Sea Gardens BEach Resort

Sea Gardens Resort is a coastal hotel located on the west side of Jamaica. Previously their bookings were historically dominated by phone reservations and high-commission Online Travel Agencies (OTAs).

Goals: Shift 30 % of total reservations to direct digital channelsProvide potential guest a separate avenue to book with Sea Gardens onlineReduce OTA commissions by 15 %Grow overall occupancy year-over-year

Being mostly the sole UX designer for this project I incorporated various methods to achieve the aforementioned goals, the first thing I started with was Research.

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Method

Data

Key Findings

Stakeholder workshops

6 execs, 4 GM

Revenue leakage & limited customer insight seen as major threats

Analytics audit

18 k past reservations

64 % came via OTAs; average commission 21 %

Field interviews

24 guests, 8 front-desk agents

Guests want “hassle-free self-service” & flexible date changes

Competitive teardown

5 peer resort sites

Best-in-class funnels surface real-time availability in 3 screens

Diary study

10 leisure travelers, 2 weeks

Trip planning spans multiple devices; trust & price transparency drive choice

Insight themes

Fragmented discovery – Guests juggle OTAs, hotel site, and phone to compare deals.

Hidden fees erode trust – Mandatory resort fees appear late, causing drop-offs.

‍Mobile is crucial – 57 % of research sessions start on a phone, yet the current site is not responsive.

‍Local experiences matter – Guests cited on-property events as tie-breakers when resorts appear similar.

PROBLEM STATEMENTS

Front-desk staff spend up to 3 hrs/day booking and changing reservations because guests can’t self-manage online.

How might we’s

Based on research and the problem statement the team and i worked on some specific How Might We’s. Some of these are:

HMW surface transparent, all-in pricing in once the customer is looking at a total cost?

‍HMW let guests compare prices easily without juggling multiple channels?

‍HMW convert potential visitors who are mobile first?

‍HMW cut reservation-change calls by empowering guests to self-serve?

DESIGN ACTIVITIES

Activity

Outcome

Personas & JTBD mapping

Two primary personas: Mobile-First Direct Booker and Pricey Savvy Planner

Customer journey mapping

Pinpointed high-anxiety “price confirmation” moments

Crazy-8s & Lightning Demos

Generated 48 layout ideas; selected 3 patterns for prototyping

Low-fi wireframes (mobile-first)

Focused on progress bar & sticky price card

Hi-fi Figma prototype + micro-copy workshop