Canyon Ranch.
Canyon Ranch is a storied brand and a true pioneer in integrated medicine and wellness hospitality. For years Canyon Ranch was ahead of its time, advocating for an interdisciplinary approach that put mental and spiritual health on equal footing with physical health. Fans of the brand would flock to its properties (“Ranches”) year after year for immersive stays that would give them insight and (often) change the course of their lives. Fast forward to 2020, and Canyon Ranch was still delivering on its integrated promise on Ranch.
But the brand found itself in a very different competitive context: a host of new digital and destination players, from luxury gyms to virtual services, were challenging Canyon Ranch’s position as a trusted wellness guide. And often they were doing it with digital tools that made for a more seamless experience that could go anywhere a user went. Canyon Ranch needed a way to play a bigger role in peoples’ lives—taking the iconic promise of the Ranch and making it accessible anywhere.
The challenge.
Today, activities and services are provided in a paper booklet to guests. To book anything guests must speak to a Wellness Guide, either in person or over the phone. This is a tedious process for guests and also causes Wellness Guides to spend most of their time as an order taker as opposed to doing high value work such as suggesting specific things that they may like. Canyon Ranch selected us to design and build a mobile application that would solve guest problems resulting in increased NPS score, increase ancillary spend on ranch and open up Wellness Guides to have more strategic conversations.
Canyon Ranch, a leader in the wellness industry for over 40 years, offers guests transformative experiences integrating health and well-being at its immersive destination resorts. However, an inefficient and complicated trip-planning (pre-stay) experience overwhelmed guests and threatened the organization's future growth and expansion in a competitive market.
Canyon Ranch needs a streamlined pre-stay experience to drive profitability and help guests meet their wellness goals.
So, how might we provide guests with a high-touch pre-stay experience that promotes discoverability and reduces complexity?
What we made:
A native iOS application that allows guests to discover new activities and book services. Increasing revenue and customer satisfaction.
Services
Product strategy, interaction design, visual design, service blueprint design, user research, rapid experimentation, software engineering.
Project Details.
Role/Contribution: UX Researcher, UX Strategist, Product Strategist
Cross-Functional Team (Co-Shore): Delivery Lead, Product Designer, UX Researcher, Technical Architect, Software Engineer (2), QA
Industry: Luxury Hospitality, Wellness
Project Timeline: 30 Weeks (Kick-off in 2021)
High-Level Objectives
Identify guest pain points and backstage challenges during the trip planning (pre-stay) period
Prioritize opportunities based on strategic importance and organizational business objectives
Evaluate the desirability and usability of design solutions with end-users to reduce risk.
Insights & Impact.
First steps of our re-design process ideation.
Phase of the project centered on the on-ranch experience. In this phase, the team explored the desirability of an in-app favorites feature as a possible solution. Research showed that the concept did not resonate with guests then, so favorites were scraped and not incorporated into the app's first version.
As we entered the pre-stay phase, stakeholders had already dismissed the feature, shifting their focus elsewhere. However, when I engaged with guests, the pain point quickly resurfaced. Recognizing its significance, I revisited the concept, tailoring it to the pre-stay experience. Fresh interviews and concept tests revealed that favorites appealed to guests during their planning stage, usually two to four weeks before their visit. Furthermore, booking data indicated that guests seldom scheduled additional services post-arrival, shedding light on why the idea didn't gain ground in prior research centered around the on-ranch experience.
I shared my findings and suggestions with stakeholders, underscoring the mutual benefits of reintroducing this feature: it simplifies guests' noting interests and scheduling, while the business obtains valuable data-driven insights on preferences and conversions to inform future enhancements. The stakeholders concurred, leading to the inclusion of favorites in the app.
Some Interview Insights from participants:
Research and visual references.
Traditionally, guests consulted a Wellness Guide (WG) before booking services and activities. WGs are dedicated to understanding guests' needs, offering tailored recommendations to achieve their wellness goals, and assisting with booking. Many guests, especially those visiting Canyon Ranch for the first time, appreciate this high-touch approach.
Yet, my research showed some guests were irked by the process; some preferred minimal staff interaction, while frequent guests often knew their preferences and didn't wish to go through the motions with a WG. This posed a challenge for the business as WGs are defacto salespeople who drive revenue through bookings. Canyon Ranch needed to provide a delightful experience to every guest, especially its most loyal, while optimizing its sales potential.
My research revealed that guests who preferred to skip formal WG consultations responded favorably to using self-guided quizzes and finders. I proposed this approach as a self-service option, providing curated recommendations and allowing WG follow-ups as needed. In doing so, Canyon Ranch caters seamlessly to both guest types while preserving its selling opportunities. In addition, with these digital features accessible before, during, and after visits, the business amplifies its sales and marketing reach through the entire customer lifecycle.
There was also the fact of some research on similar apps and visual references to have some visual inspiration of how to conduct the proper re-design process and information architecture and experience of the new app.
The app should enhance human connection, not replace it.
Throughout the project, I spoke with staff and internal experts for a systemic understanding of the guest experience. Through these discussions, I found that while WGs feared the app would replace them, leadership recognized their role as an essential component of the Canyon Ranch experience and a key differentiator. While I pinpointed opportunities for the app to improve operational efficiency (e.g., communication and scheduling), user interviews consistently highlighted that guests deeply trust and value the expertise and emotional support of WGs.
As mentioned in my previous insight, some guests strongly prefer self-service; however, for those who prefer human connection, the app should make these interactions as frictionless as possible. This approach makes it easier for these guests to access Canyon Ranch's most valuable resources while streamlining backstage functions. This recommendation resonated with both staff and leadership, prompting the development of consultation scheduling and notification features.
Old app look and feel…overwhelming, right? :(
Methods: the way to a solution.
I conducted multiple rounds of moderated interviews, each focusing on specific research questions. When possible, I brought in stakeholders to observe, helping to build empathy and buy-in. This approach was beneficial when users invalidated stakeholder's assumptions. I used affinity mapping to synthesize the data, and the generative insights from these interviews helped clarify the problems and inform our early concepts.
Expert Workshops
In addition to speaking with guests, I facilitated several workshops for internal subject matter experts to round out my understanding of guest pain points and identify backstage challenges—where these two intersected were prime opportunities. In addition, these expert's domain knowledge and years of experience helped shape our solutions.
Card Sorting
We needed to examine the app's information architecture to support its expansion and ensure navigability and discoverability. Card sorting allowed me to understand users' expectations of content structure. I conducted moderated, open-sort sessions using Optimal Workshop. Then, I analyzed the data using similarity matrices and dendrograms to generate quantitative data-backed recommendations. In addition, I strongly recommended subsequent tree testing to evaluate these hierarchies, but I couldn't proceed due to project constraints.
Site Mapping, User Journey & Early Stages Solution.
I used site mapping to inventory the app's content for card sorting and to visualize my recommendations based on the resulting insights. The visual nature of the site map made it easy for stakeholders to understand the relationship between content and navigation paths, and this approach helped facilitate feedback.
Priority Guides
I used priority guides to visualize the content hierarchy of screens at the object level without layout specifications. I partnered with the rest of the team to implement this content-first approach and maintain focus on user needs rather than aesthetics in the early stages of design. In addition, this method allowed us to extract meaningful feedback from stakeholders and prevent premature visual critique.
In addition I also worked in a quick diagram as well for the functionality of the app in this new information architecture.
Lean Canvas & Value Proposition
In addition to all of these, I collaborated with stakeholders to visualize the strategic approach through lean canvas and value proposition workshops. While Canyon Ranch isn't a startup, its digital maturity is still evolving. Given this, I opted for the lean canvas' emphasis on the problem instead of the broader view provided by the business model canvas. Subsequently, I collaborated with the client to develop a strong value proposition to evaluate the alignment between intended value and customer expectations.
Hands-on Design.
The generative insights from user and expert interviews helped shape some of our early solutions. I used concept testing to evaluate these ideas early in the process to evaluate user desirability and determine if the solution was worth pursuing. Partnering with Visual Design department, I emphasized speed over fidelity, using quick prototypes and wireframes to get user feedback and gain clarity quickly. This approach reduced risk and prevented the unnecessary expenditure of resources on the wrong idea.
This MVP covers the core of the app I was assigned to: visits, reservation details, showing my selected pathways, room, credits, services and pre-stays, as well the workflow for this feature. Below are some examples.
Wireframing.
High Fidelity Design & Visuals.
After the low-fidelity prototypes were tested with different users, we gathered a very good feedback and went on to apply the visual style and design look and feel that our Visual Designers had in conception to improve the visuals, I did not participate in the elaboration of these mockups (high fidelity ones), but was working side by side the visual designers to always match what we have in the initial experience and information architecture and structure of our app.
Final Results & Takeaways.
When the project's first phase kicked off in 2021, everything went well so far until the testings were happening. Unfortunately, from the outset, there was a disconnect between the organization's long-term goals and the proposed solution. After a discussion with the project's former chief stakeholder, it became clear that the Canyon Ranch wanted to extend its offerings into homes through "robust online experiences" such as virtual services and concierge medicine, virtual Kiosk and digital Key services. However, the app's primary design, centered around helping guests plan their on-ranch visits, fell short of this vision with that overwhelming robust app concept they had in mind instead.
In retrospect, this disconnect sheds light on many of the challenges we faced regarding project scope with stakeholders. Although the strategic methods I employed helped course-correct, by incrementing after the first MVP was launched a 5% increase of customer retention that was using the on-app booking services, although this experience highlights the pivotal role of discovery and precise challenge framing in determining a project's success.
Trusted advisors need to deliver strong points of view.
Research aims to reduce risk by discovering insights that let the business make better decisions faster. As a freelance consultant in the project and part of a really small team, I needed to facilitate this decision-making. Initially, I presented to stakeholders using a step-by-step, chronological format, yielding multiple options. I quickly realized this approach did not help stakeholders—they needed strong points of view. It wasn't until I began leading with clear, direct, and unambiguous perspectives that I garnered traction and earned the client's trust.
Client empathy earns trust and respect.
All good things must come to an end. Although we provided the client with tremendous value and earned their trust, after an almost two-year engagement, Canyon Ranch decided to partner with an off-shore agency due to financial constraints. Rather than be bitter, I employed empathy and focused on the client's long-term success—I wanted them to win. To support their new partner, I worked with design to facilitate a seamless handoff, providing the new team with the research, strategy, and design "blueprints" necessary to hit the ground running. This outlook is how you earn trust and respect with past and future clients.