Initial Hypothesis
There are people (demand side) who want to enjoy the amenities and facilities of luxury hotels & resorts, but don’t want to book a room to do so, which is currently the most accessible way.
There are hoteliers (supply side) who would want to generate additional income and awareness of their properties by allowing external guests to book use their amenities and facilities without booking a room.
User Research
Goals for interviews & surveys:
- Understand what concerns hoteliers on the supply side would have about listing their properties for day access
- Identify personas on the demand side & their propensity to buy a membership for day access to luxury accommodations
- Identify what amenities demand side personas would want to access at luxury accommodations for a day
6
Supply Side Interviewed
9
Demand Side Interviewed
77
Demand Side
Surveyed
Overall, supply side respondents were receptive to using their property’s amenities/facilities to increase revenue- especially in low seasons- as long as the experience and security of in-house guests were maintained.
Overall, demand side respondents had spent time in hotels where they were not in-house guests to eat, drink or enjoy amenities but were concerned whether they’d be allowed in or would feel stupid/embarrassed if discovered. Survey respondents noted the main reasons they would be likely to purchase a membership to visit hotel/resorts for a day were:
- They can’t always afford hotels/resorts, so being able to enjoy amenities would be a great alternative
- It’s a good way to check out other pool bars
- More flexibility and they can get more out of their vacation rather than just staying/experiencing one hotel
- Search for hotels by amenities can be quite costly sometimes, a membership would be interesting
Want to check out the facilities of a luxury hotel or resort in their hometown yet enjoy the comfort of sleeping in their own bed
Want to enjoy another resort’s facilities while on holiday as well as the accommodation they’ve already booked
Want to switch it up their work environment from the usual cafe, co-working space or home office
Like pampering, roaming in resorts or taking pictures, living their best luxurious life like an in-house guest
Want to treat themselves for hours on a layover to the amenities of a luxury hotel without having to stay the night
Want to get their luxury fix across many hotel & resort brands without joining any or several loyalty programs
Problem Statement
People want an aggregated way to search for and easily book day access to enjoy the amenities and facilities of luxury hotels & resorts without having to book a room or break the bank.
Hotels & resorts want a streamlined alternative to enable additional revenue generation apart from their rooms, and attract awareness from a market that doesn’t need or want rooms which maintaining a great experience for their in-house guests.
Solution Statement
A double-sided travel marketplace available via a mobile app & webpage will enable external guests affordable and easy day access to the amenities & facilities of luxury hotels without booking a room, while discreetly generating additional revenue and awareness for hotel & resort properties.
Value Proposition
Demand Side: Luxury Access Club will be a paid membership platform that enables people to buy day & eventually monthly passes to amenities of luxury hotels & resorts, without booking a room or breaking the bank. Target audiences are locals, travellers with transfer time between flights, travellers already with accommodation but without or less/different amenities, digital nomads, travellers who want hotel variety without joining multiple loyalty programs, and wanderlusts like budding travel influencers and people who enjoy indulging but are still budget conscious.
Supply Side: A property would use Luxury Access Club to generate additional revenue and exposure from an untapped market of external guests by offering them access to facilities, amenities and services which would typically only be available to in-house guests. The app will enable them to create offer(s) for a facility, amenity or service (e.g. pool, gym, excursion), manage inventory of the offer(s) to maintain availability for in-house guests or servicing, and collect payment in advance. This can increase ancillary revenue in addition to in-house guest spending & room reservations even during non-peak seasons by enabling external guests to access potentially under-utilised offerings.
Video demo
Prototype created in Glide, a no-code application. Demo stops at the point of being taken to the payment portal. The transaction history tab has yet to be built.
hi-fi wireframes
Designs created in Glide, a no-code application. Images shown are from the Property Partner’s (supply side) of the marketplace, which has more functionality.
mid-fi wireframes
Initial designs created in Sketch
