Improving the booking process & guest experience through surveys

The Challenge

Cancellations repeatedly occurred on Ruby’s English website. Travel plans can change, but the number of cancellations was unusually high. Together with PollHero, Ruby launched a targeted survey with six questions on the English-language cancellation page. The survey was triggered as soon as a hotel guest was redirected to the cancellation confirmation page.

The Questions & Results

1. Why did you cancel your booking?
   1. I booked another hotel
   2. I found a cheaper price elsewhere
   3. I changed or cancelled my travel plans
   4. I had issues while booking or booked double
   5. I wasn’t sure about the payment conditions
   6. I was only checking availability or prices
   7. Other
2. What made you choose the other hotel?
   1. Better price
   2. Better location
   3. Better reviews
   4. Better amenities / comfort
   5. More flexible cancellation policy
   6. Other
3. Which issues did you encounter? (Free Text)
4. What could have encouraged you to keep your booking?
   1. Lower price
   2. More flexible rate
   3. Option to pay later
   4. Special offer
   5. Nothing – I would have cancelled anyway
5. How likely are you to book with us again? (1, not very likely, to 10, very likely)
6. What can we improve?

After the first question, it was already clear: Most guests had problems with the booking process, not with the prices or the hotel itself.

40% selected option d) “I had issues while booking or booked double.” The free-text responses in the Other field also show similar problems:

“I’ve forgotten to add breakfast – I’ll make a new booking including them”

“I booked the wrong room and will rebook”

“By mistake I booked a hotel in Stuttgart, not in Zurich”

This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the rating question about rebooking received an average rating of 9.4.

The Result

It is clear that the cancellations are not due to Ruby and the hotels themselves, but to the booking process. Based on the survey responses, Ruby will redesign the process so that changes to a booking, such as adding breakfast or upgrading rooms, are clearly communicated and easier to make.

The survey results helped Ruby better structure their roadmap and backlog of important changes and establish clear priorities.