Arpita K.

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Arpita K.

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Feature & Interface Design

TripLog: Transforming Post-Trip Engagement for TripAdvisor App

For

Hiring Assignment

Duration

3 days

Team

Individual

Tools

Figma

The Challenge

TripAdvisor is one of the world’s largest travel platforms where users plan, book, and review their travel experiences. While its utility is high during the planning and booking stages, user activity tends to drop significantly once the trip is over.This case study was part of a hiring assignment where I was asked to design a feature that improves TripAdvisor’s user retention between trips.


I revisited TripAdvisor’s user lifecycle and realized that while TripAdvisor supports planning and reviewing very well, it misses an emotional opportunity post-trip.

Understanding Post Trip Mindset

1. Post-Trip User Behavior

Travelers often experience emotional lows after a trip and seek ways to relive or make sense of their experiences. Engaging in reflective activities like journaling or photo sorting enhances memory retention and emotional connection to the experience (Green, 2016).

2. Competitor Approaches to Post-Trip Engagement

Many travel platforms underutilize the post-trip phase, missing opportunities to foster continued engagement. This gap reveals potential for features that prompt users to reflect and share meaningfully

3. Psychological Research on Travel Reflection and Memory Formation

Travel reflection strengthens autobiographical memory, deepens personal growth, and influences future travel intentions. Emotionally charged and transformative moments are more likely to be remembered and acted upon (Zhang et al., 2023).

Critical Pain Points

Understanding the post trip mindset helped to unveil the critical painpoints faced by frequent travellers

The Challenge

TripAdvisor is one of the world’s largest travel platforms where users plan, book, and review their travel experiences. While its utility is high during the planning and booking stages, user activity tends to drop significantly once the trip is over.This case study was part of a hiring assignment where I was asked to design a feature that improves TripAdvisor’s user retention between trips.


I revisited TripAdvisor’s user lifecycle and realized that while TripAdvisor supports planning and reviewing very well, it misses an emotional opportunity post-trip.

Understanding Post Trip Mindset

1. Post-Trip User Behavior

Travelers often experience emotional lows after a trip and seek ways to relive or make sense of their experiences. Engaging in reflective activities like journaling or photo sorting enhances memory retention and emotional connection to the experience (Green, 2016).

2. Competitor Approaches to Post-Trip Engagement

Many travel platforms underutilize the post-trip phase, missing opportunities to foster continued engagement. This gap reveals potential for features that prompt users to reflect and share meaningfully

3. Psychological Research on Travel Reflection and Memory Formation

Travel reflection strengthens autobiographical memory, deepens personal growth, and influences future travel intentions. Emotionally charged and transformative moments are more likely to be remembered and acted upon (Zhang et al., 2023).

Critical Pain Points

Understanding the post trip mindset helped to unveil the critical painpoints faced by frequent travellers

Information Overload

Post-trip is a natural time of reflection: Travelers return with hundreds of photos, receipts, and scattered notes

Transactional Reviews

Existing reviews feel transactional focusing on hotels and destinations, not the whole introspective experience

Memory Fade

No visible growth as a smarter, more mindful traveler as Important emotional moments and practical insights disappear quickly

Trust Issues

Reflections are shared privately on group chats, Instagram stories, blogs but rarely on travel platforms.

Mapping User Needs

To distill the emotional journey users go through after a trip, I mapped common post-trip triggers to their corresponding behaviors and organically emerging needs, resulting in the following framework.

In designing the TripLog feature, I utilized the Hook Model to ensure users engage with the product repeatedly, fostering long-term retention and post-trip reflection.

Mapping User Needs

To distill the emotional journey users go through after a trip, I mapped common post-trip triggers to their corresponding behaviors and organically emerging needs, resulting in the following framework.

Frequent travelers deeply value learning from their journeys. However, without structured reflection, this learning is lost quickly.

To address the core pain points, I focused on:
✔ travelers memory preservation
✔ reflect on their journeys
✔ stay connected with those experiences post-trip

✅Final Concept

TripLog

Inspired by the childhood tradition of keeping travel diaries to share first-day-of-school vacation stories, I designed the TripLog for TripAdvisor. This feature recreates the emotional joy of documenting trips in a personal, scrapbook-like experience enhanced with AI and community sharing. Through TripLog, every traveler can relive, reflect, and inspire, turning fleeting trips into a lifetime of wisdom.

Few potential ideas:


  • Video Stories (Trip Capsules): Although engaging, video stories had a higher production requirement and provided less sustainable engagement


  • Points for Check-ins: This concept leaned towards a reward-driven system, which felt more transactional than meaningful for the reflection-driven experience we wanted to create.


  • Memory Timeline: A visual timeline of memories, but this concept felt too similar to social media nostalgia (Instagram/Google Photos) and lacked the reflective depth

✅Final Concept

TripLog

Inspired by the childhood tradition of keeping travel diaries to share first-day-of-school vacation stories, I designed the TripLog for TripAdvisor. This feature recreates the emotional joy of documenting trips in a personal, scrapbook-like experience enhanced with AI and community sharing. Through TripLog, every traveler can relive, reflect, and inspire, turning fleeting trips into a lifetime of wisdom.

In designing the TripLog feature, I utilized the Hook Model to ensure users engage with the product repeatedly, fostering long-term retention and post-trip reflection.
Taskflow for triplog feature in the tripadvisor app
Taskflow for triplog feature in the tripadvisor app

TripLog- Feature Discovery

Onboarding

The Globe to Book concept amplifies this by capturing not just the places visited but the meaningful experiences, learnings, and reflections that occur throughout the journey.

1.Feature Discovery on TripAdvisor App

The TripLog feature on TripAdvisor can be discovered through three key touchpoints:

  1. Post-Trip Notification – A prompt invites users to capture their journey once a trip is marked as completed.

  2. Home Feed – Users see a personalized module highlighting reflections from their last trip, encouraging them to document their experiences.

  3. Profile Tab – Users can easily access their TripLog to view past entries, manage reflections, and continue adding insights.

Feature Discovery

2. Personal Reflection Prompts

Users are prompted with thought-provoking questions to reflect on key moments and transformative experiences from their trip.

  • Progress Bar: Shows the steps of the reflection process, guiding users through each stage.

  • Voice Option: Allows users to express their feelings more precisely through voice input.

Getting customized prompts to start Voice Journaling
Getting customized prompts to start Voice Journaling
Prompts become dynamic, adjusting based on user responses for a more personalized experience
Prompts become dynamic, adjusting based on user responses personalized experience
Using Keyboard to write the answer to prompt
Using Keyboard to write the answer to prompt

3. Capture Memories - Scrapbook Collage

Powered by AI

Users can upload multiple photos and videos to create a personalized memory collage of their trip.

Upload images and submit your TripLog to receive an AI-polished final version

4. Save or Share TripLogs

Once users submit their photos, AI polishes the reflection text and auto-generates a scrapbook-style thumbnail using the uploaded images. The TripLog is then ready for viewing and sharing.

The TripLog feature can be shared inside the TripAdvisor app:

  1. Community/Forum Section

    • Users can post their TripLog in discussion forums where travelers exchange tips and stories.

  2. Completed Trips

    • TripLogs appear as journal entries on the user's profile, showcasing their journeys.

Upload images and submit your TripLog to receive an AI-polished final version

4. Save or Share TripLogs

Once users submit their photos, AI polishes the reflection text and auto-generates a scrapbook-style thumbnail using the uploaded images. The TripLog is then ready for viewing and sharing.

The TripLog feature can be shared inside the TripAdvisor app:

  1. Community/Forum Section

    • Users can post their TripLog in discussion forums where travelers exchange tips and stories.

  2. Completed Trips

    • TripLogs appear as journal entries on the user's profile, showcasing their journeys.

The final Thumbnail along with date appears on the completed trips section

Success Metrics to Track

  1. TripLog Creation Rate: % of users who complete a TripLog after a trip.

  2. Average Reflections per TripLog: Depth of engagement.

  3. Profile Revisit Rate: % of users revisiting old TripLogs.

  4. Community Sharing Rate: % of TripLogs shared publicly.

🚀 Future Scope

  • AI Travel Coach: Smart nudges recommending personalized destinations based on past reflections.

  • TripLog Badges: Gamify self-growth by awarding badges for reflection milestones.

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Let's Collaborate
Actively seeking Junior Product Designer opportunities
Say Hello!
arpitakarmakar.design@gmail.com
Let's Collaborate
Actively seeking Junior Product Designer opportunities
Say Hello!
arpitakarmakar.design@gmail.com

The best way to predict the future is to create it

© 2025

The best way to predict the future is to create it

© 2025

Back to Top

Let's Collaborate
Actively seeking Junior Product Designer opportunities
Say Hello!
arpitakarmakar.design@gmail.com
Let's Collaborate
Actively seeking Junior Product Designer opportunities
Say Hello!
arpitakarmakar.design@gmail.com

The best way to predict the future is to create it

© Arpita Karmakar 2024

The best way to predict the future is to create it

© Arpita Karmakar 2024