Hotwire is routinely faced with a unique user experience challenge: the business model requires that customers compromise some upfront knowledge of the product in exchange for significantly lower prices. Considering the “buyer beware” attitude that a typical consumer brings to a site, how is it possible to gain user trust even when some upfront information is compromised?

Inspired by “The Paradox of Choice,” we addressed the issue of user distrust with a new approach during the recent redesign of the Air Search path: we mimicked an interaction with a travel agent. A travel agent would never offer an overwhelming number of options, so, unlike many travel sites, we extended this model by exploring interruptions and information restriction -- creating an unconventional approach for providing flight search results to the user.

Regardless of industry, users spend an increasing amount of time searching an overwhelming number of options to find the best product. In this session, we will discuss how to successfully guide your users through these large amounts of data. The following will be addressed: our issues of trust, information guiding the Hotwire approach, Hotwire’s flight search redesign strategy and solution, the outcome with regards to user feedback, conversion improvement and changes in trust, and tips for how to apply this model to your site.