Information Technology Department, College of Computer Studies

De La Salle University - Manila

Project Proposal

for

Exmouth View Hotel UK

As partial fulfilment for

USAENGG

Usability Engineering

Submitted by

Team Masaki

Albornoz, Carlos

Duqu, Nicco

Karino, Masaki

Tagufa, Martin L.

Submitted to

Ms. Michelle Renee D. Ching

Information Technology Department

College of Computer Studies

Date of Submission

October 2, 2015

I. INTRODUCTION

Do you find yourself unable to remember what you are supposed to do, or what did

you came for when you are browsing a website, all because of the poor presentation and

navigation of the website itself? Or maybe you find it too distracting for you to actually find

what you’re looking for in the first place? The purpose of this project is to find a website with

the same problems given above, and to provide a better solution in order to improve the

purpose of the website.

The Exmouth-view.co.uk is an official website focuses on promoting the Exmouth

View Hotel; mainly to tourists and to local travelers who wish to stay for vacations or to dine.

Nowadays, many people are using internet for online booking, reservation, and even just

checking the hotel rates, people are going through websites just to do all that. Hence,

people who wants to have a stay or to dine in Exmouth View Hotel would definitely browse

the website first.

The research team has noticed quite a large amount of design deficiencies and

wrong choices of visual representations of the promotion of the hotel while browsing through

the website. Even most of the information given about the hotel are either not related to the

hotel itself, or lacking in content and details. These are very important elements of a website

when it comes to promoting and providing not too much information, but enough to attract

readers to understand and to be curious and excited enough to actually go to the

destination.

As the research team look into these problems, the main goal is to provide a series of

solutions and prototypes on how would the website be improved and be presented at its

optimal presentation in terms of promoting of the hotel and also in terms of giving readers a

better browsing flow without being too confused in navigation and getting the wrong or

unclear information of the hotel.

II. COMPANY INFORMATION

A. COMPANY DESCRIPTION

Exmouth View Hotel is a family-run hotel built on December 1999 located at

the district of Babbacombe at Torquay, England. The hotel itself is quite

quaint and differentiates itself from the big hotels because it has this cozy and

homey vibe which families having a vacation really enjoy. The hotel resides

beside a beautiful beach and is surrounded by beautiful greenery.

B. INDUSTRY BACKGROUND

The hospitality industry has seen huge growth since the advent of the 21st

century. As things become more digital, convenience comes with it.

Nowadays, searching for hotels is just a simple search query away from your

favorite search engine. Information about the hotels and reviews from its past

customers are also within your reach. Big hotels nowadays even provide

online booking which removes the hassle of having to call up the hotel for a

reservation or hoping that a certain hotel has rooms left when you get there.

This project will then make our chosen company, Exmouth View, stay

relevant and competitive in the new age of hospitality where everything is just

a click away.

C. VISION-MISSION

The hotel aims to provide its customers a family-friendly accommodation and

offering home cooked meals while offering affordable prices.

D. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

E. PRODUCTS / SERVICES

Like other traditional family-run hotels, accommodations are more affordable

compared to other hotels from reduced expenses of the hotel. Also, unlike

other hotels, almost every room is different in terms of interior design. Rooms

varies from single to family room, ensuite shower and toilet with or without

bath, and having a normal view to a sea view with balcony. The Supervisor

and Head Chef, Mika Browne is also the one who mostly prepare the food for

the customers in the dining area. Other services in the hotel include a bar,

entertainment area, dance floor, game room with pool table, and a guest

lounge with TV.

III. SYSTEM / APPLICATION / WEBSITE DETAILS

A. AFFECTED BUSINESS PROCESS

The primary business process affected by the current website is that

customers can’t see the option where to book a room. In their website, it is

represented as a button of Trivago, a travel metasearch engine, which

appears like an advertisement/accessory together with their GIFs because

there are no indications that the user must click this button to book a room via

Trivago (Refer to the first picture in the Current Interface section of this

chapter). Knowing that the current society is technology driven and fast

paced, majority of the people right now prefers online payment when they are

looking for a place to stay. Having good reviews in TripAdvisor (Average of 4

Stars, #61 out of 95 Hotels in Torquay), they must also consider possible

foreign tourists who only depends on WiFi connection during their tour so that

their booking will be hassle-free. Exmouth View Hotel should be really using

its website’s full potential by having their own booking system page.

B. TASK DECOMPOSITION

C. USER REQUIREMENTS

1. High Priority

These are the requirements that must be implemented within the

allotted time. These includes the following pages: Home,

Accommodation, Gallery, Location, and Contact Us since these are

the pages that are mostly visited by any user visiting a hotel website.

And of course, the booking system that will enable the user to book a

room directly from their website.

2. Low Priority

These are the requirements that will only be implemented if time

allows. These pages include News, Nearby Attractions, and Other

necessary pages, but users don't visit too much.

D. CURRENT INTERFACE

1. Homepage

The current home interface of Exmouth View Hotel.

2. Home > AS FEATURED ON TV - click here for details

The page where Exmouth View Hotel shows the page where they were

featured in a TV show.

3. Home > Trivago

Users will be redirected to the homepage of Trivago, instead of the specific

page for Exmouth View Hotel.

4. Home > Picture Page

The page where it shows the internal and external amenities of the Hotel.

5. Home > Tariff 2015 and Special Offers

The page of accommodation rates and special offers which are updated

annually.

6. Home > Daily Menu

The page where it shows the daily menu of the Hotel prepared by Milka

Browne daily.

7. Home > Christmas Break Details

The page where it shows their offers for this year’s christmas season.

8. Home > Map Page

The page where it shows the hotel’s location.

9. Home > Live Travel Update

The page where live traffic update is shown which appears to be a plug in

from a third party organization.

10. Home > Torquay Information

The page where users can read more on Torquay, the location of Exmouth

View Hotel.

11. Home > Local Attractions

The page where users can see the local attractions in Babbacombe

12. Home > Sporting Attractions

The page where visitors or guests can find details about nearby sporting

attractions

13. Home > Detailed Weather

The page where users can see detailed weather in Torquay/Babbacombe.

Similar to the Live Traffic Update, it also appear as a plugin from a third party

organization.

14. Home > What Visitors Say

The page where the comments in their visitor book is put into virtual text in

the website.

14.1 What Visitors Say > Year 8 - 2007

More details when users click on a specific year

15. Home > Contact Us

The page where visitors and possible guests can find contact details to

contact Exmouth View Hotel for inquiries.

E. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The development of the website will be done to improve user interface and

user experience for Exmouth View Hotel as being one of “The 12 Worst Over-

the-top websites of 2014” by Vincent Flander, administrator of

www.webpagesthatsuck.com. The team will only improve the existing user

interface of the main aspects that a hotel website need in general, remove

unwanted pages and sections, and develop a booking system for the said

hotel.

IV. ANALYSIS

A. USER OBSERVATION AND EVALUATION DATA

1. PROTOTYPE 1

2. PROTOTYPE 2

3. PROTOTYPE 3

4. FINAL PROTOTYPE

B. PROPOSED INTERFACE

1. PROTOTYPE 1

2. PROTOTYPE 2

3. PROTOTYPE 3

4. FINAL PROTOTYPE

V. APPENDICES

A. SURVEY FORMS AND ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS

B. INTERVIEW WITH USERS TRANSCRIPT

C. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Exmouth View Hotel Babbacombe Retrieved October 7, 2015, from

http://www.exmouth-view.co.uk/