Overview
The Guestbook is the world’s first cashback hotel loyalty program that rewards members for booking direct at over 800 of the best independent and boutique brand hotels in major travel destinations around the globe.
As part of the expansion strategy and considering The Guestbook vision of “A world where travelers search less and experience more”, the leadership and product development teams decided to develop a travel recommendation mobile application and website in which travelers have access to non-biased, authentic local recommendations. The application/website is called Shrtlst and the locals providing recommendations are called A-Listers. This idea arose from hearing travelers complaining about spending hours on the internet searching and reading reviews from unknown people to determine where to visit, have fun, and dine when on vacation.
NOTE
Please note that only a few parts of the projects (i.e., questions, findings, and recommendations) are shared to ensure compliance with The Guestbook NDA.
Selected Questions
Q1: What criteria do users need to fully believe that the recommendations are authentic and unbiased?
Q2: What criteria do users need to fully believe that the recommendations are from locals?
Q3: How do users choose which piece of information to adopt (among so many?)
Team
Number of Team Members: 9
My Role: Principal Researcher
Method and Analysis
Research Method: Qualitative
Research Design: Focus Group
Data Collection:
Instrument: Open-ended interview guide
Tool: userinterviews.com
Main study: 4 virtual groups of 8 travelers
Data Analysis:
Thematic Analysis
Key Insights
1- The language used to describe experiences, transparency in detailing the behind-the-scenes process, and pictures of locals using the recommended places play a crucial role in authenticity and impartiality.
2- The biography of the A-listers and their pictures in not-so-touristy places can instill more confidence in users that the A-listers are genuinely locals.
3- The most important factors travelers consider when choosing someone's recommendation are the similarity of age range, travel companions, and interests.
Recommendations
The A-listers selected should have diverse interests (casual, old-fashioned, etc), age ranges, (20s, 20s, 40s, etc) and travel style (solo, with a partner, with a friend, etc). Our website and mobile application need to include filtering options for age, travel companions, and interest so that users can narrow down the A-listers to those they are interested in reading their recommendations.
The Shrtlst website and mobile application need to include biographies for all A-Listers and display pictures of them in places around the city that are not overly touristy. These two aspects are important to signify that A-Listers are truly locals.
The uniqueness of each A-Lister's language and tone, the process of selecting and compensating A-Listers, and whether the A-Listers have actually experienced the places they recommend are the determinants of authenticity and impartiality
Impact
This research played a pivotal role in understanding the pain points of travelers who spend excessive time seeking reliable travel advice online. By uncovering user needs, frustrations, and preferences, my work directly informed the development of an intuitive and engaging platform that empowers travelers to plan their trips efficiently while accessing high-quality local insights. The study’s findings also provided actionable recommendations for the leadership and product teams, ensuring Shrtlst aligns with The Guestbook’s mission and resonates with its target audience.
Sample Quotes
Travel With
“For me it depends. If I'm doing a trip, with family, obviously it's totally different, so I might appreciate just some stuff I can do with the kids besides all the touristy stuff. Now if I'm traveling solo or with my husband, it's a different story, you know, then I'm going to be looking for things that I'm interested in doing. Like to do a lot of outdoor stuff.”
Interest Similarity
“Yeah, I agree. I think the only thing you have to make sure is that there's someone who's similar to you or at least has similar interests, you know, like I wouldn't necessarily take a recommendation from someone who is a lot older or a lot younger”
Biography
“I think if it wasn't for the bio, I wouldn't believe that they were locals. Just because um, I've been to Vegas like six times. If it was just like pictures I posted, I don't think it would be enough, but I think the Bi will definitely, adds to the fact that, yeah, they, they are locals, you know, based on that description you read.”
Behind the Scenes
“I guess thinking about how you filter and how do you select locals and how do you get to locals to post recommendation and specific app I will be interested in learning about the process but as in anything it's not one hundred guaranteed….. I mean, one big question for me would be how, how? App owner will drive locals to, you know, what is incentive, right”
Age
“Yeah, I agree. I think the only thing you have to make sure is that there's someone who's similar to you or at least has similar interests, you know, like I wouldn't necessarily take a recommendation from someone who is a lot older or a lot younger”
Language
“Also, I kind of wanna like uh, Springboard from Mss. Murray's points on like the style of writing for people when you discern from like a real sales pitch, even if it was in scripts, even if it was in video. But like when you see the passion and people's and their style of communicating, you can pick up on that. And I feel like that is what's missing in the reviewing landscape.”
Picture
“Yeah, I would also argue that having a like very, very, very touristy picture as a local would probably make you think that me think that you're not actually a local. Which sounds so stupid to think. But like I live in Nashville and every tourist bachelorette party, bachelor party takes a picture on Broadway, they shut down the street at night and everyone has one. And I've lived here for like seven years and I, I've never taken one and probably won't ever take one. But if I saw somebody have that and be like Meet De Laney Local of Nashville. I would probably be like, You're not actually local if that's your picture”