Amanda Richardson from Hotel Tonight speaks at Mobile Innovation Summit about putting mobile users first by challenging conventional wisdom.

1. M O B I L E : P U T T I N G U S E R S F I R S T
A M A N D A R I C H A R D S O N , H O T E L T O N I G H T
A M A N D A @ H O T E LT O N I G H T. C O M
@ A M A N D A R I C H 0 1

2. A B O U T H O T E L T O N I G H T
• Launched 2011 for same-day, mobile-only hotel booking
• iOS, Android, Windows
• 12+ million downloads, 10,000+ hotel partners, 500+ markets, 28 countries
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3. H T M I S S I O N : T O E N A B L E P E O P L E T O TA K E
A D VA N TA G E O F T H E S E R E N D I P I T Y O F L I F E
3

4. R E I M A G I N E T H E B O O K I N G E X P E R I E N C E F O R U S E R S
W H E R E T H E Y A R E
• On the go and in the moment
• On-demand hotel rooms for users
• On-demand guests for hotels
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5. M O B I L E I S A B O U T T H E U S E R S

6. A N D M O B I L E
U S E R S WA N T A P P S
SOURCE: NIELSEN

7. A N D U S E R PAT T E R N S
C H A N G E D U R I N G T H E
D AY
SOURCE: COMSCORE

8. H O T E L T O N I G H T V 1 | 2 0 1 1

9. O R I G I N A L I P H O N E :
$ 5 9 9 | 3 . 5 ” S C R E E N
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG

10. H O M O G E N O U S
U S E R B A S E
• Limited real estate
• High-end, tech-savvy users
• Slow connections
• Very few devices

11. U S E R S S P E N T M O R E T I M E R E A D I N G T H E
N E W S PA P E R T H A N O N M O B I L E D E V I C E S I N 2 0 0 8
SOURCE: EMARKETER
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12. I N 2 0 1 4 , U S E R S S P E N T M O R E T I M E O N
M O B I L E D E V I C E S T H A N WAT C H I N G T V
SOURCE: BUSINESS INSIDER
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13. I P H O N E 6 + : $ 2 9 9 |
5 . 5 ” S C R E E N
SOURCE: APPLE

14. M A S S A D O P T I O N M E A N S
D I V E R S E U S E R S A N D U S E C A S E S
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15. S O W H AT H AV E W E L E A R N E D
F R O M O U R U S E R S
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16. H Y P O T H E S I S # 1 : M O R E D I V E R S E U S E R S
M E A N S M A K I N G M O R E C H O I C E S AVA I L A B L E
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17. K E E P I T S I M P L E :
C U R AT I O N
• Historically three hotels
• Grew to 15 hotels to give more
choice

18. K E E P I T S I M P L E :
C U R AT I O N
• Tested length of results up to 25
• Happy spot is about 10 results
• Opposite of web test results

19. 6 % D E C R E A S E I N C O N V E R S I O N
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20. M O R E C H O I C E D O E S N O T AT T R A C T
M O R E U S E R S . I T J U S T C O N F U S E S U S E R S .
L E A R N I N G # 1 : C U R A T I O N W I N S

21. H Y P O T H E S I S # 2 : A P P U S E R S
WA N T A C C O U N T S
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22. R U T H L E S S LY E D I T:
S I G N U P
• HT: Three taps and a swipe
• 10 seconds
• Competition: 52 taps
• 109 seconds
1
3
2
4

23. R U T H L E S S LY E D I T:
S I G N U P
• Nearly all apps are based on an
account

24. R U T H L E S S LY E D I T:
S I G N U P
• So did we

25. R U T H L E S S LY E D I T: S I G N U P
• But we watched users in testing
• Accounts confused them
• Mental model was ecommerce not apps
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26. R U T H L E S S LY E D I T:
S I G N U P
• So we removed it

27. 1 5 % I N C R E A S E I N C O N V E R S I O N
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28. E V E N W H E N Y O U H AV E T H E
S L I M M E S T F U N N E L , C U T A G A I N
L E A R N I N G # 2 : R U T H L E S S LY E D I T

29. H Y P O T H E S I S # 3 : PAY M E N T I S
N O T A P R O B L E M

30. G O N AT I V E :
PAY M E N T S
• What’s so special about three taps
and a thumbprint?

31. 2 6 % I N C R E A S E I N C O N V E R S I O N

32. G O N AT I V E : PAY M E N T S
• Push for native feature adoption
• Make it simpler and consistent for users
• Capture early adopter segment
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33. I N V E S T I N G I N N AT I V E T O O L S W I L L H E L P
E V E N T H E L E A S T L I K E LY P R O B L E M S .
L E A R N I N G # 3 : P U S H F O R N A T I V E F E A T U R E S

34. H Y P O T H E S I S # 4 : M O B I L E D ATA
G I V E S I N S I G H T S I N T O U S E R N E E D S

35. M O B I L E F O C U S :
L O C A L I Z E D O F F E R S
• Patterns in user behavior can drive
features

36. M O B I L E F O C U S :
L O C A L I Z E D O F F E R S
• Study and leverage user patterns
• Focus on what’s only possible with
mobile

37. 1 2 % I N C R E A S E I N C O N V E R S I O N

38. M O B I L E F O C U S : L O C A L I Z E D O F F E R S
• Confident in the idea and potential
• Measure impact in reverse
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39. F O C U S O N M O B I L E - O N LY
D I F F E R E N T I AT I O N A S A N A D VA N TA G E
L E A R N I N G # 4 : I N N O VA T E F O R M O B I L E

40. K E E P I T S I M P L E

41. G O T O Y O U R U S E R

42. Q U E S T I O N W H AT Y O U K N O W
B U T N O T W H AT Y O U B E L I E V E

43. M O B I L E I S A B O U T S E R V I N G
Y O U R U S E R
M O B I L E I S N O T A B O U T B E I N G M O B I L E

44. T H A N K Y O U
A M A N D A R I C H A R D S O N , H O T E L T O N I G H T
A M A N D A @ H O T E LT O N I G H T. C O M
@ A M A N D A R I C H 0 1