[TIMELINE]

Oct 2023 - Oct 2024

[ROLE]

PRODUCT DESIGN LEAD

[TEAM]

PM NICK BARBER, RUCHIRA JAIN

TEAM CORPORATE, MARKETING, PAYMENT, OBT

Simplify travel management for groups of any size traveling to the same destination, anywhere in the world.

Context

Spotnana Events is a travel management platform designed to simplify group travel for events of any size. I led the design and development of the entire Spotnana Events product, collaborating closely with product and engineering teams. I focused on creating an intuitive and efficient experience for event planners and attendees. This involved designing user flows for event creation and management, setting travel policies and restrictions, and tracking booking status and expenses. I also worked on attendee-facing features like self-service booking tools.

The project's success led to its evolution into a new platform, SPD Bookings, which expands on Spotnana Events to handle more complex travel scenarios. Due to NDA, I shared limited details about SPD Bookings in the next section.

Impact

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Streamlined Efficiency

Automates and streamlines complex travel booking processes, freeing up time for event organizers and TMCs.

Elevated User Experience

Simplifies travel management for both event organizers and attendees, providing an intuitive and user-friendly interface.

Industry-Wide Adoption

The release of Events led to significant client acquisition, with major companies like Meta, Amazon, and Walmart adopting the platform for their group travel needs.

Evolution of Events

Real-time Monitoring

Enabled admins to monitor booking status in real time, providing up-to-date information on traveler progress and potential issues.

Phase #1 Genesis - Tesla's Need & Rapid Response

On my third day at Spotnana, I presented a demo to Tesla, addressing their need for efficient group travel booking. Our initial solution streamlined their workflow and tackled their manual booking challenges through rapid feature updates.

Guest Management

Simplified and refined the process of adding and managing guest information.

To accommodate increasingly complex scenarios, we shifted towards an SPD-style booking process. This allows admins to create reusable templates for various travel purposes, streamlining trip setup and reducing manual effort.

Phase #2 Expanding Scope - Recruitment & Diverse Use Cases

Based on Tesla's feedback and internal testing, we iterated on the design to accommodate broader use cases. This included features for recruitment scenarios, where HR teams needed to book travel for potential candidates outside the company system. This version introduced refined event management, diverse payment options, and expanded guest invitation capabilities.

Customization

Enabled customized event settings, including event images, allowed booking types, specific location details, and preferred airline options.

Payment: Introduced diverse payment methods to accommodate various booking scenarios.

Data Collaboration

Collaborated with the data team to implement event metadata tracking and a dashboard view of event lists for admins.

Phase #3 Spotnana Events - Internal Testing & Global Launch

To ensure the platform could handle large-scale events, we first deployed Spotnana Events for our own company-wide offsite in Dubai, with over 500 employees. After successful internal testing and refinement, we launched Spotnana Events as a global solution. This version simplified group travel for events with shared dates, limited booking types for better policy control, allowed for customized payment methods, and enabled easy traveler list management. It provided a streamlined booking experience for events worldwide, with features like customized email invitations and real-time booking status tracking. This success led to adoption by major clients like Meta, Amazon, and Walmart.

  • Global platform for managing events worldwide

  • Customized email invitations and real-time booking status tracking

  • Successfully deployed for large-scale events and adopted by major clients

Phase #4 Evolving into Specialty Desk Travel (SPD)

With growing demand and the onboarding of major clients like Amazon and Meta, the limitations of "Events" became apparent. It couldn't handle diverse traveler types, complex policies, and the need for more granular control. This led to the development of Specialty Desk Travel (SPD), a platform designed to manage intricate enterprise travel needs with enhanced flexibility, automation, control, and visibility. SPD introduced features like customizable templates for various travel types (e.g., new hire onboarding, relocations), streamlined trip creation, flexible booking options (self-service and agent-assisted), granular control over booking parameters, and comprehensive reporting.

I started by transforming the Events product to scale for other booking types. In the meantime, we also took this opportunity to implement Spotnana's new design system, which revamped our visual design. The SPD project is currently being implemented, and you can find more details in the next project section.

Summary

I led the design of Spotnana Events, a platform simplifying group travel booking for events of any size. I was passionate about creating an intuitive and enjoyable experience for both event planners and attendees, and I'm proud of the work we did to bring this product to life.

My contributions:

  • Led the design and development of the entire Spotnana Events product.

  • Championed user experience and design consistency.

  • Drove the implementation of Spotnana's new design system.

  • Played a key role in the successful adoption of the platform by major clients.