MAISTRA HOSPITALITY GROUP

A Future-Ready Booking Experience

Eighteen hotels, 11 resorts and six campsites, in destinations such as Rovinj, Vrsar, Dubrovnik and Zagreb, make Maistra the leading tourism company in this part of Europe, which requires constant development and the search for better solutions. Maistra’s management is aware that most strategic decisions need to be supported by technology, so the company has decided to upgrade its website to be future-ready.

Market Research, UX Design, UI Design, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Testing, Feature Prioritization, Stakeholder Management, Cross-Functional Collaboration

MAISTRA.COM

maistra_mobile_laptop
MY ROLE
In this project I was responsible for:
  1. Leading the discovery phase with the client, including conducting focus groups
  2. Performing user and market research
  3. Developing UX designs with a focus on the booking experience, including creating wireframes and prototypes
  4. Preparing detailed user flows
  5. Conducting user tests to validate designs and gather feedback
  6. Collaborating closely with booking system providers, in-house developers, and designers

CHALLENGE

A monolithic multilingual website on two separate domains (maistracamping.com and maistra.com) had to be merged, while the main services were split into several smaller ones to ensure maximum speed, scalability, manageability, and reliability. The user interface was revamped with a mobile-friendly booking process, integrated loyalty program, and redesigned user journeys. The client demanded fast website performance worldwide, high SEO, accessibility, and loading speed scores, tested via Google Lighthouse. Despite tight deadlines, we developed a complex site with over 100 UI layouts and sophisticated functionalities, allowing seamless content input during development.

SOLUTION

Discovery Phase

We collaborated with the client to define project objectives and identify solutions. By analyzing the existing website and company processes, we pinpointed issues and selected appropriate technologies. We reviewed service documentation and user paths, focusing on increasing conversions and ensuring the website’s speed and security.

User Experience and UAT

Using our research documentation, we created wireframes, flowcharts, and UAT scenarios, adhering to a "mobile first" approach. We ensured mobile compatibility for all designs and sought alternative solutions for complex functionalities. The information structure was optimized for easy client content editing and effective user guidance. Additionally, we unified the purchasing process by merging the maistracamping.com and maistra.com domains.

maistra_blue
1 Homepage Copy
7.5 Dashboard
14.1 Select destination mobile
14.3 Select guests mobile
14.2 Select date mobile
14.4 Search results mobile

User interface

Designing the user interface for over 100 templates was the most challenging part. The client wanted a fresh design with a “wow” effect, while ensuring maximum speed in development and operation. We developed a design system to manage components, their use, behavior, and variations across the site, which streamlined the development process.

We adopted a “mobile first” approach, designing all elements for mobile devices first, then adapting them for desktop. Special attention was given to accessibility for the visually impaired, crucial for achieving high page rankings. Micro-interactions, large typography, impactful headlines, and carefully selected photographs made the site attractive and engaging.

maistra
www.maistra.com_properties_grand-park-hotel-rovinj_ (5)
loyalty desktop
List – desktop_V1
www.maistra.com_de_unterkunft_grand-park-hotel-rovinj_(Samsung Galaxy S8+)
www.maistra.com_properties_grand-park-hotel-rovinj_rooms-suites_grand-marina-view-room_(Samsung Galaxy S8+)
List – mobile_V1

RESULTS

The project delivered significant improvements across multiple aspects of the website:

Enhanced User Experience: A more intuitive and streamlined interface led to increased user satisfaction.

Optimized Booking Process: Integration with the booking platform and process optimization made reservations faster and easier.

Loyalty Program Integration: A seamless integration of the loyalty program encouraged repeat visits and customer retention.

Advanced Search Functionality: Improved search capabilities allowed users to find information more efficiently.


These enhancements resulted in measurable outcomes, including longer average session durations, reduced bounce rates, increased pages per session, lower exit rates, and faster page load times.

Average session duration

+55%

 

Bounce rate

-24%


Num. sessions per user

+77%

 

Pages per session

+54%

 

Exit rate

-56%

 

Page load time

20%

faster

 

© Primoz Skrl, Sphera, digital consulting.  /  “Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so”