Getting people to a travel website is only half the battle.
The next job is helping users find the right trip, narrow down options and book without it feeling like they're doing a Rubik’s Cube in oven gloves.
Most users don’t arrive ready to book. Some will have their suitcases already packed and know exactly where they want to go, but others will have no idea and an browserful of tabs open instead. Which is why good UX for travel websites is so important.
We’ve worked with travel brands for years which means we know a thing or two about the user journeys and designing sites for holiday hunters. Here are seven top tips to make sure your customers are on board all the way from browsing through to booking.
1. Too much choice, too little time
What with destinations, accommodation, tours, dates, prices, meals and every other possible extra, travel websites can be tricky to navigate. Put it this way: someone looking for a family holiday in Benidorm shouldn’t have to trawl through luxury retreats in the Maldives to find it.
Help people narrow down their choices instead of chucking everything available at them. Baymard’s travel UX research backs this up; when there’s too many options and not enough ways to refine them, people can get lost and their interest tails off. So, how can you combat this? Baymard recommends using at least 5–10 useful search filters.
Top tip: Don’t assume every visitor already knows where they want to go. Let users search by destination (of course), but also by holiday type, budget, dates, type of trip or even who they’re travelling with.
2. Inspiration isn’t enough
Travel is one of those industries where looks really do matter. People want to see beautiful places, imagine themselves there and get excited about what’s on offer as they browse. But inspirational images can’t answer important questions like ‘is there AC?’ and ‘does the pool have enough sunbeds or will I have to be up at 6am with my beach towel?’
Users want to know what the trip includes and how the itinerary works. If that information is hard to find, they might just go elsewhere to get it.
Top tip: Add a short FAQ section to each trip, property or destination page. It's the best way to answer user queries without cramming every detail into the main copy.
3. Be clear on price
No one expects every trip to come with a fixed figure straight away. Dates, room types, group size and extras can all affect the final cost, but what users do expect is a ballpark idea of what they’re likely to pay early on in the journey.
If fees and compulsory extras crop up at the last minute, their bargain starts to feel a lot less, well, bargain-y. And it can make them a bit suspicious, too.
Top tip: Show a clear price, or a realistic ‘from’ price, and explain what it includes. No one likes nasty surprises on the payment page.
4. Put search front and centre
For accommodation and holiday booking sites, search should be the main event on the homepage. If it’s pushed below a hero image, behind a cookie banner or replaced with a ‘Book now’ button, users have to hunt around before they’ve even started.
The Baymard research found that 99% of users on big hotel, holiday rental and accommodation booking sites looked for it as soon as they landed. But 25% of all travel sites still failed to make it the main feature on the homepage. Ouch.
Top tip: Put the booking search high up on the homepage and make the basics easy to spot: destination, dates and number of travellers.
5. Give customers reasons to trust you
For most people, a trip is a big purchase and often something they’ve been looking forward to for months. Users need to feel they’re in safe hands before they hand over their cash.
Reviews help, but a page full of handpicked five-star testimonials might not be enough. Instead, use links to independent reviews on sites like Tripadvisor to give people the chance to check for themselves.
Being transparent also helps to build trust, so make sure you add clear cancellation policies and precise location details.
Top tip: If you show a rating or review badge from another site, make sure it’s clickable. That way users can inspect other travellers' opinions, not just take your word for it.
6. Design for multiple visits
Choosing a trip can take days or even weeks, and often involves more than one person. Customers browse during their lunch break on desktop, go back later on a tablet and then send ideas to friends or family on their mobile.
Designing a ‘recently viewed’ section plus saved searches and shareable links makes it easier for people to pick up where they left off, instead of beginning their research all over again.
Top tip: Let visitors save and share favourites without forcing them to create an account. You might want the sign-up, but users often prefer to leave that until later in the booking process. Sorry…
7. Keep the final step simple
This is where you need to keep users focused. They’ll need to add names, DOB, room choices, baggage, transfers and all manner of other entries. Stick it on one endless page and the holiday booking process (which is supposed to be enjoyable) will feel like filling in your tax return.
In fact, Baymard’s research found that 18% of shoppers abandoned an order because the checkout felt too long or complicated for them. So, once someone is ready to book, make it as easy and smooth as possible for them to finish. Drop offs can be avoided!
Top tip: Do a test booking from start to finish, if a question or field isn’t essential, get rid of it (newsletter sign-ups, I’m talking to you). Finally, check that error messages tell users exactly what needs fixing or which details are missing from the page.
A few brands getting it right…
Good travel UX isn’t just for the big booking platforms. Travel brands of all sizes can smash it, too. Have a look at these:
Pura Aventura
Pura Aventura balances inspiration with bucket loads of practical detail. Its holiday pages give users a guide price, duration, key trip information, a full itinerary and FAQs, alongside some pretty pics all wrapped up in a vertical carousel. Mwah.
Inntravel
These purveyors of all things walking holiday makes their info-heavy trip pages easy to navigate. Users can jump straight to the itinerary, accommodation, prices, reviews or FAQs, while details like walking grade, meals and what’s included are clearly highlighted as little icons rather than extra text. Easy on the eye and for the brain.
World Of Cruising
The cruise legends make a huge amount of choice feel manageable. Clear search journeys and useful filters help users compare dates, prices, cruise lines and itineraries without getting completely lost at sea (ha!) Complex travel search made simple - and this happens to be a project we worked on, too! Nice work, even if we do say so ourselves.
If you’re looking for some help improving your website design or UX, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
