Nexo
Client
Neoland School
Services
UX Research, Product Designer
Industries
travek
Date
December 2023
Problem statement
Researching new travel trends, we found that people increasingly saw a need for a more immersive experience in the culture of the country they are visiting, along with other features such as a longer duration. In short, these types of people want to travel for longer, cheaper, or almost freely, as well as having more experience and closeness with local people.
Breakdow of the problem
Thanks to oblique strategies and thinking about "both sides of the coin", we detect that not only travelers have problems, but that hosts have their own projects or need help in their homes in various ways such as animal care, children, sustainable projects, reception in hostels...
Hosts cannot, or it is too expensive, to hire a person to work a day or for specific jobs, above all, the problem is not the salary itself, but paying all the taxes and other types of costs. On the other hand, these hosts are often busy people or those who are not at home very much.
There is a secondary need on the part of travelers to have a much more immersive, real and close experience with the local people and the culture of the place. Often, this is something that both parties demand, cultural exchange is a problem presented by both user profiles.
Travelers are looking for specific kind of jobs, although other times they are open to any jobs. This is the result of an analysis of the employment situation in Spain, which above all causes discontent among young people who do not adjust to the quality of life conditions they demand.
Understanding the travel philosophy of our users, how and for how long do they travel?
Traveling is not the same as going on vacation
Our users understand the fact of traveling in a different way. Among the main features, the following stand out:
✅ Traveling Is actually cheaper than going on vacation.
✅ Thanks to the interviews, we identified that the average duration of a trip for our users in the same place is 1 to 3 months.
✅ Users are looking to learn new skills or languages in addition to connecting with new local people.
What they like to do?
These types of travelers usually go with friends or as a couple, although the most common is to go alone to meet new people, have cultural and language exchange. They are adventurous people, who love to live experiences such as trekking, surfing, snowboarding, camping...
User persona
Verónica
Arquetipo: "independet traveler"
Years old: 27
Work: Tour guide
Family: Single
Home: Burgos, Spain
free time - photography - lenguages
Objectives
Travel more around the world without worrying about money while meeting other cultures and new people, making friends from other countries and improving your languages.
Frustrations
Many times you have to say no to a trip because you don't have enough money to live for a long time in the place of the destination since the rents are quite expensive compared to your salary. Above all, she hates feeling like just another tourist, who is treated differently by the locals.
Bio
Laura is a tour guide who works in a travel agency in Madrid. She loves her job, but would like to travel more on her own and have more authentic and enriching experiences. That's why he's signed up for Nexo, a platform that allows him to offer his work in exchange for accommodation in different destinations. So you can save money, learn from hosts, collaborate on your projects, and feel more integrated into the local culture.
Journey Map
Traveler Journey: In this journey we collect how our users who have a traveler profile will behave, that is, the people who are going to offer their help in exchange for accommodation
Research Method - Surveys
We conducted surveys open to a more general audience to learn more about travel behavior, these are the questions that helped us the most to obtain this data.
Taking everything in consideration, we can identify and see which apps these users use, as well as airbnb or other booking platforms, this helps us understand the patterns they are most used to. We also see important data such as a high level of education and that the most common thing is to make two to three trips a year
Research method - Intervews
For the interviews we have focused on a more specific audience, who were already doing this type of work activities in exchange for accommodation, or volunteering, of all I would highlight those of Abril and Octabi, two people aged 27 and 38 who have a lot of experience in other platforms of this type such as workaway. That's why your answers are going to be of great value in our project, as it's the closest we'll get to our actual target audience before launch
Key data
We confirm that the average duration of one of these trips in the same place is 1 to 3 months.
Jobs usually last 2-3 hours a day, 5 days a week, and the most common jobs are help with social media or construction work.
Expectations regarding accommodation are usually low, with the most common being a shared room with other volunteers or a private room within the house.
Verbatims
Abril, 27 years old - “Lo que más me gustó de mi viaje fue la gente que conocí, que me enseñó mucho y me hizo sentir como en casa.”
Octabi, 38 years old - "Lo que me motivó a hacer ese viaje fue la curiosidad por conocer una cultura tan diferente a la mía, y el interés por aprender sobre el idioma, la religión y la filosofía de vida de los tailandeses."
Information architecture
In our app's sitemap, we were able to specify check-in without authentication, as well as the registration of hosts and travelers. Then we see two types of profiles, the traveler profile stands out because one of the most important sections is to look for a host, while the host profile lacks this functionality and also what for the traveler is the travel page, for the host is the booking page, where they can manage them and much more.
Wireframing
Prototyping
Main Features
Advance filter
It includes the main functions of a search engine, such as:
Individual or multiple trips
Choose your destination, being able to choose a specific or more general destination.
Choose dates
Add participants to the trip
Community section
A section where you can see, read and enjoy post from any other travelers or create your own.
Personalized Profile
In the profile, we have sections that travelers can fill in based on the trips they've taken and the experiences they've shared with hosts. It looks kind of like a travelogue or a timeline.
