Hotel booking process design & usability

Travel UCD - consultants in travel and hospitality website design 
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TABLE 11: Compatibility of design options with search and evaluation styles 
Design option 
Style A compatible Style B compatible
Inform users that they may make only one
reservation at a time
Example: Hilton.com
9
9
Loop through available rooms in a single hotel
Example: Accorhotels.com
9
8
(unless a specific page
created for the purpose)
Allow room quantity selection at the same time as
room / rate selection
Example: Lastminute.com
9
9
Source: Travel UCD Research, January 2003
This is not an exhaustive list; there are other design options to address the issue of handling
multiple rooms and uneven occupancy. The important point is that they are handled – and that
all potential combinations are possible or, if not, that the user is so informed.
5.2.2 Children 
Handling reservations with children is a related problem to handling multiple room or uneven
occupancy reservations.
TABLE 12: Websites accepting entry of children as well as adults
Children as well as adults 
Travel 
agency 
Hotel only 
Hotel chain 
Total 
No 8
22
19
49
(56%)
Yes 6
20
9
35
(40%)
Not applicable
(e.g. business travel)
2 1 - 3
Source: Travel UCD Research, January 2003
Table 12 shows that 35 of the 87 websites evaluated let users identify child guests.
There are three key points to be addressed:
1. At what age does a child count as an adult (and is this hotel specific)?
2. Can a reservation be made for a child staying in a room alone or to share with another
child?
3. No rates loaded for children only