This project was a set of features that fit into their digial app interface. Their Marriott booking app was already on Apple Store's top 50 list for travel - a ranking that stood steady for 8 months. The team was looking for what was next...
Marriott's digital team recognized that travelers face challenging moments beyond the walls of their hotels, where traditional hospitality can't reach. This design thinking project asked a powerful question: "Can Marriott's brand of care be absent and present at the same time?" The team explored how to extend meaningful human connections throughout the entire travel journey, particularly during vulnerable moments when travelers needed support most.
Through immersive research across Marriott locations in Cleveland, Columbus, Mumbai, Chicago, and NYC, the team discovered that while Marriott excelled at physical hospitality, the mobile experience lacked the same human touch. They developed three frameworks to address this challenge: Rhythm (preventing broken experiences from disrupting the entire journey), Weakness & Balance (identifying physical, mental, and emotional vulnerabilities), and Containers & Touchpoints (mapping systems where interventions could occur).
The most compelling opportunities emerged in "unclaimed" moments - difficult travel situations where no entity took responsibility: exhausting red-eye flights, emotional separations from loved ones while traveling internationally, and stressful emergency travel scenarios. The proposed solutions were elegantly simple yet deeply humanistic: "Cafe du Marriott" offering complimentary coffee after tiring journeys, "Wifi Phone Home" providing free internet minutes to connect with family abroad, and "Panic Booking" creating a streamlined verification process for urgent travel needs.
This project illustrates how thoughtful service design can humanize digital experiences, addressing real emotional needs during difficult travel moments, and extending a brand's care philosophy into spaces where traditional face-to-face hospitality isn't possible.
