This case study discusses how Hotwire.com redesigned their air travel booking site to build trust with users by restricting certain flight information like airline and number of connections until after booking. Testing showed providing all flight details upfront led users to focus on price alone rather than overall experience. The redesign helped users feel more confident in their purchase decisions and increased booking conversions by 17%.

1. Building trust through restricted information:
A case study of the Hotwire.com air redesign
IA Summit 2008
Melissa Matross
Senior Manager, User Experience
mmatross@hotwire.com

2. Trust

3. brands I trust

4. Excellent service
Stands behind products with a “no questions
asked” return policy
brands I trust

5. Excellent service
Stands behind products with a “no questions
asked” return policy
Quality for good price
Focus on trend design
brands I trust

6. Excellent service
Stands behind products with a “no questions
asked” return policy
Quality for good price
Focus on trend design
Excellent service
Makes life easier when bad things happen
brands I trust