Hotel booking process design & usability

9.1.1.1 Tasks 
used 
Each user had two tasks to complete on each of the four websites under evaluation. 
Travel UCD - consultants in travel and hospitality website design 
http://www.travelucd.com 
 
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Hotel booking process design & usability 
Travel UCD – February 2003 
TABLE 14: Tasks used  
Task 
Purpose 
You are planning a visit to XXX for a mid-week city break in MONTH, YEAR 
Before you finalise your travel plans, you want to know how much it may cost. 
Question 
What should you budget (in total) for three nights stay? 
(You are looking for a double bed for two adults in a low-price hotel) 
See how a user 
approaches the 
problem of creating 
a rough budget for 
their trip 
You are planning a visit to XXX for a mid-week city break. 
You are planning to stay for three nights (DATES GIVEN) and have a maximum 
budget of £100 per night (150 EUROS) 
You plan to share a room with your friend, so you are looking for a room with two 
single beds (a twin) or two double beds – in a medium-quality hotel. 
Question 
Please list up to three hotels that match this budget and room type. 
Finding a hotel that 
matches a budget 
and specific room 
type 
Source: Travel UCD Research, January 2003
We chose four different locations so there would be no possibility of a user taking the answer 
from one task and using it for another. The four locations were: 
• Berlin, Germany 
• Rome, Italy 
• Athens, Greece 
• Walt Disney World, Orlando, USA 
The exact dates of stay were supplied in the second task and were set for three months in the 
future. The exception was Wotif.com, where the dates were within 13 days of the test date. 
Wotif.com only holds last-minute accommodation. Only the month (three months ahead of the 
test date) was given for the first task.