Tell Charlie was a guest experience platform that facilitated easy communication between accommodations and guests, before, during, and after their stay. With Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) often acting as intermediaries, accommodations struggled to connect directly with guests and understand their preferences—an essential factor for securing positive reviews and boosting future occupancy.

Our solution addressed this gap with a response rate of over 30%—a significant improvement over the industry standard of around 3% for post-stay feedback. As UX Lead, my responsibilities included:

• End-to-End User Experience: Ensuring a cohesive UX for both accommodation providers (customers) and travelers (end-users) across all touchpoints: email, web, and mobile (web app).
• Design and Prototyping: I led wireframing, prototyping, and user testing processes, refining each step based on real user insights to ensure the product met both customer and guest needs effectively.
• Design System: Collaborating with the Visual Designer, I helped build a scalable Design System, creating consistent and accessible design elements across the platform.

This role allowed me to design a product that fostered genuine guest engagement and gave accommodations a better way to connect with and understand their guests.

• Startup dynamics:
  • My first startup experience taught me the unique demands of a small, agile team. Unlike larger corporates, I took on diverse responsibilities, which broadened my skill set.
• Adjusting to a different pace:
  • Working in a smaller team required patience, as progress moved at a different pace compared to large organizations.
• Direct customer engagement:
  • I gained invaluable experience pitching our product directly to customers and learning from their feedback.
• The power of simplicity:
  • Developing a clear, straightforward value proposition proved essential in a fast-moving environment.
• Embracing flexibility:
  • The startup experience emphasized the importance of pivoting ideas, both in product development and business strategy, to stay responsive to market needs.