Key Takeaways
**Challenge:** A major hotel brand redesigned their flagship website with an innovative interactive collage that users loved—but it blocked conversions instead of driving bookings
**Solution:** Prototyping and user testing revealed the disconnect between engagement and conversion before the design went to production
**Key Result:** Testing exposed that the immersive experience distracted users from booking, allowing the team to pivot before investing in full development
**Lesson Learned:** High engagement doesn't always equal business results—prototypes help product managers validate assumptions and reduce costly mistakes
The Importance of User-Centered UX Design
Earlier in my career, I worked for a prominent hotel company as an in-house UX designer within the global product group. I had the privilege of working on the redesign of the company's flagship brand website. While this was an enormous undertaking from any standpoint, the lift was further intensified by the fact that the brand was also transforming its positioning and related messaging.
Challenge: Balancing Brand Experience with Conversion Goals
In the redesign, we had several goals and objectives to achieve from a business, customer experience, and technology perspective. For the home page, a key objective was to ensure the new brand experience was clear so everyone who landed on the home page would understand the new branding, be inspired by this elevated change, and thus want to engage deeply with the new brand experience.
The Allure of Innovation: A High-Impact Interactive Prototype
The brand leadership team hired a creative agency to collaborate with our internal team. This creative agency was awesome to work with. Together, we prototyped a high-impact experience by presenting an interactive collage of images that truly expressed the heart of the brand and drew people into "living" the experience online. One would hover over an image within the collage, say of a woman enjoying an espresso in the café at the hotel in Paris, and then the collage would animate and present a new collection of images related to the location, food, cafés, and city hotel experiences. The brand team and everyone involved loved the concept and practically gave the "green light" to move forward after reviewing.
The Prototyping Revelation: Engagement Doesn't Always Equal Conversion
Fortunately, our team already planned multiple tests ranging from first impressions to messaging and usability as a next step. So, while everyone was on-board with the concept, we needed to validate it before taking this to production.
With much anticipation and excitement to see the reactions and gather consumer feedback, we tested with existing and prospective customers across various demographics, and persona attributes to ensure we had accurate representation.
Test after test, unanimously, we received very similar outcomes. People loved the home page and would spend considerable time playing with the interactive collage, exploring various hotel properties and destination experiences.
Our initial joy at feeling we had hit a "home run" with our new design quickly dissipated, and our hearts sank. Over and over, people would keep playing and exploring, but they seldom booked a room! While the call-to-action was available, the experience we designed had created a blocker in that booking a room had truly become secondary in their mind.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do prototypes help product managers reduce risk?
Prototypes expose flawed assumptions before they become expensive production mistakes. By testing interactive prototypes with real users, product managers can validate whether a design actually achieves business goals—not just whether users like it. This case study shows how a beloved design failed to drive conversions, a critical insight discovered through prototyping that saved the company from launching a beautiful but ineffective experience.
What's the difference between user engagement and conversion?
User engagement measures how much people interact with your product (time on page, clicks, exploration), while conversion measures whether they complete your business goal (booking, purchasing, signing up). This hotel website redesign proved that high engagement doesn't guarantee conversion—users loved exploring the interactive collage but forgot to book rooms. Product managers must test for both metrics.
When should product managers prototype and test designs?
Always prototype and test before production, even when stakeholders love the concept. In this case, the brand team had already given the "green light" after reviewing the prototype, but user testing revealed a fatal flaw. Testing should happen after initial design approval but before development investment—this is when you can still pivot without major cost.
What types of tests should be run on prototypes?
Run multiple test types to validate different aspects: first impressions (does the design communicate the right message?), messaging comprehension (do users understand the value proposition?), and usability testing (can users complete key tasks?). This hotel redesign used all three, which revealed that while first impressions were positive, task completion (booking) failed.
How do you know if a prototype is successful?
A successful prototype achieves business objectives, not just user satisfaction. Measure task completion rates, conversion metrics, and time-to-goal alongside qualitative feedback. In this case, users gave positive feedback but failed to book rooms—a clear signal that the design needed revision despite high engagement scores.
What should product managers do when testing reveals problems?
Treat testing failures as valuable insights, not setbacks. When this hotel website prototype showed users weren't booking, the team had options: simplify the interactive experience, make CTAs more prominent, or redesign the information architecture. The key is catching these issues in prototyping when changes are cheap, not after launch when they're expensive.
Can a design be too engaging?
Yes—when engagement distracts from your primary goal. This interactive collage was so immersive that users forgot they came to book a hotel room. Product managers must balance brand experience with conversion optimization. Sometimes the most innovative design isn't the most effective. Prototyping helps you find the right balance before committing to development.