Curated Planet: tour app that keeps travellers in sync
Curated Planet (now TourOptima) is a mobile app that keeps tour operators and travellers in sync. It takes the stress out of pickups, meeting points and last-minute changes, with updates in the app, by email and by SMS, and with location sharing during the tour.
I joined in the middle of the project. The app had just been tested with users, and a lot of it needed redesigning, fast. I owned the whole UX/UI process: wireframes, prototypes, UI and visual design, and testing the final result with users.
“Guides were sharing their personal phone numbers just to stay in touch with guests.”
The problem
User testing showed two big problems. The first was location sharing. The app asked guests to share their location all the time, and they said it drained their battery. So they turned it off, and guides could no longer find them.
The second was communication. Guests, guides and the office had no good way to reach each other inside the app, and the research made it clear that the app needed a chat.
On top of that, the pins on the map had no connection to the itinerary. That left three things to solve: connect the map to the itinerary, keep location sharing on without draining the battery, and give everyone a way to talk.
Connecting the map and the itinerary
In the old version, the map and the day’s plan sat on the same screen but didn’t relate to each other. The numbered pins didn’t match anything below them.
In the redesign, every stop in the itinerary has a matching numbered pin. Tapping a pin brings up that stop’s card, so guests can see where they’re going and what’s next in one place. Guides and guests show up on the same map, so everyone can see who is where.
Location sharing that guests keep on
Guests were asked to share their location all the time so guides could find them. Their batteries drained fast, so most of them turned sharing off, and guides lost track of where people were.
That had real consequences. On bike tours, guests fell off their bikes and guides couldn’t find them to help.
Location sharing now has three states: On, Off, and an alert that asks guests to turn it back on so others can find them. Locations are only shared during the tour, and only with the guides, so guests don’t see each other and nobody is tracked when they don’t need to be.
One chat for every role
Before the redesign, guests could only reach the office through the app. Guides and guests talked through other apps, and guides ended up sharing their personal phone numbers, which they weren’t comfortable with.
Adding a chat was the obvious answer, but not a simple one. Admins, guides, guests and app support each needed to reach different people, so I designed every chat room around one purpose: Main Office, Announcements, Group Chat, On-Trip Support and App Support.
Each room is open to different roles. For example, only guides and admins can post announcements, and guests reach their guide one to one through On-Trip Support.
“Admins, guides, guests and app support each needed to reach different people, so every chat room has one purpose.”
Final screens
A selection of the final screens: exploring tours, the itinerary and map, finding guides, chat, and shared photos.
