[IxDA Discuss] Ease of use of travel booking websites

[howzat.uk]

It seems to me that there are at least three user types that must be
considered when designing travel sites.



1.) Those people who are after deals on flights - Probably are more flexible
on travel dates & destinations



2.) Those people who are after flights to a specific location - Less
emphasis upon deals although still a factor and are probably less concerned
about learning about their destination



3) Those people who are seeking inspiration and are trying to decide upon a
destination - deals are important although not as important as providing
useful, exciting information upon the various destinations.



So in summary to satisfy these sites need to provide:



1.) Deals - Useful, accurate deals - Not make the user have to dig around to
find them

2.) Flight finder - Allow people to find flights but also cater for those
people with less stringent requirements, i.e flexible dates, cheap flights
between selected dates, 'I want to go away for 2 weeks in August/September'
etc

3.) Deals - Show me cheapest deals on a route, with specific dates - don't
make me hunt around to find them.



Is there any more user types? Any more site requirements?



On 24/06/06, Tori Egherman <tori.egherman at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> material.]
>
> After years of booking my own travel using all sorts of online apps, I
> have rediscovered the joys of a good travel agent. You would not
> believe how nice it is to have someone else do the work. (Of course I
> now live off the expedia/travelocity grid).
>
> That said, my parents, who are not online whizzes, have recently
> started using Orbitz. They live in a smallish town with unpredictable
> midwestern weather. They love the fact that Orbitz rebooks and
> reschedules for them when there are problems.
>
> Solutions that are 100% application based, will never work. That said,
> I would love the application to work like a good agent: For instance,
> I should be able to say that I am interested in the cheapest flight to
> a certain location within a certain time range. I would love to walk
> away then and let the app do the work for me. I don't want to sit
> there making decisions. When I have problems, I want them solved
> without much fuss. I want the information I need to be clear: how much
> I have to pay to reschedule a flight, how much luggage I can bring,
> who I have to call when there are problems. Travel can be complicated
> and unpredictable. I hate when I am stranded and left to deal with
> problems on my own.
>
> Well... a big part of what I want requires a bit of restructuring of
> the airline business itself.
>
> Tori
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