Designing a Responsive Website for Effortless Accommodation Booking in Sports Tournaments

Designing a Responsive Website for Effortless Accommodation Booking in Sports Tournaments

Overview

Client:

E-Gruppa Sport

My Role:

UX / UI Designer

Duration

14 days design sprint, December 2023

Context

For the Egruppa project, we kicked off with a meeting with stakeholders, where they highlighted a key challenge: users were abandoning the platform during the booking process. The suspected cause was a confusing interface and unclear navigation. Our goal was to simplify the flow and make the platform more intuitive.


One key insight was the need to address two distinct user groups: event organizers, who were familiar with the platform, and participants (athletes), who struggled with the booking and team setup. We aimed to tailor the design to meet both groups’ needs for a smoother experience.

Egruppa at a Glance: Making group travel planning effortless.

15%

Increased Booking Conversion Rate

The booking process saw 15% of users who started the journey successfully complete their bookings, demonstrating a notable improvement.

25%

Higher signup engagement

25% of visitors registered for an account, showing strong interest in using the platform.

Egruppa at a Glance: Making group travel planning effortless.

40%

Improved Team Setup Engagement

40% of users who initiated team creation successfully completed the process, reflecting effective functionality and user interaction.

20%

Increased Budget Request Engagement

20% of users who explored pricing options proceeded to request a budget, indicating strong engagement with the platform's services.

Research and discovery

Research and discovery

20

Heuristic evaluation

With competitors

10

User interviews

With team Trainers

20

Heuristic evaluation

With competitors

10

User interviews

With team Trainers

We conducted a competitive analysis on key competitors (click here for details) and carried out user interviews with team trainers to better understand how they manage team travels. The goal was to identify best practices, benchmark against leading platforms, and uncover potential opportunities for Egruppa to stand out.

Here are a few (translated) quotes we gathered from our research:

“Places like Booking or Airbnb normally don’t have availability for that many people.”

"It’s hard to reunite the documents and payments of a big group of people"

“There’s not a lot of offer variety, and we don’t have much time to book something.”

After compiling and analyzing the qualitative data from our market research and competitive analysis, we uncovered key insights that shaped our approach:

  • Users often struggle to find suitable booking options due to limited variety, making the process more time-consuming than expected.

  • The platform's value proposition wasn’t clearly communicated, leading to confusion about its purpose and benefits.

  • Many users resort to booking trips individually, suggesting a need for better tools to streamline group bookings and coordination.


To deepen our understanding of user behavior and pain points, we developed an Empathy Map and a User Persona based on our research findings.

The Problem

Problem Statement

User research found that Booking experience is challenging for group trip organisers because the processes are currently being carried out in different platforms which obligates them to change devices and way of communication.

Problem Statement

User research found that Booking experience is challenging for group trip organisers because the processes are currently being carried out in different platforms which obligates them to change devices and way of communication.

Hypothesis Statement

If we provide group trip organisers with a booking experience similar to what individual trip organisers are accustomed to, it is more likely that our product will achieve top-of-mind awareness among these users.

Hypothesis Statement

If we provide group trip organisers with a booking experience similar to what individual trip organisers are accustomed to, it is more likely that our product will achieve top-of-mind awareness among these users.

So the challenge became clear: Egruppa’s main issue wasn’t just the booking flow or the platform’s design, but a lack of clear information and urgency driving users to complete their reservations.

Prototyping & testing

20

Usability Testing

With users

5

Iterations

From low-fi wireframes to final UI Design

We designed and mapped out the core user flow and user journey for Egruppa, creating mid-fidelity wireframes to improve navigation and usability. Through user feedback, we refined key elements such as information clarity, call-to-action placement, and the distinction between user roles, ensuring a smoother and more intuitive experience.

Prototyping & Testing

20

Usability Testings

With real users

5

Iterations

From low-fi wireframes to final UI Design

Style Guide

Let's explore the solution

Let's explore the solution

Search and landing page

  • All users do an actual search within the product

  • Simplify the interface and reducing the amount of 'request information' CTA.

  • Users engage with the search and landing page as key entry points into the platform.

Book an event

  • Trips can be seen in cards and the user is now able order them as they wish.

  • We offer the user a clear call to action to complete they’re task.


Customise trip

  • Eliminate the need of a link/form to users to get a budget.

  • Give information about the different services provided.

  • Allow users to share the budget with other people.

  • Select the team previously created for that specific trip

Secure checkout

  • Simplify the checkout process by avoiding external links/forms

  • Provide clear details about included services.

  • Enable users to share the checkout summary with others.

  • Allow selection of pre-created teams for seamless payment.

User profile

  • Organise and oversee team details efficiently

  • Easily add new players to the team with just a minimal steps.

  • Choose specific players for upcoming trips

Learnings & Conclusions

  • Planning ahead allowed us to create a clear roadmap, ensuring the client maintained momentum with the platform redesign and also next steps to allow the client to know what to gain if the project continues


  • Designing for team travel organizers taught us valuable lessons in streamlining group bookings and improving communication.


  • Decision-making was crucial during the 10-day sprint, where we focused on quality and efficient delivery.

Reflection & Next steps

Solving a Real Pain Point – As someone who’s part of a professional sailing team, I understand how challenging group accommodation booking can be during tournaments.
Designing from Experience – While my background provided valuable insight, we made sure to base our design decisions on extensive user interviews, ensuring we were addressing the unique needs of athletes and team organizers.
What’s Next? – While egruppa started as a concept during Ironhack, it has since been implemented by the startup. If the project were to continue, I’d:
• Test and refine the booking flow with real sports teams
• Focus on enhancing the dashboard UX for team organizers
• Optimize hotel-side onboarding for smoother collaboration
Collaborating Efficiently – We worked together on the user flow, but divided other UX tasks to save time. I focused on UI design while also conducting interviews, while my teammates handled testing and other aspects of the UX process. This division allowed us to work more efficiently and deliver a cohesive solution.

From Concept to Reality – What started as a concept has now been fully implemented, which is an incredibly rewarding experience. It demonstrates the power of collaboration and user-centered design to solve real-world problems.

Linkedin

↑

Behance

↑

Back to home

↑

I create user-focused digital experiences that drive engagement and support business growth.

Contact me

© Made with love by Lawrence Walker

Interactive prototype

I created an interactive prototype to showcase key features like managing teams, adding players, and organizing trips, offering a realistic glimpse into the app’s usability.

Learnings & Conclusions

  • Planning ahead allowed us to create a clear roadmap, ensuring the client maintained momentum with the platform redesign and also next steps to allow the client to know what to gain if the project continues


  • Designing for team travel organizers taught us valuable lessons in streamlining group bookings and improving communication.


  • Decision-making was crucial during the 10-day sprint, where we focused on quality and efficient delivery.

Reflection & Next steps

Solving a Real Pain Point – As someone who’s part of a professional sailing team, I understand how challenging group accommodation booking can be during tournaments.
Designing from Experience – While my background provided valuable insight, we made sure to base our design decisions on extensive user interviews, ensuring we were addressing the unique needs of athletes and team organizers.
What’s Next? – While egruppa started as a concept during Ironhack, it has since been implemented by the startup. If the project were to continue, I’d:
• Test and refine the booking flow with real sports teams
• Focus on enhancing the dashboard UX for team organizers
• Optimize hotel-side onboarding for smoother collaboration
Collaborating Efficiently – We worked together on the user flow, but divided other UX tasks to save time. I focused on UI design while also conducting interviews, while my teammates handled testing and other aspects of the UX process. This division allowed us to work more efficiently and deliver a cohesive solution.

From Concept to Reality – What started as a concept has now been fully implemented, which is an incredibly rewarding experience. It demonstrates the power of collaboration and user-centered design to solve real-world problems.

Egruppa at a Glance: Making group travel planning effortless.

15%

Increased Booking Conversion Rate

The booking process saw15%
of users who started the journey successfully complete their bookings, demonstrating a notable improvement.

25%

Higher signup engagement

25% of visitors registered for an account, showing strong interest in using the platform.

40%

Improved Team Setup Engagement

The booking process saw
40% of users who initiated team creation successfully completed the process, reflecting effective functionality and user interaction.

25%

Increased Budget Request Engagement

20% of users who explored pricing options proceeded to request a budget, indicating strong engagement with the platform's services.

Linkedin

↑

Behance

↑

Back to home

↑

Contact me

I create user-focused digital experiences that drive engagement and support business growth.

© Made with love by Lawrence Walker

Create a free website with Framer, the website builder loved by startups, designers and agencies.