Hilton Hotels - Content Audit

Small note for the Uxcel team: Submitting this and other projects has been a somewhat frustrating experience as I have lost submissions (learning to save my work offline in another doc now, lol) and drafts frequently freeze. This is my 3rd iteration of what was a much more fleshed out analysis.

Analyzing Hilton.com/Hotels/ homepage.

Most users use "travel information aggregators" such as Expedia now so visiting an established hospitality brand's site directly is in many cases because they know what they are looking for and trust said brand.

In my own case, I have enjoyed every experience staying at a Hilton and wanted to audit their Hotels page to see if their UX is up to par with everything else they do.

First stop: Navigational Header

The placement of the navigational header here is excellent. It provides users a simple and efficient way to look into destinations right from the get go.

As we continue scrolling we come across a carousel which in my opinion should start with the 5th and final image as per the current season, Fall.

The carousel should begin with the image below.

As we continue scrolling we come across 3 different but related sections, where I also believe that we should start with the 3rd section below (Location inspiration). The reasoning for this is that if a user has ignored the navigational header and the seasonal offerings, they might not be sure what they want. Offering them to explore/experience something new might still be too much of a decision, offering a little location inspiration eases the burden on the user.

Next up we come across a promotional section tied to the release of Wicked. The tie-in is not very synergistic as Hilton is not thought of when entertainment comes to mind (Paris Hilton's own projects aside) but it does not detract from the overall user experience. Overall, it's a good placement for this type of cross-promotion.

As we scroll on to the final two sections we have a 5 tab row which starts with a Technology & innovation tab. A minor grievance I have here is the inconsistent capitalization of each tab, I would just capitalize the title of each one.

I also want to emphasize the importance Hilton is placing on their technology and innovation here. As a guest of Hilton hotels I have noticed how much effort they put into making their GX (Guest Experience) as smooth and seamless as possible and for the most part they nail it. From check-in to check-out and every thing in between, they take care of many little details. I would rework this section to emphasize that.

Last but not least we finish with Hilton inviting users to visit their All-Inclusive Escapes with a button to return to the top right below.

This does two things well:

• It finishes up the page with an invitation to users to explore another offering by Hilton
• More importantly, it returns users to the navigational header where they might look further into booking.

Ultimately, most users are still evaluating their options while scrolling through this. The way Hilton presents their core offerings throughout their homepage allows for users to better understand them without being overwhelmed by too many choices.

To finish up, let's take a look at the footer.

My first note is that their social icons are a little out of date. Not the worst problem to have but it's something that can be easily fixed within 15 minutes.

The links to other pages are standard practice and fit well within the expectations of what users should expect to find here.

Overall, Hilton does a solid job here. It is not the most cutting-edge design but it serves users well and is highly accessible according to accessibiltychecker.com