Hello Rewards is a guest recognition and loyalty program by RLH Corp. (hospitality Corporation), to reward and knowingly recognize members with more perks and benefits. The client is looking to re-brand a memorable concept with a look and feel that resonates with guests. They would then like to revisit their existing Hello Rewards app to apply the new look while reviewing the usability and brand issues.

Say Hello to Hello Rewards

“Memories of good times are more powerful than memories of great savings” was the driving force behind the design approach with the goal to turn transaction-based, deal-seeking loyalty into emotional loyalty. With rewards customized to travelers’ unique tastes and preferences, unexpected perks throughout the stay, personalized offers, Hello Rewards was enthusiastically received by guests and hotel owners alike.

With the re-brand of Hello Rewards, the goal is to re-create a look that is more connected with RLH Corp. and reinforce their role as a link that brings all brands together. Surprise and delight are the core of the brand. Creating a bold, warm, and happy accent of colors and patterns creates that moment they are looking for. The color palette taps into the reds from RLH Corp. colors and the patterns constructed of interlocking elements convey the idea of synergy and of uniting multiple elements under a single vision.

Hello Rewards App

The Problem:

Confusing Flow:
○ 3 types of booking flow. Layers of nested navigation.
○ A mix of app navigation and hamburger menu.
Clutter:
‍○ Visually there are a variety of color, sizes, and shapes of elements.
○ The copy is redundant with too many instructional copies.
Brand Image is Lost:
‍○ A mix of elements, colors and treatments from Hello Rewards/RLH, and individual hotel brands

Successfully refreshing the Hello Rewards app with the new look and feel while changing the usability as the client was encountering a lack of members' engagement on the existing app.

Old Hello Rewards Branding

New Hello Rewards Branding

What went down to discover the problem?

First, the app was only being used by 20% of hotel guests and there are 750,000 members but more than half of them is inactive since 2017. In addition, the app is averaging a low rating of 2 stars on the Apple app stores. Not only are the numbers low, but the lack of marketing and the brand being nearly unrecognizable are major issues as to why guests don't know about the membership. Hello Rewards' branding does not look anywhere close to the RLH corporation branding.

Old site map Observation

Guests are finding the following:

2 different ways to book a hotel.
Too many buttons that don't take you anywhere, or duplicate pages.
Inactive widgets and promotions. For example, guest's updates and upcoming stays are hard to find.
You have to type the full hotel name and location in order to search.

Competitors

We compared the app to direct competitors and looked into user reviews and which features made them unique. For example, Starwood Preferred Guest and Hilton Honors all have more simplicity, clarity and brand consistency.

Demographics

The average demographic using the app is 25-50 age group. The hotels under the RLH Corporation have different target audiences, so it ranges from people on a budget to a millenial who want an authentic experience. So we're trying to solve for a wide range of travellers.

Goals & Opportunities

Organizing flow:
To create more clarity for members on where to navigate by clearing up all the unnecessary flow and sticking with one consistent path in order for them to find what they are looking for.
Clearing the Clutter:
To organize and clean up the app so the members have a consistent experience.
To pull only important information, eliminate repeats to not overwhelm users.
Create clearer visual cues to where they are in the app.
Brand Image is Lost:
Revisit the brand guidelines to follow the consistency of the style.
Eliminate and clear out unnecessary elements that are not a part of the brand guideline.

Developing the App

The Sitemap and wireframes were created to help improve functionality and navigate how the app is structured. My team and I have worked on brainstorming ideas to focus on the key words that will make the brand consistent with RLH Corporation, the usability, what features to stick with, and the overall journey.

Solution

Organizing flow:
‍○ Organize the flow of pages between the new and existing members by personalizing the home page. For example, creating a home page bypass and having default views on app load for members who have an upcoming booking. Members who are new or have no booking will see options on where to look.
○ Include icons on the home page to have access to the most relevant content. Each icon selections is to be relevant to a user type (new member/registered member).
○ Adding the search engine on the home page for both user types to allow members to continue to explore more booking options, special offers, or perks.
○ Create a seamless flow and continuous experience for members going from exploring to checking their upcoming stay, and to easily navigate during their stay.
Clearing the Clutter:
○ Choosing the right navigation first by eliminating the hamburger button with tray navigation or tabs for direct access to key areas.
Brand Image is Lost:
○ Use full-screen brand images to create a welcoming and dynamic environment with hotel images that appeal to members
○ Change out brand and hotel images quarterly to encourage members to keep checking for new updates.
○ Limit the brand colors to only primary colors throughout the app, and only allowing colors of Hotel brands when on the hotel section.

Home

The home screen acts as a dynamic dashboard, customized to a user type (new user, logged in, an upcoming trip, etc.). The full-screen brand image creates a warm and welcoming environment. Easy access to the member's profile and customized home screen depending on whether the user is a new member or current member with or without booking.

Booking

Members have easy access to search all RLH Corp. hotels before booking. They can search by destination, hotel or airport code.

Checking In

Members will continue to use the app during their stay with an easy way to navigate throughout the experience. They will use it for checking in, browsing information about the destination they're in, and have access to their room key with a digital lock.
‍

Hello Rewards App Introduces The Living Stage

The app includes a special event’s page in the Hotel RL section. The Living Stage is a space to create a sense of community for Hotel RL guests where they host thought-provoking talks, live concerts, and other events at all of their lobby locations.

Project Architecture

The UI focuses on viewing and browsing of events to help users better plan their vacation at Hotel RL. The UI structure is organized and direct with an emphasis on the calendar, colors, and navigation.

Content

The introduction explains what The Living Stage is about. As Hotel RL is the only hotel on the app with this special feature, Hello Rewards wants to highlight this section that gives customers an opportunity to experience everything that Hotel RL has to offer. Users are dropped into a discovery section of the app that includes events for them to browse through.

Event Cards

The event card consists of the title, name of the event, time of the event, date, and event category.
‍
Event Category:
Is made up of category title and identifying the color of the type of event.

Expand:
The “+” icon indicates that you can expand this card for more information about the event rather than opening up a new page

Bottom Sheet: Share Event:
A share pop-up will appear when clicking on the icon for options on where to share. The icons of the sharing platforms remain in colors for immediate familiarity. The event can be easily saved to their bookmark to come back to it later.

Calendar

The calendar is used differently when booking a hotel vs. booking an event. When booking an event, the users can see all events in both list and calendar view so they can plan around their vacation dates. The event categories are labeled with color-coded dots when in the calendar view for users to see everything on one screen. It can help them decide based on which day has events so they can click on it. They could be basing their travel dates by what day has events or by looking at a specific range. If they know the dates they’re traveling, they might choose to look at what events are happening on those dates as well. The list view is labeled with color-coded cards for users to browse and discover the type of events that are happening at Hotel RL.

Filter

The filter option allows users to filter the list down to the categories, locations, and the date that they only want to see.

Input Chips:
The top navigation filter option is a button that drops down. When the button is filled with a number, it indicates that the user has selected “x” amount of filters for the list.

Choice Chips:
The filter reveals all categories with customized Hotel RL colors to select and deselect. By default, chips are not colorized until selected. Chip is colorized with an X allowing to deselect back to the default.

Drop Down:
The drop-down menu by default will start on the location you have selected from the Hotel RL home page. When you drop down, you can select other locations or view all on the list.

Iconography

It is important for them to know that there is this special feature at Hotel RL and that they have more to offer. It could be part of the decision-making process when guests would like to book their stay.

Colors

Hello Rewards' primary color is always applied on the header navigation and menu tray for app consistency and to indicate that all hotel pages are under the Hello Rewards umbrella.
The use of gradient background colors is a unique part of Hotel RL and sets itself apart from the other hotels as a more premium brand.Labeling of colors appears on the top of each card for it to be the first thing you see.4. Categories are color-coded in the calendar view as well for viewers to see overall.

Typography

Hello Rewards uses Brandon Grotesque as the typeface. The type scaled shows a variety of weights for the headline, sub-head, body copy, button, and over-line.