Information Technology Department, College of Computer Studies

De La Salle University - Manila

Project Proposal
for
Exmouth View Hotel UK
As partial fulfilment for

USAENGG
Usability Engineering

Submitted by
Team Masaki
Albornoz, Carlos
Duqu, Nicco
Karino, Masaki
Tagufa, Martin L.
Submitted to
Ms. Michelle Renee D. Ching
Information Technology Department
College of Computer Studies
Date of Submission
October 2, 2015

I.

INTRODUCTION

Do you find yourself unable to remember what you are supposed to do, or what did
you came for when you are browsing a website, all because of the poor presentation and
navigation of the website itself? Or maybe you find it too distracting for you to actually find
what youre looking for in the first place? The purpose of this project is to find a website with
the same problems given above, and to provide a better solution in order to improve the
purpose of the website.
The Exmouth-view.co.uk is an official website focuses on promoting the Exmouth
View Hotel; mainly to tourists and to local travelers who wish to stay for vacations or to dine.
Nowadays, many people are using internet for online booking, reservation, and even just
checking the hotel rates, people are going through websites just to do all that. Hence,
people who wants to have a stay or to dine in Exmouth View Hotel would definitely browse
the website first.
The research team has noticed quite a large amount of design deficiencies and
wrong choices of visual representations of the promotion of the hotel while browsing through
the website. Even most of the information given about the hotel are either not related to the
hotel itself, or lacking in content and details. These are very important elements of a website
when it comes to promoting and providing not too much information, but enough to attract
readers to understand and to be curious and excited enough to actually go to the
destination.
As the research team look into these problems, the main goal is to provide a series of
solutions and prototypes on how would the website be improved and be presented at its
optimal presentation in terms of promoting of the hotel and also in terms of giving readers a
better browsing flow without being too confused in navigation and getting the wrong or
unclear information of the hotel.

II.

COMPANY INFORMATION
A. COMPANY DESCRIPTION
Exmouth View Hotel is a family-run hotel built on December 1999 located at
the district of Babbacombe at Torquay, England. The hotel itself is quite quaint
and differentiates itself from the big hotels because it has this cozy and
homey vibe which families having a vacation really enjoy. The hotel resides
beside a beautiful beach and is surrounded by beautiful greenery.

B. INDUSTRY BACKGROUND

The hospitality industry has seen huge growth since the advent of the 21st
century. As things become more digital, convenience comes with it.
Nowadays, searching for hotels is just a simple search query away from your
favorite search engine. Information about the hotels and reviews from its past
customers are also within your reach. Big hotels nowadays even provide
online booking which removes the hassle of having to call up the hotel for a
reservation or hoping that a certain hotel has rooms left when you get there.
This project will then make our chosen company, Exmouth View, stay relevant
and competitive in the new age of hospitality where everything is just a click
away.
C. VISION-MISSION
The hotel aims to provide its customers a family-friendly accommodation and
offering home cooked meals while offering affordable prices.
D. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

E. PRODUCTS / SERVICES
Like other traditional family-run hotels, accommodations are more affordable
compared to other hotels from reduced expenses of the hotel. Also, unlike
other hotels, almost every room is different in terms of interior design. Rooms
varies from single to family room, ensuite shower and toilet with or without
bath, and having a normal view to a sea view with balcony. The Supervisor
and Head Chef, Mika Browne is also the one who mostly prepare the food for
the customers in the dining area. Other services in the hotel include a bar,
entertainment area, dance floor, game room with pool table, and a guest
lounge with TV.

III.

SYSTEM / APPLICATION / WEBSITE DETAILS

A. AFFECTED BUSINESS PROCESS
The primary business process affected by the current website is that
customers cant see the option where to book a room. In their website, it is
represented as a button of Trivago, a travel metasearch engine, which
appears like an advertisement/accessory together with their GIFs because
there are no indications that the user must click this button to book a room via

Trivago (Refer to the first picture in the Current Interface section of this
chapter). Knowing that the current society is technology driven and fast
paced, majority of the people right now prefers online payment when they are
looking for a place to stay. Having good reviews in TripAdvisor (Average of 4
Stars, #61 out of 95 Hotels in Torquay), they must also consider possible
foreign tourists who only depends on WiFi connection during their tour so that
their booking will be hassle-free. Exmouth View Hotel should be really using
its websites full potential by having their own booking system page.

B. TASK DECOMPOSITION

C. USER REQUIREMENTS
1. High Priority
These are the requirements that must be implemented within the
allotted time. These includes the following pages: Home,
Accommodation, Gallery, Location, and Contact Us since these are
the pages that are mostly visited by any user visiting a hotel website.

And of course, the booking system that will enable the user to book a
room directly from their website.
2. Low Priority
These are the requirements that will only be implemented if time
allows. These pages include News, Nearby Attractions, and Other
necessary pages, but users don't visit too much.

D. CURRENT INTERFACE
1. Homepage

The current home interface of Exmouth View Hotel.

2. Home > AS FEATURED ON TV - click here for
details

The page where Exmouth View Hotel shows the page where they were
featured in a TV show.

3. Home > Trivago

Users will be redirected to the homepage of Trivago, instead of the specific

page for Exmouth View Hotel.
4. Home > Picture Page

The page where it shows the internal and external amenities of the Hotel.

5. Home > Tariff 2015 and Special Offers

The page of accommodation rates and special offers which are updated
annually.
6. Home > Daily Menu

The page where it shows the daily menu of the Hotel prepared by Milka
Browne daily.

7. Home > Christmas Break Details

The page where it shows their offers for this years christmas season.
8. Home > Map Page

The page where it shows the hotels location.

9. Home > Live Travel Update

The page where live traffic update is shown which appears to be a plug in
from a third party organization.
10. Home > Torquay Information

The page where users can read more on Torquay, the location of Exmouth
View Hotel.

11. Home > Local Attractions

The page where users can see the local attractions in Babbacombe

12. Home > Sporting Attractions

The page where visitors or guests can find details about nearby sporting
attractions
13. Home > Detailed Weather

The page where users can see detailed weather in Torquay/Babbacombe.

Similar to the Live Traffic Update, it also appear as a plugin from a third party
organization.
14. Home > What Visitors Say

The page where the comments in their visitor book is put into virtual text in
the website.
14.1 What Visitors Say > Year 8 - 2007

More details when users click on a specific year

15. Home > Contact Us

The page where visitors and possible guests can find contact details to
contact Exmouth View Hotel for inquiries.

E. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The development of the website will be done to improve user interface and
user experience for Exmouth View Hotel as being one of The 12 Worst Overthe-top

websites

of

2014

by

Vincent

Flander,

administrator

of

www.webpagesthatsuck.com. The team will only improve the existing user

interface of the main aspects that a hotel website need in general, remove
unwanted pages and sections, and develop a booking system for the said
hotel.
IV.

ANALYSIS
A. USER OBSERVATION AND EVALUATION DATA
1. PROTOTYPE 1
2. PROTOTYPE 2
3. PROTOTYPE 3
4. FINAL PROTOTYPE
B. PROPOSED INTERFACE
1. PROTOTYPE 1
2. PROTOTYPE 2
3. PROTOTYPE 3
4. FINAL PROTOTYPE

V.

APPENDICES
A. SURVEY FORMS AND ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS
B. INTERVIEW WITH USERS TRANSCRIPT
C. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Exmouth View Hotel Babbacombe Retrieved
October 7, 2015, from http://www.exmouth-view.co.uk/