Map-Based Hotel Discovery for Location-Sensitive Travelers

Design Project · 2023 · Cologne

**Short Overview** Redesign of the map-based search experience so travelers can discover hotels by neighborhood, proximity to landmarks, and price signals at a glance. **Problem Statement** Users who cared about location (event attendees, conference visitors, city trippers) struggled to correlate the list and map, and price pins were hard to interpret on small screens. **Goals** - Make list-and-map interactions feel like one seamless experience - Improve legibility of price pins and clusters - Support "search this area" and proximity-based filtering **Role & Responsibilities** Product Designer for the discovery surface, collaborating with a maps engineer and PM. **Design Process** - Reviewed map interactions in leading travel and mobility apps - Prototyped clustering behavior for dense city centers - Tested list/map split layouts on desktop and swipe patterns on mobile - Validated "search as I move the map" behavior with users **Key Design Decisions** - Synchronized list and map with hover/selection states - Cluster pins with average price and count, expanding on tap - Mobile peek-carousel of hotels tied to visible map pins **Impact / Expected Outcomes** - Higher map engagement on mobile - More bookings for city-center and event-related searches - Positive qualitative feedback on "finding the right neighborhood" **Skills Demonstrated** Spatial UX, map interaction design, mobile-first design, cross-device patterns. **Platforms** Web and Mobile