Tour Booking Redesign
Improving clarity, trust, and flow in the scheduling experience
Timeline: 4 Weeks
Tools: Figma, Maze, UserTesting.com, Optimal Workshop
Role: UX Researcher
Team Size: 4
The Problem
Why We Took This on
Apartments.com is a top rental platform—but scheduling a tour felt anything but simple. While the site led in listings and filters, users struggled to confidently book in-person tours. Steps felt repetitive. Important information got buried. And the visual design often left users guessing: "Did I actually book this?"
Our challenge was to identify what was creating this friction and redesign the experience to be smoother, more transparent, and ultimately more trustworthy. Could we help users book confidently—and reduce drop-off in the process?
How We Approached it
Our Research Journey
We approached this challenge with a combination of expert evaluation and user-centered research.
1. Cognitive Walkthrough
We mapped out each task a user must take to book a tour, noting breakdowns in clarity or flow.
2. Competetitive Review
We analyzed platforms like Zillow and Redfin for best practices in trust signals and flow design.
3. Card Sort
(27 participants)** — We learned how users naturally group property details, helping us shape a clearer information hierarchy.
4. Qualitative Usability Test - 10 participants
We observed renters as they navigated the current interface, listening for confusion, frustration, and unmet needs.
5. Quantitative Usability Test - 27 participants
We measured success, efficiency, and confidence at scale with the redesigned prototype.
What We Discovered
The Real Pain Points
Through testing and walkthroughs, we uncovered a recurring story: the system required users to recall rather than recognize information, and it often asked them to redo steps they thought were already complete.
“I didn’t realize I had actually confirmed anything.”
Key Friction Points:
- Tour steps were split across multiple pages, increasing mental load.
- Buttons activated even when no valid selection was made.
- Confirmation pages lacked visual hierarchy or “official” feel.
- Progress indicators weren’t prominent or consistent.
- Tour management (rescheduling/canceling) was disconnected from the main experience.
I already picked a date, but it keeps showing me more.
From Insight to Opportunity
What We Could Improve
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Solution: Collapse into a guided, single page flow.
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Solution: Improve hierarchy and visual clarity
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Solution: Use disabled states to prevent errors
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Solution: Add centralized tour management
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Solution: Integrate third-party verified ratings (e.g., Google Reviews)
Our Design Moves
Solving the Right Problems
We introduced changes that centered clarity and control.
✨ **Sticky Nav + Personalized Overview:** Users see key info at a glance and filter by what matters most to them.
📅 **Streamlined Tour Flow:** No more jumping between nested screens—users move through each step smoothly.
✅ **Persistent Selections:** Selections (date, time) are always visible and editable, giving users confidence.
📨 **Confirmation Page Redesign:** Details are bold, visual, and easy to refer back to later.
🔁 **Tour Management:** Users can now modify or cancel tours through a unified system.
⭐ **Trust Signals:** Integrated reviews and verification badges build user confidence before booking.
“I didn’t even realize how frustrated I was before. This version just makes sense.”
— Quote Source
This project was a deep dive into how invisible UX issues impact trust. I learned to look for subtle cognitive load problems—where users don’t feel stuck, but just… uneasy. It taught me how to combine analytical research with empathetic design.
If I had more time, I would’ve tested our redesign with users over 50 and with screen readers to ensure our improvements were truly inclusive.