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Upside
One Way Rental Cars
The simplest solution to a deceptively complex problem.
Services
UX Strategy
UI Design
UX Research
Introduction
When they travel by car a lot for business, users need to be able to pick up a car at one location and drop it off at another location anywhere in the country. At Upside Business Travel we took on the challenge of creating a solution that would address our users unique needs in this space and meet the business need of increasing customer retention so clients would see us as a one-stop shop for all their business travel needs.
The Problem
Rental car users need to be able to pick up a car at one location and drop it off at another location anywhere in the country. This poses unique challenges that don’t exist with round-trip travel. Additionally, technical limitations require different backend solutions depending on whether the user is starting with an airport or an off-airport location.
The Process
User Research — User interviews and surveys revealed that one-way rental cars was a major ask from users and was one of the major reasons potential clients would use a different service rather than booking their whole trip through Upside. Competitive analysis showed that while most competitors offered the ability to book a one-way rental car, most had different approaches on how to handle the drop off aspect. Some user interviews suggested that our user’s wanted to be able to select their drop off location rather than being locked in to a preset drop off point. They revealed a feeling of being forced to drop off a car in a location that was nowhere near where they were going which caused a lot of friction with their trip logistics.
Personas — When it comes to the shopping side of business travel products there are basically two types of users. Ones that book travel for themselves and ones that book travel for others. Sometimes their needs are very different, but often they have similar needs. In this case, their needs were closely aligned and revealed clear ambiguity around trip itinerary causing a need to be able to change plans easily and find the most reasonable rates for either themselves or whomever they are booking travel for.
Mockups — We designed two paths that would allow users the key ability to select the drop off location and even allowed the additional benefit to change that drop off location at any time post booking. This helped travel arrangers (those who book travel for others) to have added flexibility for their travelers busy and unpredictable schedules.
Complications
Initial Approach — Due to technological hurdles, we originally devised that we would need to develop multiple paths that the users shopping experience would take depending on how they started their search. We also identified a few edge cases that required special consideration. While testing prototypes we discovered that we could further refine our approach resulting in the ultimate two path solution.
Outcome
This is probably my favorite projects because it allowed me to design for a kindred spirit. I grew up on comics, I learned to draw because I love comics and that led me to design. So, for me this was a chance to pay it forward so to speak and to work on a project that was uniquely tied to my past and my roots as a designer. It was also the first time that I worked with a client in a foreign country, let alone the other side of the world — an experience that presented interesting challenges. In the end both client and designer accomplished a great deal with this site so while not perfect I would happily call it a success.
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