Travel Together: Strategic Redesign with Increased Retention and Engagement
As Lead Designer, I was tasked with addressing key opportunities to enhance the way our members interact and travel together.
Sector
Socially-connected Travel Community
Results
Improvements led to a 125% increase in bookings (8,079 to 18,151 in best month)
My Role
• Lead Designer • Research Partner • Established Design System
Bringing the Social Heart Back to Travel: The DreamTrips Redesign
The Challenge: When Adventure Meets Loneliness
"I wish I could stay in touch with the amazing people I met on my trip to Bali..."
"How do I find other members who want to go to Japan next spring?"
"I'd love to see what the DreamTrips community is really like before joining..."
These were the voices of our members and potential members that kicked off our journey to transform DreamTrips from a travel booking platform into a thriving social community. As Lead Designer, I was tasked with reimagining how our 500,000+ members connect, share experiences, and plan adventures together.
Why This Project Mattered
DreamTrips had always been more than just another travel site – it was a community of adventurers seeking authentic experiences together. But our digital platform wasn't living up to this promise. Members were booking trips but struggling to maintain the connections they made. Meanwhile, potential members couldn't see the vibrant community that made DreamTrips special.
The stakes were high:
- Member retention was suffering due to limited engagement between trips
- Conversion rates for new members were below target
- Our search experience lagged behind competitors
- Shopping cart abandonment was higher than industry standard
Discovery: Going Beyond Standard Research
To truly understand our community's needs, I took an immersive approach to research:
The Community Deep Dive
Instead of just running standard user interviews, I:
- Attended actual DreamTrips events to observe member interactions firsthand
- Hosted virtual coffee chats with members from different countries
- Shadowed our customer service team to understand common pain points
- Created a member advisory board for ongoing feedback
2. The Competition Analysis
I analyzed not just travel sites, but successful community platforms:
- Studied how Strava builds community around fitness
- Examined how Meetup facilitates group formations
- Investigated how Airbnb Experiences creates trust through content
3. The Data Story
Partnering with our Data Science team, we uncovered crucial insights:
- 78% of members who formed connections during trips were more likely to book again
- Detailed trip content with rich media led to 45% higher conversion rates
- Members who joined pre-trip social groups had 89% lower cancellation rates
The Big Insight: Connection is the Key to Conversion
Through our research, one truth became crystal clear: successful trips weren't just about the destination – they were about the connections made along the way. This insight led to our core design principle: "Every interaction is an opportunity for connection."
The Solution: Building Bridges Between Adventures
1. Reimagining Search
Before:
Generic Search with basic filters
After:
- Social-first search showing who else is interested
- Rich content including member stories and photos
- Smart recommendations based on community interests
2. The Social Layer
We introduced:
- Trip Groups: Automatic social spaces for each upcoming trip
- Interest Communities: Spaces for members to connect based on travel styles
- Story Sharing: A platform for members to showcase their experiences
- Member Matching: AI-powered suggestions for travel companions
3. Unified Shopping Experience
- Combined retail and travel carts into one seamless flow
- Added social proof elements throughout the booking process
- Integrated community content into product pages
The Results: Numbers Tell the Story
The impact exceeded our expectations:
- 125% increase in search conversions in our best month post launch (8,079 to 18,151 bookings)
- 32% boost in retail shopping conversions
- 67% increase in member-to-member connections
- 45% reduction in post-trip member churn
- 89% of members reported feeling "more connected to the community"
Key Learnings & Growth
What Worked Well
1. Immersive research approach gave us deeper insights than traditional methods
2. Cross-functional workshops helped align stakeholders early
3. Regular member feedback loops caught issues before they became problems
What I Would Do Differently
1. Start A/B testing earlier in the process
2. Include more international members in initial research
3. Build a more robust analytics framework from the start
Looking Forward
The DreamTrips redesign taught me that great UX isn't just about usability – it's about creating spaces where human connections can flourish. This project pushed me to think beyond traditional e-commerce patterns and consider how design can foster genuine community.
Today, DreamTrips isn't just a travel booking platform – it's a thriving community where adventures begin long before the trip starts and connections last long after it ends.
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