Property & Rewards Mobile App
Boosting Engagement By Aligning to Customer Needs
background
The Opportunity
the solution
Meeting Customers Where They Are
I revamped the app's architecture to focus on the high-engagement activities first. This made it easier for customers can see immediately what was happening at their favorite location and take action.
Building a Bridge
I focused on connecting rewards earned in the app to property discounts in places where customers would most likely expect them. Tying the actions together helped drive the behavior Wind Creek Hospitality was hoping to see between their mobile app and properties.
Making it Meaningful
By moving from an informational experience to one that is interactive and dynamic, I was able to create a more engaging experience with a personalized touch. This helped drive a more increased and consistent engagement with the mobile app.
discovery
Understanding the customer
I began by immersing myself with everything I could collect to learn as much as possible about the customer. From their mental models to behavioral patterns, I was looking for signals that I could support the business's hopes to boost engagement for both its on-property and digital experiences. To align the team around a shared understanding of users, I developed three key archetypes. One critical insight: 75% of all customers were "Property-Only" guests, shaping much of our design focus.
Analyzing current state
With a better understanding of the customer, I shifted focus to the current state of the mobile app. I was specifically examining discoverability, consistency and clarity of messaging and tasks.
Competitive analysis
WInd Creek Hospitality isn’t the only company wanting to better tie their digital and physical experiences together. I explored how 3 other prominent companies across the hospitality and gaming industry were solving for how rewards programs, events, hospitality and gaming were presented digitally. In each instance, I found that property events and rewards programs were prioritized over associated online gaming.
Key insights
Following my analysis from Discovery, the greater need for a cohesive experience for all types of customers came into focus.
The existing app focused primarily on the online gaming features, leaving a gap in engagement from the majority of customers who prefer to engage with the on-property amenities, events and promotions.
The inconsistent UI patterns created confusion and the complicated task flows between the online gaming and property features increased mental load, and diminished motivation.
Most customers have a low tolerance for change in their experiences with Wind Creek, which means change management will be important to factor as we optimize the experience.
defining and delivering for impact
Refining scope by facilitating strategy discussions
In partnership with the product owner, we defined a strategy that would restructure the app more closely with all customer types to meet each type of customer where they were. This drove discussions and explorations that mapped how the app could motivate each customer type to engage deeper over time. We believed that by showing deeper value to the customer, the app could bridge the gaps between the online and property experiences for all customer types.
Iterating in low-fidelity
Using low-fidelity designs to focus conversations on structures, I explored ways to solves gaps between the online and property experiences. For example, the evolution of the home page wireframes helped us decide on how to align the Home screen content with the information that the majority of customers are seeking first but with teasers to our other customer archetypes so everyone felt that the experience “talked” to them.
the prototype
Getting business buy-in
Sometimes the best way to drive alignment and buy-in across an organization is by creating something everyone can interact with. I took that approach here by delivering a low-fidelity prototype which was presented to business stakeholders and executives.
In the prototype I highlighted how engagement could be improved by restructuring the primary focus away from online gaming and instead to the content that the majority of customers care about - the property events and amenities. I also made sure to show how customers could move through the new experience, highlighting where and how we were linking Property information, Rewards and Online Gaming together in a way that could motivate customers to engage with each aspect of Wind Creek's offerings.
We used this to drive conversations around vision, strategy, and feasibility, and the potential impact on resourcing and scope with each part of the experience. The approach provided clarity while receiving the go-ahead to proceed with the key aspects of the app redesign.
design improvements
From informational to interactive
Expanding on the business-approved prototype direction, I restructured the app to focus more on property events and amenities. The goal of this phase was to find areas where we could simplify task flows while also improving the information architecture. Taking an interactive approach allowed us to launch quick wins while addressing technical limitations.
For example, on the home page I evolved events from purely informational event list with a link to a full calendar to creating an event card that contained all possible actions a customer could take. I then further refined the event card experience focusing on simplification. Here I created an action bar that only displayed the top priority actions on the event card and, to improve usability of the event cards, I moved lower priority actions to the event detail page.
Collaborative problem solving
This work was a true team effort. I partnered closely with the product team to gather requirements, define scope, and set realistic timelines. Throughout delivery, my team had weekly standups with PMs and developers to ensure smooth execution and tackle technical challenges.
One standout example of this collaboration was redesigning the event detail modal. Initially, event content was pulled from the web via an iFrame, but this caused poor usability in the app. The text-heavy web content didn’t translate well to mobile, making it hard for customers to quickly grasp key event details or take action.
I proposed a new approach: use event content directly from the CMS instead of relying on iFramed web content. Partnering with content management, I mapped a new layout that improved content hierarchy, enhanced discoverability, and made it easier for users to engage with events on mobile.
Continued iteration working through technical limitations
Much like any product rebuild, we encountered technical barriers that prevented the build of the ideal state for MVP. Throughout the process, I continued working closely with product managers, content managers and engineers as I adjusted the design to a state that met current technical abilities while also meeting the needs of customers.
Addressing creative inconsistencies
Due to a somewhat frankenstein build, the existing app used two different UI visual styles. To further create a unified experience, I led the creative initiative to align this app's UI to the company's style guide establishing a standard UI component library based on the brand's style guide. Here I oversaw the development of the UI component library to ensure standard, consistent visual patterns while guiding the effort to add character and delight unique to the app by directing the development of illustrations and animations. The result was a more modern experience that reinforced the Wind Creek Hospitality brand established in their onsite properties into a unified app experience.
next steps
Research
I am currently in the process of designing a moderated usability study with current customers from the 3 customer types that will test:
Reaction to the redesign
Ease of discoverability of key features
Whether the navigation between features is intuitive
Ease of completing event actions
Moments of user success vs. friction points