Facebook Travel Case Study
Make travel planning easier by collaborating with friends and family anywhere
Role
UX/UI Designer
Industry
Travel
Duration
11 weeks
Background
During the pandemic in 2020, I participated in an 11-week product management fellowship, where I was 1 of 30 selected from 300+ applicants. Through product-focused workshops and mentorship, I built my product-sense toolkit and collaborated with aspiring PMs. For the final project, my team partner and I chose Facebook, recognizing its potential to simplify one of the most frustrating aspects of travel: trip planning. We proposed a collaborative travel planning portal, leveraging Facebook’s social network and algorithms to streamline the process. In this project, I acted as the UI/UX researcher and designer while also taking on some product management responsibilities.
Challenges
One of the biggest challenges I faced during the Facebook Travel case study was balancing multiple roles while also managing my coursework. As the UI/UX researcher and designer, with some product management responsibilities, I had to juggle researching user pain points, designing wireframes, and developing a product strategy—all while keeping up with my academic workload. Switching between these tasks required strong time management and prioritization, ensuring that both my studies and the project received the attention they needed. Despite the challenge, this experience strengthened my ability to manage competing priorities and work under pressure.
Another major challenge was conducting and synthesizing user research. With 104 survey responses and multiple focus groups, I encountered a wide range of feedback, some of which was conflicting or difficult to interpret. Identifying the most pressing pain points and ensuring that our proposed solution directly addressed user frustrations took multiple iterations. Additionally, I had to translate qualitative insights into actionable design decisions, making sure that our final concept was user-friendly, intuitive, and seamlessly integrated into Facebook’s existing ecosystem.
What I Accomplished
The prototype for Facebook Travel is only on desktop version.
Check out more of the case study project here 👉 https://linktr.ee/facebooktravel
Background
During the pandemic in 2020, I participated in an 11-week product management fellowship, where I was 1 of 30 selected from 300+ applicants. Through product-focused workshops and mentorship, I built my product-sense toolkit and collaborated with aspiring PMs. For the final project, my team partner and I chose Facebook, recognizing its potential to simplify one of the most frustrating aspects of travel: trip planning. We proposed a collaborative travel planning portal, leveraging Facebook’s social network and algorithms to streamline the process. In this project, I acted as the UI/UX researcher and designer while also taking on some product management responsibilities.
Challenges
One of the biggest challenges I faced during the Facebook Travel case study was balancing multiple roles while also managing my coursework. As the UI/UX researcher and designer, with some product management responsibilities, I had to juggle researching user pain points, designing wireframes, and developing a product strategy—all while keeping up with my academic workload. Switching between these tasks required strong time management and prioritization, ensuring that both my studies and the project received the attention they needed. Despite the challenge, this experience strengthened my ability to manage competing priorities and work under pressure.
Another major challenge was conducting and synthesizing user research. With 104 survey responses and multiple focus groups, I encountered a wide range of feedback, some of which was conflicting or difficult to interpret. Identifying the most pressing pain points and ensuring that our proposed solution directly addressed user frustrations took multiple iterations. Additionally, I had to translate qualitative insights into actionable design decisions, making sure that our final concept was user-friendly, intuitive, and seamlessly integrated into Facebook’s existing ecosystem.
What I Accomplished
The prototype for Facebook Travel is only on desktop version.
Check out more of the case study project here 👉 https://linktr.ee/facebooktravel
🔎 Research
My team partner and I hypothesized that trip planning was the most frustrating aspect of travel. So, I created a Google survey to collect user responses from LinkedIn, friends and family, and Slack channels. We received 104 responses and given that many respondents indicated they are planning a trip next year, this reinforces our hypothesis that trip planning is a significant pain point. This also supports our decision to leverage Facebook as a key platform for building out our travel planning solution.
89% —> stated that they are planning to travel in 2021
52% —> stated that they plan to travel internationally and domestically
76% —> stated that planning is the hardest stage of their travel journey
To deepen our understanding, I also conducted focus groups with four participants, asking them to walk us through how they would start planning a trip with friends or family. These insights further support our decision to leverage Facebook as a key platform for building out our travel planning solution.
🔎 Research
My team partner and I hypothesized that trip planning was the most frustrating aspect of travel. So, I created a Google survey to collect user responses from LinkedIn, friends and family, and Slack channels. We received 104 responses and given that many respondents indicated they are planning a trip next year, this reinforces our hypothesis that trip planning is a significant pain point. This also supports our decision to leverage Facebook as a key platform for building out our travel planning solution.
89% —> stated that they are planning to travel in 2021
52% —> stated that they plan to travel internationally and domestically
76% —> stated that planning is the hardest stage of their travel journey
To deepen our understanding, I also conducted focus groups with four participants, asking them to walk us through how they would start planning a trip with friends or family. These insights further support our decision to leverage Facebook as a key platform for building out our travel planning solution.
Competitive Analysis
To better understand the landscape of travel planning solutions, we conducted a SWOT analysis of key competitors in the space. This helped us identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the industry, allowing us to pinpoint gaps in the market and refine our approach to building a more effective travel planning platform
Competitive Analysis
To better understand the landscape of travel planning solutions, we conducted a SWOT analysis of key competitors in the space. This helped us identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the industry, allowing us to pinpoint gaps in the market and refine our approach to building a more effective travel planning platform
❓ Problem Statement
Group travel planning is a disagreeable, complex and time-consuming process, which is frustrating for travelers seeking an enjoyable experience.
How can we leverage Facebook’s Social Network and Strong Algorithms for an effortless travel planning process?
❓ Problem Statement
Group travel planning is a disagreeable, complex and time-consuming process, which is frustrating for travelers seeking an enjoyable experience.
How can we leverage Facebook’s Social Network and Strong Algorithms for an effortless travel planning process?
📝 Define
Meet Timothy, the full-time sales strategist
🎯 Overview
Timothy is a busy professional balancing his full-time career in sales strategy with his passion for photography. He enjoys traveling to new places, capturing scenic landscapes, and spending quality time with friends and family. However, with limited free time and friends who have complex schedules, coordinating trips can be a challenge.
👍 Likes
Discovering new sceneries
Spending quality time with friends and family
⚠️ Pain Points
Limited free time due to work commitments
Difficulty aligning schedules with friends
✅ Needs
A way to stay organized in one place for trip planning
Tools to help manage and track travel expenses within a budget
User Journey
📝 Define
Meet Timothy, the full-time sales strategist
🎯 Overview
Timothy is a busy professional balancing his full-time career in sales strategy with his passion for photography. He enjoys traveling to new places, capturing scenic landscapes, and spending quality time with friends and family. However, with limited free time and friends who have complex schedules, coordinating trips can be a challenge.
👍 Likes
Discovering new sceneries
Spending quality time with friends and family
⚠️ Pain Points
Limited free time due to work commitments
Difficulty aligning schedules with friends
✅ Needs
A way to stay organized in one place for trip planning
Tools to help manage and track travel expenses within a budget
User Journey
📊 Success Metrics
📊 Success Metrics
🎨 Design
We designed a collaborative travel planning portal embedded within Facebook’s existing ecosystem to make trip organization seamless and social.
To kick off the design process:
I created lo-fi mockups, drawing inspiration from Facebook’s current UI patterns and popular travel/booking apps
My initial sketches focused on developing a clear, unified planning and voting view, ensuring users could easily collaborate and make trip decisions
These sketches evolved into mid-fidelity wireframes and an interactive prototype, refining layout, interactions, and usability
🎨 Design
We designed a collaborative travel planning portal embedded within Facebook’s existing ecosystem to make trip organization seamless and social.
To kick off the design process:
I created lo-fi mockups, drawing inspiration from Facebook’s current UI patterns and popular travel/booking apps
My initial sketches focused on developing a clear, unified planning and voting view, ensuring users could easily collaborate and make trip decisions
These sketches evolved into mid-fidelity wireframes and an interactive prototype, refining layout, interactions, and usability
🧪 Test
Through 2 rounds of usability testing with 3 participants, I iterated on the prototype based on real user feedback, improving clarity, navigation, and overall experience. The final design seamlessly integrated into Facebook’s platform, offering a frictionless way for users to plan trips with friends.
🧪 Test
Through 2 rounds of usability testing with 3 participants, I iterated on the prototype based on real user feedback, improving clarity, navigation, and overall experience. The final design seamlessly integrated into Facebook’s platform, offering a frictionless way for users to plan trips with friends.
🚀 Go-To-Market Strategy
To ensure a successful rollout of Facebook Travel, we thought about a two-phase Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy consisting of Pre-Launch and Post-Launch initiatives
Pre-Launch Strategy 🚀
Before launch, our focus was on building awareness and generating excitement:
Strategic Partnerships: Collaborated with influencers, travel bloggers, and key industry players such as flight and accommodation businesses to drive early adoption
Travel Agency Outreach: Engaged with travel agencies to introduce them to the platform and encourage user engagement
F8 Conference Announcement: Positioned the product launch at Facebook’s F8 Conference, leveraging the event’s visibility to reach a global audience
Post-Launch Strategy 🌍
Following launch, our efforts shifted toward driving adoption and sustained user engagement:
Splash Marketing: Deployed a mix of social media campaigns, content marketing, and in-app promotions to introduce users to the new travel portal.
Shareable Links: Enabled users to share trip plans with friends, encouraging organic user acquisition.
Targeted Advertising: Utilized Facebook’s internal ad network along with external platforms to run personalized, data-driven ad campaigns, ensuring maximum reach among travel enthusiasts
🚀 Go-To-Market Strategy
To ensure a successful rollout of Facebook Travel, we thought about a two-phase Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy consisting of Pre-Launch and Post-Launch initiatives
Pre-Launch Strategy 🚀
Before launch, our focus was on building awareness and generating excitement:
Strategic Partnerships: Collaborated with influencers, travel bloggers, and key industry players such as flight and accommodation businesses to drive early adoption
Travel Agency Outreach: Engaged with travel agencies to introduce them to the platform and encourage user engagement
F8 Conference Announcement: Positioned the product launch at Facebook’s F8 Conference, leveraging the event’s visibility to reach a global audience
Post-Launch Strategy 🌍
Following launch, our efforts shifted toward driving adoption and sustained user engagement:
Splash Marketing: Deployed a mix of social media campaigns, content marketing, and in-app promotions to introduce users to the new travel portal.
Shareable Links: Enabled users to share trip plans with friends, encouraging organic user acquisition.
Targeted Advertising: Utilized Facebook’s internal ad network along with external platforms to run personalized, data-driven ad campaigns, ensuring maximum reach among travel enthusiasts
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