Hotel booking process design & usability

Per person or per room? 

TABLE 4: How is the rate calculated?
How is the rate calculated? 
Travel 
agency 
Hotel only 
Hotel chain 
Total 
Per
person
- 1 - 1
Per room
14
32
3
49
Source: Travel UCD Research, January 2003
Table 4 shows that the common industry practice on hotel websites is to price per room rather
than per person.
TABLE 5: Does the website say how the rate is calculated on the results page? 
Does the website say how 
rate is calculated? 
Travel 
agency 
Hotel only 
Hotel chain 
Total 
YES
6 (43%)
17 (52%)
1 (33%)
24 (48%)
Source: Travel UCD Research, January 2003
Table 5 reveals that only 48% of all results pages tell the user that the rate is quoted per room
rather than per person.
In the UK and other European marketplaces many travel operators and agencies sell ‘holiday
packages’ – and these packages are priced per person rather than per room. But there is a
growing tendency for leisure travellers to organise their own travel. These travellers may visit a
hotel reservation website immediately after visiting a holiday package website. They may not
realise that the two websites are probably rating accommodation differently – one by room and
the other by person.
In our usability testing, the most commonly asked question was whether accommodation was
priced per person or per room. This simple and low-cost informational improvement would aid
users significantly.
Travel UCD - consultants in travel and hospitality website design 
http://www.travelucd.com 

© Travel UCD Limited 2003. All Rights Reserved.

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