overview

Turo is an online platform that connects landlords and travelers seeking temporary accommodations. Rental homes, flats, cabins, and other unique housing options are available across Romania through Turo. Each rental property offers a unique experience for its tenants thanks to its wide variety of amenities.
Turo.ro is part of a 3-app ecosystem owned by KeyStay. Alongside KleanStay and the KeyStay Guest App, they offer a complete solution for managing private rentals, including cleaning and repairs, as well as a 24/7 virtual reception desk.

my role

I was the sole UX designer engaged in this project, and I was responsible for the end-to-end design process.

the backstory

Back in 2007, Turo used to be a successful lodging marketplace dedicated to tourists visiting Romania. The platform started off by offering private-owned housing to travelers, and in 2008, hotels were added to its accommodation portfolio. Later on, due to unforeseen circumstances, Turo’s further development had to be put on hold.

the challenge

As of early 2023, Turo was given a second chance, and my team and I had to rebuild this project from scratch. Turo’s research team was able to identify that currently there is no Romanian product dedicated to travelers looking for mid- and high-end accommodations. Turo is aiming to cover that market need, focusing primarily on privately owned lodging.

constraints

Data: the client provided the majority of the research data for this project, such as demographics, journey mapping, and market needs.
Resources: resources for pre-launch user testing were not available.
Time: an alpha version of Turo was expected to be ready for launch by the end of May 2023.

understanding what we’re facing

Along with the project manager, I conducted business analysis in an effort to narrow the gap between business objectives and user needs.
We also focused on marketing positioning and understanding the target audience. Our research indicated that Turo's project owners want it to have a fresh overall feeling, be focused on simplicity, and provide its customers with a hassle-free experience.

design process

1. Establishing who our users are and understanding what they need

2. Ideating

3. Wireframing

4. Hi-fi designs

5. Usability testing

our users

The client’s research team's findings indicated the following:

• up to 75% of reservations made for accommodations are made by women-identifying individuals, averaging 32 years of age

• 70% of reservations are typically made for families with children, 20% for couples, and 10% for others (rough estimates).

Based on this input, we were able to come up with the following archetypes:

The parent:

• behaviors: traveling with children or babies, usually opting for stays located within short driving distances from their place of residence

• goals and motivations: finding the right amenities to properly accommodate the entire family, creating enjoyable and memorable experiences for their loved ones, prioritizing quality time, convenience, and shared activities

• needs: being able to easily sort through accommodations, ensuring that the place is suitable for children and has child-dedicated equipment, childproofing options, nearby family-oriented attractions, and clear communication regarding the suitability of the property for children

The couple:

• behaviors: spontaneous, looking for short getaways to reconnect, or simply enjoying quality time together; usually travels by car, may or may not be traveling with pets

• goals and motivations: deepening emotional connection, fostering romance, taking a break from the demands of everyday life

• needs: romantic ambiance, such as cozy cottages, private villas, or secluded cabins

ideation phase

Based on the archetypes and “how might we” explorations we’ve made, we were able to translate our users’ needs into features and functionalities:

• amenities filtering

• child and infant-friendly tag with score

• pet-friendly tag

• accommodation categories (e.g.: cabins with a view, remotely located, luxury, etc.)

The ideation process helped us paint a more precise representation of the user experience Turo will provide, as well as add new ideas to the roadmap and business strategies.

wireframing

I started the wireframing process on paper to get the main user flows ready for refinement. Down below, you’ll be able to see some of the early-stage sketches. I translated the original ones from Romanian to English for your convenience. In this process, I did my best to replicate the overall feel of the original drawings.

Homepage explorations

Landlord dashboard and property view

Landlord agenda

The landlord's agenda aims to provide the user with a quick update on the state of their properties. Each entry includes the name of the property, the number of guests, and statuses (“check-in”, “check-out”, and “occupied”).

Traveler dashboard: reminder regarding house rules (flow)

24 hours before check-in, a reminder regarding house rules is sent out to the traveler. A notification dot will show up in the navigation bar on the dashboard icon. When clicked, the user will enter the flow displayed above: dashboard, my trips, upcoming trips, and trip card. After clicking on the trip card, the page content will be scrolled automatically to the “house rules” section, briefly highlighting the area.

hi-fi designs

Several changes have been made to the initial sketches. As a reminder, this product is aimed at a Romanian-speaking audience, hence why the final designs were executed in Romanian. Here are some side-by-side comparisons between the initial sketches and the final screens: