct communication; interactions occur externally.
Review and Rating System
Users rate rentals from 1-5 stars, with host replies allowed.
Offers detailed star ratings and aggregate traits, with a search bar for specific reviews.
Provides a comprehensive system with verified reviews and detailed parameters like cleanliness.
Cancellation Policies
Standardized policies with partial or full refunds based on timing.
Varies by rental, with flexible cancellation details based on host preferences.
Highly flexible, varying by accommodation type and policy.
We discovered that while Airbnb and VRBO have similar user flows for the booking process, there were distinct differences in how each platform handles user engagement and feature accessibility.
03 Problem Identification
04 User Testing
Search Experience: While VRBO provides curated destination lists, it lacks the robust filtering and search options available early in the user journey on Airbnb.
Feature Accessibility: VRBO's unique features, such as the OneKeyCash and map functionalities, are less intuitive and less prominently integrated into the user flow.
Communication Channels: Although VRBO emphasizes direct communication between guests and owners, this is not as seamless or prominent as on Airbnb.
Usability of Additional Features: The travel guides and property page features on VRBO are less user-friendly.
These gaps suggest that while VRBO has similar core functionalities to Airbnb and Booking.com, it falls short in delivering a seamless, intuitive user experience, which likely contributes to its smaller user base. This sets the stage for user testing to pinpoint specific areas for improvement.
We dived into a 2 week intensive research sprint with 8 user tests and 70+ responses on surveys.
UX Redesign
VRBO- “Vacation Rental By Owner” is a popular platform that connects travelers with vacation rentals by different property owners.
As a part of one of my classes at San Jose State University, ‘Human Computer Interaction’, I worked on a redesign of a product with an evidence-based design solution. My group chose to work on VRBO a travel booking app which is vacation rentals by owner similar to Airbnb but less popular among the users.