Y.S.Y.D. - You Stay You Demand: User-centered design approach for mobile hospitality application

The evolution and widespread use of mobile technologies has boosted the hotel industry to develop applications for these devices. Several tourism applications and services for mobile devices have been developed in recent times. However, many of these services are not oriented for hotel guest, rather than these services are more focused on delivering information instead of targeting the specific needs of guests. Based on a study carried out in Portugal by the researchers, were found that the most mobile hotel applications and websites are focused on dreaming, planning and booking stages rather than in experiencing and sharing. Some of these mobile applications are reproduction of websites, which do not bring added value to the guests during their stay. Thus, it was developed the mobile hotel application, You Stay You Demand (Y.S.Y.D.), with a User-Centered Design approach that makes easier the communication between guests and hotel staff for guest satisfaction. During the study were integrated the Nielsen's heuristic evaluation with user testing to assess the usability which created a user-centered interface.