Hidden Houses, 2024
Hidden Houses: Where Luxury Meets Conversion-First Design
UX/UI design, brand design
Role
UX/UI Designer
Timeline
1 month
Team
3 members
Tools
Figma, WIX
Hidden Houses, for your luxury apartment stay in Lisbon
Hidden Houses is a short-stay rental brand offering premium apartments in Amora, Portugal, just 20 minutes from the center of Lisbon. The project focused on designing a dedicated website to introduce the brand and elevate its digital presence. While bookings were handled exclusively through Airbnb, the stakeholders aimed for the website to serve as a high-conversion touchpoint, encouraging visitors to engage and take action.
How to transform a static homepage into an immersive, high-conversion entry point?
Engagement Problem on a Non-Transactional Platform: Users struggle to feel engaged and motivated to explore high-end apartments on a platform whose primary purpose is introduction and discovery, not direct booking.
Inefficient Discovery & Information Overload: Users are forced to scan excessively or navigate complex paths to find the specific apartment information or features they seek. How might we anticipate user needs and surface relevant content efficiently, minimizing effort and cognitive load?
Brand Essence Communication Barrier: The core brand identity of "quiet luxury" is not being effectively communicated or experienced by users through the platform's design and content. How might we translate this intangible quality into a tangible and consistent user experience that resonates?
What do the users really look for?
To address the core challenges, I conducted targeted research:
User Interviews & Contextual Inquiry
Interviewed 12 target users (renters seeking premium apartments) to understand their motivations, information needs, and emotional drivers when exploring properties.
Key insight: Users valued curated quality over quantity and the available amenities created all the difference.Competitive Audits
Analyzed 8 luxury real estate platforms (e.g., Phoenicia, Hyatt, Plum Guide) to identify engagement patterns for non-transactional experiences.
Found: Users engaged deeply when storytelling evoked aspiration and presented with room for preferences and personalization.
Synthesizing this data enabled us to:
Define Two Core User Personas: Primarily the 'Serene Seeker' (values amenities, services provided, and emotional connection to space) and the 'The Couples’ Escape Planner' (values quiet neighborhoods and proximity to city-center).
Map the End-to-End User Journey: Visualizing key moments highlighting critical drop-off points.
Research revealed: Users would explore deeply if
Apartments felt like curated stories, not listings.
Key details (amenities, availability, etc.) were accessible within 2 clicks.
Emotional and Functional Blend Above the Fold
Advanced search bar in the hero section that includes:
Travel details input with amenities selection included primarily in search to activate user interaction and conversion.
Live Recommendations: A carousel displaying an "Ideal apartment for you" based on input, reinforcing the curated feel and personalization.
Storytelling Layer: Emotionally engaging language and imagery to evoke aspiration and reflect the essence of quiet luxury.
Curated Stories: The ideal apartment for you
Dual-pane hero experience that immediately activates both the rational and emotional brain:
Left pane: A minimal, high-utility module for check-in/out, guest count, and amenity filters
Right pane: A live apartment recommendation with visuals and a brief description
This design aimed to:
Increase engagement through interaction
Showcase curated properties as per the user's interaction in the hero section
Invite users into the journey of discovering the ideal apartment for them
From rapid scans to high engagement
CTR
(Click-Through Rate)
+7.1%
Booking Conversion Rate
+22%
Bounce Rate
-15%
Avg Session duration
01:30min vs 00:45min
Since introducing the dual-pane experience for Hidden Houses, designed to make browsing more interactive and immersive, engagement metrics have improved significantly across the board. The change allows users to view property details and imagery side by side, reducing friction and encouraging deeper exploration. As a result, we’ve seen a 7.1% increase in click-through rate (CTR) as more visitors engage with listings, while the booking conversion rate rose by 22%, indicating that users are not just exploring but also committing to bookings more often. Additionally, the bounce rate dropped by 15%, suggesting fewer users abandon the site without interaction, and the average session duration doubled from 45 seconds to 1 minute 30 seconds, reflecting greater time spent evaluating options. These results show that the dual-pane format successfully drives engagement by streamlining navigation, making content more accessible, and keeping users immersed longer, ultimately leading to more bookings.