The Connectivity Settings Page is a decade old page servicing thousands of Expedia Partners in connecting and configuring API connections to manage their hotels and maintain guest satisfaction.
As a UX design intern, I leveraged user-centered design principles to create an intuitive and user-friendly interface that addressed pain points accumulated over a decade of no work.
The connectivity team operates within Lodging Supply at Expedia. Our team works with lodging partners, who are connected to Expedia Partner Central to manage their properties. EPC offers a wide range of features, including inventory management, reservation handling, and more, all accessible through its user-friendly interface.
A connected property is one that utilizes connectivity software to automate some of their operations on travel platforms, like Expedia.
This connection enables the property to manage its listing, availability, pricing, reservations, and other aspects of its business more efficiently and effectively.
With connectivity software, a property can reach a broader audience, receivebookings, and streamline its operations by leveraging the platform’s available APIs.
A connected property is one that utilizes connectivity software to automate some of their operations on travel platforms, like Expedia.
This connection enables the property to manage its listing, availability, pricing, reservations, and other aspects of its business more efficiently and effectively.
With connectivity software, a property can reach a broader audience, receivebookings, and streamline its operations by leveraging the platform’s available APIs.
Availability and Rates API:
This API facilitates real-time updates of room availability and pricing information for connected properties. With this API, property owners can ensure that their listings accurately reflect their current inventory andrates.
Messaging API:
The Messaging API enables smooth communication between property owners and their guests. It allows for real-time messaging and notifications, enhancing customer service and facilitating seamless guest experiences.
Reservations API:
The Reservations API plays a critical role in managing bookings and reservations for connected properties. Through this API, property owners can efficiently handle reservations, check-ins, and check-outs.
Marriott is an example of a “Lodging Supplier” – someone who owns or manages a place where travelers can stay.
Lodging suppliers want to be able to utilize the connectivity services to manage their hotels and maintain guest satisfaction.
Example tasks on the connectivity settings page:
- Finding and connecting to a provider that could host the “Messaging” API, allowing Marriott for smooth communication between property owners and their guests.
- Marriott would be able see real-time messaging and notifications, leading to better customer service and guest experiences across their properties listed on Expedia.
The page is facing a significant obstacle in connecting and integrating new connectivity capabilities due to being limited in supporting these connections at a large scale. This limitation prevents us from providing additional features and integrations that would enhance the user experience and add value to the platform.
Currently, lodging suppliers can only manage their core functional connections, such as connecting their rates, inventory, and reservations. This creates limited functionality for suppliers who need advanced tools to manage their growing business needs.
Currently, the connectivity settings page is built based on outdated frameworks, code and services, which are not scalable enough to support the new APIs required to meet the growing business needs. It is a challenge adding on new features or integrating new tools that we need to keep up with the page’s expansion. Users are busy and do not have the time, or desire, to be updated on every detail of information.
enhance the lodging supplier experience on Expedia Partner Central by improving the connectivity settings page, enabling them to easily connect and manage their API connections, while reducing operational time spent on configurations by the EG team?
When starting my design process after completing research on the page, I immediately jumped into high-fidelity designs from scratch on Figma. However, after taking a step back, I understood low-fidelity designs and a constant iterative process is key for making sure my design was aligned with the stakeholder and MVP idealization.
High-level view of the low fidelity explorations.
Before EGDS
After EGDS
This design process took 6 weeks. While I was designing low-fidelity solutions, I was also
1. Meeting with developers to understand the backend scope of my project, the estimated resources, and more.
2.Meeting with content to draft a finalized copy of the descriptions, and making sure wording was accurate.
3. Creating iterations on my solution and continuing to build prototypes and make design changes.
4. Meetwith product to make sure the MVP requirements is still being hit.
5. Spoke with internal teams from technical operations and more to understand the wider scope of these design changes, and how that would impact their workflows.
During these meetings, a challenge I faced revolved around adjusting my designs in response to feedback from both internal and external stakeholders of this product. This experience served as a valuable learning opportunity, highlighting the critical importance of alignment throughout the design process. It underscored the need for cohesive communication and collaboration to ensure that design decisions effectively meet the needs and expectations of all parties involved.
Now, the page is able to scale for future value-add API connections and more future additions, due to the nature of the table vs the cards.
Now, lodging suppliers are able to view and add through multiple providers and services, creating more business opportunities and satisfying their needs.
Now, the page can support multiple services for each provider, a feature that previously was not on the connectivity settings space.
Now, the page design is user friendly and intuitive, providing guidance and removing the need for the PDF directions as previously mentioned for lodging suppliers
What would I do if I had more time?
Having the ability to switch between connecting to a provider or service first is a definite future state goal for lodging suppliers.
What are the added steps one can take besides disconnecting providers? (Such as switching providers?)
☝️
How may this interface change based on internal vs external users?
✌️
All can be answered through research and testing!
