How Airbnb, Disney and Virgin America Merge Online and Offline Experiences
Photo Credit: An Airbnb host in Brooklyn, New York. Airbnb
Skift Take
For travel companies, the key to personalizing the offline travel experience is collecting as much personal information as possible from the customer online.
How do today's best lifestyle travel brands elevate the user experience above their competitors' products to drive higher conversion rates and steal market share?
According to Katie Dill, head of experience design at Airbnb, the secret is aligning digital and live consumer engagement throughout the travel journey. The end goal is to create a strong emotional and personal connection between the travel brand and customer.
At the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive conference in Austin this month, she presented a session called "Designing Experiences Offline and Online" to provide examples of how that's accomplished at Virgin Airlines, Lyft, Disney and Airbnb.
Virgin America Has Less Crappy UX Than Competitors
First, Dill asked the audience what elevates a Virgin America flight experience to something less horrible than other carriers?
"It starts way, way in the beginning right from the advertisements," she answered. "There's a theme here. It's edgy, it's simplified, it
