Case study · Research & mobile app

Hoteligo

A hotel booking app built on transparency and speed — designed to stand out against the giants.

UX research Product design High-fidelity prototype Developer handoff

Client: Hoteligo (startup)
Role: Product designer
Timescale: 1 month
Team: Solo
Tools: Miro, Figma

Hoteligo app screens on three phones: search, destination suggestions and date picker

01 — Overview

Booking without the frustration

Hoteligo is a startup entering a market owned by Booking.com, Expedia and Airbnb.

The goal: a booking app that builds trust through transparency and puts what matters — reviews, videos, real prices — up front, so people can decide quickly.

02 — The challenge

Stand out against the giants — by making booking feel effortless.

01A saturated market with well-known competitors

02Cluttered filters that overwhelm users

03Unclear pricing and hidden fees

04Low trust when reviews are missing

03 — Research

Testing the competition

I reviewed usability recordings and ran my own session on four apps — searching, picking dates and booking.

Booking.com Expedia Barceló Doyle Collection

Two Miro boards of research sticky notes grouped by screen, colour-coded as goals, behaviours, pain points, mental models and positives — **Grouping the research** · Goals, behaviours, pain points and positives, sorted in Miro

01Filters and unclear pricing overwhelmed users

02No integrated reviews meant less trust

03Date pickers caused frustration

04Hotel pages had too much text and too little inspiration

Key insight Travellers want a fast, transparent way to decide — not endless searching.

04 — Strategy

Transparency, decision support, speed

Business goalHelp Hoteligo stand out with integrated reviews, destination videos and smart pricing defaults.

User goalLet travellers decide with confidence, fast — no clutter, hidden fees or irrelevant filters.

Design opportunities TripAdvisor trust scores Destination videos on the home screen Single-scroll date selection Smart default pricing per country Realistic room imagery

05 — Process

From insight to handoff

01Competitor testingRecordings and a live session to find the pain points

02Journey mappingResearch grouped in Miro and a happy path defined: launch, search, filter, review, book

03Sketches and wireframesHome, calendar, hotel list, details and booking, with flow diagrams for every state

04High-fidelity prototypeFigma prototype with filterable maps, integrated reviews and image carousels

05Developer handoffAnnotated buttons, filters, carousels and error states, with live-updating sort

Happy path flow from loading screen through search, calendar, hotel list, map, hotel info and rooms to booking and payment — **The happy path** · Every screen and tap from launch to booking, specified for developers

Hand-drawn sketches of the Hoteligo home screen with video banner and the calendar with flexible dates — **Sketches: home and calendar** · Video banner and ± day flexible dates

Hand-drawn sketches of the hotel list with TripAdvisor score and the map view with prices — **Sketches: hotel list and map** · Reviews, total price and prices on the map

06 — The app

Clear, visual, trustworthy

Hoteligo high-fidelity screens: single-scroll calendar, map view with prices, twin room details and hotel card with TripAdvisor score — **High-fidelity prototype** · Built in Figma

Single-scroll datesPick a range in one move, with ±1–3 day flexibility

Prices on the mapFilterable map view with totals for the whole stay

Real room photosImage carousels so guests know what they’re booking

Reviews up frontTripAdvisor score, no deposit and free cancellation on every card

07 — Outcome 1 month Solo, from competitor research to a developer-ready prototype.

Fewer clicks to bookA streamlined happy path from search to booking

Faster than competitorsQuicker task completion in prototype testing than competitor flows

Built for trustIntegrated reviews and realistic imagery

Developer-readyClear interaction rules and component specs

What’s next Full usability testing with 5+ participants · A/B tests of the home and booking flows · Analytics on time-to-book and drop-off

What I learned Testing earlier and more often — and using adjustable Figma variables — would surface edge cases sooner.

Next project FALKN

YouSpark Digital · Leeds, United Kingdom zu@youspark.digital