Hospitality
Sun Outdoors App design and V1 delivery
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
37 Weeks
Year
2021
Background
In Spring & Fall 2021, WillowTree partnered with Sun Outdoors to create their first app for booking reservations at campground-resort locations across the United States and Canada. The MVP release supported the research, booking and checkout of a resort.
Team
2 Designers, 12+ Mobile Developers
Business Goals
Business Goals
Opportunity
Existing campers and 3.9 Million new campers expect stress-free, contactless unique travel experiences. Meeting campers' expectations will separate Sun Outdoors from the competition and deliver real business value.
The Plan
The features scheduled to be delivered in V1 focused on delivering campers with the capability to research and book a campsite. This native experience will streamline the booking flow to provide a stress-free hospitality experience that increases rebooking by keeping the brand top of mind.
The Profit
Every 1% increase in booking frequency nets a $1.285M increase in transient revenue. We are projecting that the first version of the mobile app will generate a 6% - 12% increase in frequency, meaning Sun can expect a revenue increase of $7,710,000 — $15,420,000
Tech Assessment
Design Concepts
Golden path designs for the Sun Outdoors app were created to help illustrate the app’s potential features, in order to map out the backend before going into the build phase.
Tech Recommendation
Build Custom API Middleware Layer:
Much more secure, mobile app not interfacing directly with backend services
Much safer environment coordination
Allows for better mobile app performance
Uniformity with interfacing disparate backend services
Gives us a much higher level of control and allows us to close gaps in our dependencies
Scalability, natural point of extension for new, future prioritized features.
Work can be done once in middleware and not repeated for iOS and Android
Technical Audit
Design Sprints
Sprint Work
Over the period of a few months, we created the full user flows for V1, including 5 large feature sprints. These included the bulk of what users would need to book a resort: sign-in (auth), landing, search / map views, resort details (overview pages and choosing a specific site), and checkout (cart & payment). Additionally we’re looking ahead to creating screens and flows for a V1.1 release, which introduces “My Profile” and “My Stays” as tabs within the nav.
These past months have been busy with designs, client approvals, Zeplin uploads, requirement meetings, iOS and Android testing, bug finding, API limitations, and future ideation.
Industry Analysis
As a measure of understanding Sun’s industry and broad competitors, Visual & UX landscape audits were conducted. The audits ranged a variety of competitors, from campground apps to resorts in the hospitality space. An additional document was created to draw out key themes.
Design Sprints
Client Workshops
Early design workshops helped Sun and Willowtree gain consensus around the brand and product goals. For testing & analytics, Google’s HEART method was utilized to capture key metrics for booking and reviews. Stakeholders walked away from the meeting feeling energized and said that this was the best design kickoff they have ever been a part of.
App Store Release
Book at over 90+ resort locations with RV, lodging, or tent camping sites
Use location-based search to find resorts nearby or at your favorite destinations
Reserve add ons (like golf carts and cabanas) to make your stay more memorable
Lock the exact site that you want to guarantee your favorite views
Create an account and then view your upcoming and past stay details, and rebook your favorite stays easily
Order food, beverage, or campsite essentials to your site (not available at all resorts)
4.0 Stars on the App Store
Conclusion
A successful booking app for Sun Outdoors. Our MVP release supported the research, booking and checkout of a resort.