Duration
2 Months
Roles:
Project Manager, UX Lead
Tools:
Miro, Figma, Photoshop, sketchup, and Illustrator
Overview
Dluxx, a hotel owned by Thammasat University, served hospital visitors and exam students for 20 years. After the hotel's closure during Covid 19, and with the rise of new hotels in the area, the hotel saw a lack of new customers which drives them to look for ways to address and improve the guests' experiences during their stay.
Note: This is a third year university service design project where I led a team of 6 people, 2 nationalities to explore Dluxx's potential business design challenges to improve the quality of the stay for guests, and the Hotel's performance to keep up with competitor.
Measurable impacts
The service concept for tested with hotel staffs, guests and the nearby residential students to get their feedback and validate the product which leads to the finding below:
The beginning
Dluxx Hotel is seeking new ways to improve their guests' experiences and quality of the stay…
As a part of Thammasat University's branding which is known for being sustainable, Dluxx has highlighted their needs for us at the initial stage of the project which helps us set up proper high level goals for our future designs:
Business-aligned values:
"Maintenance" Solution should be maintenance-friendly, requiring no additional staff for upkeep.
"Sustainable" must follow Thammasat university's vision which is to be sustainable and environmental friendly.
Discovery
We interviewed 18 people including guests and staffs, observed, and role played as guests for 2 days to find business opportunities…
Our team went through a series of research methods including users interview, observations and role playing over a period of 1 week in order to gain a better understanding of how things work as well as pin point potential opportunities and pain points inside and outside of the hotel.
Having no access to nearby food services and need for more common areas are the main problem guests often face when staying at Dluxx hotel
Despite having a lot of food sources in the area, guests had to walk an average of 18 mins to get food…
After finding out there is a lack of food services in the hotel, we set out to find the nearest food services, calculate the amount of time hotel guests have to spend to travel to and saw that Thammasat university actually has a lot of food providers! Most of which also include:
Rooftop Farms ran by the Agriculture Faculty
Food Factory ran by the Food Science and Innovation Faculty
Night markets, and canteens for students
Local Cafes, Canteens and many more!
The research leads to a problem statement…
Despite having food options in the broader vicinity, Dluxx provides no on-site dining or room services, requiring guests to travel far to eat
Define
Most hotel guests are university entrance test takers who spends a lot of their time preparing for exams
Test Taker Taylor aka our main persona!
"I’m cramming for my entrance exam, so finding and eating food quickly really matters."
Context:
Taylor comes to stay at Dluxx to prepare for her university entrance exam into Thammasat university. She is not familiar with the campus.
Job to be done:
Taylor needs to find a suitable place for her to eat quickly and do last minute revision before her exam.
Hospital Visitor Victor
"Since there is no room service, I usually order from online applications, or buy food from the hospital to stock up at night."
Context:
Guests visiting family in the hospital generally spend most of their time there, returning to the hotel only to sleep at night. Their stays typically last 2 to 3 days.
Job to be done:
Finding quick access to food 24/7 when he come back from the hospital.
Athlete Andy
"After my practice, I need to find a place to quickly eat healthy food with low calories because I need to watch my weight"
Context:
Guests staying at Dluxx Hotel for the annual university sports competitions typically stay for an extended period, mainly returning to the hotel for resting.
Job to be done:
Energy-saving way to find good food to nourish their body and help their body to recover after the sport practice.
How might we?
How might we offer Test Takers Taylor have easy access to meals options while staying at Dluxx to reduce time and effort traveling for nearby food?
Setting up North Star Design Principles before designing by converting business-aligned values to design criteria
Using the high level goals from Dluxx Hotel, we turned their requirements into a criteria that helps us select/merge ideas into solutions that highly fits with our client:
Design
We brainstormed ideas through case studies, focusing not only on digital products but also physical services solutions
Going through the food services case studies in both the hospitality industry, sustainable food ecosystem and many more in order to find inspirations! My core contribution was to facilitate group discussions to merge ideas, and concepts while ensuring they fit with our business values.
Introducing Luxx Space, a sustainable, self vending machine cafeteria and co-working space for the hotel guests…
Luxx Space is a self-service vending machine cafeteria that provides hotel guests with meals made from local ingredients in collaboration with nearby restaurants.
The image depicts a circular process where the university's rooftop farm produces ingredients and vegetables, which are then used by food producers to create TU LUXX Meals. These meals are stocked in the LUXX Space at Dluxx Hotel and sold to hotel guests through TU Luxx vending machines. The food waste generated is collected and sent back to the Agriculture Faculty, where it is converted into fertilizer to be used by the university farm, completing the cycle.
How Test Taker Taylor goes through the service experience at Luxx space
Partial Design Touchpoint
Start
Taylor is hungry and she goes into Luxx space, which is downstairs at the hotel.
Partial Design Touchpoint
Go to TU Luxx
Taylor goes to the TU Luxx vending machine inside Luxx space.
UX UI Touchpoint
Choose
Taylor chooses the type of food she wants to eat from the TU Luxx vending machine food category.
UX UI Touchpoint
Add to cart
Taylor picks the dish she wants to eat and read the list of ingredients inside, and decided to add to her cart.
UX UI Touchpoint
Confirm
Taylor go through her order list, and confirm everything in her order before scanning the QR to pay.
UX UI Touchpoint
Wait for the food
Awaiting her food's arrival, Taylor views the brief clip on the machine about the Luxx ecology, showcased by the vending mechanism.
Graphic and Branding Touchpoint
Final, and enjoy Luxx meal!
Taylor get her TU LUXX meal! and get to enjoy her food within minutes!
Delivery
The concept for met with overwhelming support from both guests, archiving 64 NPS score
The prototype included a showcase video, 3D renders of the space, and a UI prototype of the vending machines. Users explored the UI prototype to place a food order and viewed the video and renders to understand the concept. There was an interview afterwards for all testers, and NPS for hotel guests and students.
Most guests liked the idea of hotel food services, but management was hesitant due to high investment of the cafeteria
Reflection
Key learnings & Appreciations
Design communication
Designers need to present and sell their designs effectively, requiring clear communication and adaptability with different stakeholders.
Design for business impact
This project goes beyond designing the digital experience, encouraging a broader understanding of business aspects. Understanding how our concept can benefits the development of our client's business was crucial in the process.