Hotwire

UX Designer

Hotwire, the last-minute online travel agency owned by Expedia Group, wanted to launch a Beta version of their first-ever customer loyalty program, High Roller. The goal of the loyalty program was to create value-rich offerings for Hotwire's loyal customer base, and to incentivize new members to use the Hotwire app to work towards membership qualification.

As a core UX designer on the team, I contributed largely to the program's design development and branding. The initial product release targeted engaged customers with 3+ completed Hotwire bookings, with plans for design expansion and broader rollout following successful testing and validation.

• End-to-end visual design system development for the loyalty program, creating a distinct yet cohesive identity that aligned with existing brand parameters while establishing unique loyalty-specific elements

• Facilitated cross-functional collaboration between UX, Development, and Content teams to validate technical feasibility and optimize the final design solution

• Built a scalable design framework that could accommodate future brand evolution while maintaining consistent user experience across all loyalty program elements

9 Core Members

6 months

Hotwire, a growing brand within Expedia Group, needed to convert its unique value proposition—luxury hotels at steep discounts through an opaque booking model where hotel names are revealed only after purchase—into stronger customer retention. User research revealed that customers who understood Hotwire's unique model became loyal and frequent bookers, but breaking through the initial uncertainty of the unconventional booking process created hesitation among new users.

This research indicated a clear opportunity: users who fully grasped Hotwire's business model were substantially more likely to book and return for future stays, particularly for last-minute travel. This insight revealed the need for a program that could both educate users and reward loyalty, transforming first-time bookers into confident repeat customers.

The goal was to design a loyalty program that would combine VIP treatment and targeted perks with strategic user education, effectively retaining existing customers while providing a clear path to scale from beta to general availability. This approach would address both customer retention and acquisition by demonstrating the value of Hotwire's unique booking model while rewarding program members with exclusive benefits."

The High Roller loyalty program targeted Hotwire users within one of our three main traveler categories:

• Appreciates the tradeoff of deep discounts in exchange for last-minute travel plans

• Is on a budget + prefers flexible travel deals to planning a pricier, more conventional trip

• Is in a last-minute situation and needs a quick, affordable option

• Initial Scope: Create a branded UX/UI for Hotwire's Beta loyalty program, designing within the existing brand parameters.
  

• Challenge: The team needed to design a loyalty program while a broader UX/UI rebrand of Hotwire was simultaneously in development, with uncertain timing for the rebrand's completion - this created timing and integration complexity. The
  

• Desired UX/UI changes to Hotwire's overall experience had been identified, but a full redesign was not in scope - rebranding efforts were operating in tandem in a separate workflow
  

• Implementing the loyalty program without addressing underlying interface issues was risky from a user experience perspective
  

• Had to find creative solutions for the loyalty program that would work within current experience and brand constraints

Our team initiated research by gathering crucial data from two key internal sources: customer behavior and purchase trend analysis from our UX Researcher, alongside detailed program perk specifications from Product Management. To deepen our understanding, I partnered with another UX Designer to research competitive analysis, focusing on mapping the existing Hotwire user journey.

This process revealed 15 strategic touchpoints where loyalty features could be effectively integrated into the current flow. The challenge was to design a cohesive loyalty experience that would seamlessly connect these various touchpoints while enhancing the overall user journey, ultimately driving customer engagement and retention.

Building on the user journey mapping, the design phase focused on developing a distinct visual identity for the loyalty program while maintaining alignment with Hotwire's existing brand. The key challenge was creating a recognizable loyalty-specific visual system that would differentiate program features within the app while complementing Hotwire's existing gradient-based design language.

Through iterative testing and user feedback, we determined that a purple-based color scheme resonated better with users than initial gold concepts, which were perceived as too reminiscent of casino aesthetics. This strategic visual direction helped establish a cohesive loyalty brand identity that balanced differentiation with integration.

The design phase progressed into high-fidelity mockups, integrating both visual elements and copy across the mapped user journey touchpoints. This included me championing the development of the High Roller email campaign to drive program awareness and adoption.

Through collaborative reviews with Development and UX teams, we validated technical feasibility and identified areas where the visual system needed refinement to prevent cognitive overload. The iterative feedback process with stakeholders proved crucial in optimizing the final design solution before development handoff, ensuring both user experience quality and technical implementation efficiency.