planning small group travel -...
TRANSCRIPT
Katharine Banks
David Boston
Kelly Burke
Leilani Johnson
Planning Small Group Travel Final Report
HCI 445: Fall 2015
November 16, 2015
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Methods
Observations
Data Collection Methods
Analysis Methods
Findings
Observations
Interviews
Survey
Personas
Scenarios
Experience Map
Priority Matrix
Discussion
Bibliography
Appendix
A. Informed Consent Form
B. Consolidated AEIOU Framework
C. Final Affinity Diagram
D. Interview Protocol/Script
E. Interview Coding Schema
F. Survey Data
G. User Spectrums
H. Survey Questionnaire
Executive Summary
In our experience, we have found that as information about travel becomes more
available on the Internet, people are relying less on travel agents and more on their own
Internet research to plan trips. While online resources have empowered individuals to
independently plan their trips, group travel can be difficult to coordinate without the
help of a professional, especially if members are traveling from various locations.
Challenges range from coordinating travel dates to sharing individual travel preferences.
We conducted observations September 27-29, 2015 to better understand how small
groups with geographically-dispersed members plan trips together. Each participant,
ranging between 20 to 53 years of age, was going on a group trip within the next year
and had been involved in the planning process.
We found that participants used similar methods for planning their trips: (1) a computer
with Internet access to plan/research, (2) a mobile phone or email to communicate with
group members, and (3) a pen/pencil and paper and/or spreadsheet to record notes.
One month later, we conducted interviews to dive deeper into small group travel
planning and its potential pain points. Three major themes emerged: (1) lead planning
roles usually fell to one or two of the group members, while other group members were
only responsible for accepting or vetoing decisions; (2) communication was mostly text-
based, either mobile or email; and (3) issues always arise due to miscommunication,
coordination difficult, or difference of opinion.
Following the interviews, we conducted a Qualtrics survey of 35 adults on November 6-
12. The survey asked participants about their patterns and attitudes on group travel. We
found no significant relationships: (a) between satisfaction of a group trip and the
amount of planning an individual did for that trip; (b) between the amount of time in
advance a group planned for a vacation and their vacation satisfaction; or (c) spending
habits between those who planned the vacation and those who did not.
Overall, we learned that group travel planning is not as problematic as we had
anticipated. While our interviews did reveal some issues, we felt that they were not
major enough to declare this a “problem space.” As a result, the ideas and features
explored in the Priority List in the Findings section are suggestions to make a seemingly
uneventful process that much more enjoyable.
We should caveat that our observations and interviews focused on challenges with group
travel with geographically-dispersed members, but our survey was open to all group
travel. If we were to further explore this topic, we would want to re-run the survey with
more pointed questions around planning travel with members from multiple locations.
However, we think that our next best option to uncover challenges (if there are any)
would be through a diary study of an entire group’s planning process of an upcoming
vacation.
Introduction
People travel in groups for a variety of reasons: from college-aged spring breakers,
families on reunions, sports fan clubs, to general weekend getaways. Travel information
has become more available on the Internet, such as third-party review websites and
social networking with like-minded individuals. The availability of information has
resulted in an increase of independent planning; i.e. anyone with access to the Internet
is able to do most of the researching and planning on their own rather than using a
travel agent. According to The Statistics Profile, 74% of U.S. leisure travelers used the
Internet to plan their trip in 2014 (“Sources used to plan leisure and business travel”
n.d.). And while 13% of travelers still use travel agents, people are less-inclined to use
one if they are coordinating a relatively straightforward trip (Cheyne 2006).
While online resources have empowered individuals to independently plan their travel,
group travel can still be difficult because of the need to coordinate among multiple
parties traveling from various locations. There is no one system or tool for groups to
synchronize their information, for example, booking flights with similar arrival times so
that they can share the taxi to the hotel. Competitors in this space include:
● Airline websites such as Southwest and Delta offer information for booking 10+
passengers, but neither can be booked online, and only cover air travel.
● Travel agencies such as Odysseys Unlimited specialize in in-group travel, but do
not provide a centralized location for individuals to review trip details and
provide payment.
Our research question for this project is “How do geographically-dispersed groups plan
travel together?” In this study, we observed, interviewed, and surveyed users who are
planning a trip within the next 12 months in order to understand how groups
coordinate, communicate, and share information. For our observations and interviews,
we broke down the research question into smaller, more tactical questions:
● What tools do participants use for booking their trips and searching for prices?
● How do group members communicate about trip plans?
● How do group planners keep track of individual preferences and decisions made?
● Does an entire trip get planned in one sitting?
We applied our findings from our observations and interviews to modify the questions
for our survey:
● Are people more satisfied with their group vacation when they plan in advance?
○ We hypothesized that the further in advance people plan their group
vacation, the more satisfied they are with the outcome of the vacation.
● Are people who do the majority of the planning more satisfied with the overall
planning of the vacation than those who are not as involved?
○ We hypothesized that people that do the majority of the planning are
more satisfied with the overall planning than people that do very little
planning.
● Are people who do the majority of the planning also paying for everything and
asking to be reimbursed later?
○ We hypothesized that people who do the majority of the planning tend
to pay for everything and ask to be reimbursed later.
In the next sections, we present our methods and findings, followed by a discussion of
the implications of the findings.
Methods
To better understand how users plan group travel, our team conducted four individual
observations in September 2015. Based on those findings, we crafted interview
questions and conducted four individual interviews in October 2015 aimed to help us
better understand:
● How group members communicate about trip plans
● How group planners track individual preferences and decisions
● How much time it takes to plan a group trip
● How roles are assigned or delegated in planning group travel
Lastly, in November of 2015, we deployed a survey to further explore common themes
uncovered in our interviews. These themes included trip details (reasons for previous
trip, trip duration, and travel frequency); group planning roles; group communication;
and payment methods.
In the following sections we present our participants, data collection methods, and
analysis methods.
Participants
In the next sections we discuss our participants from the observations, interviews, and
survey.
Observations
Although small group travel proved to be a difficult domain for observation (which we
explain in the Discussion), each team member was able to identify a friend or family
member that was in the process of planning a trip with a small group; as such, we were
able to observe the participants in the context of planning a trip, booking travel, or
seeking housing accommodations.
All four observation participants were female and ranged between 19 to 53 years old,
with an average age of 33 years. All participants were friends and family of the group;
none were compensated for their time. Table 1 summarizes our observation participant
demographics.
Table 1: Observation Participants
Name Gender Age Location Observation Method
Travel Planning Activity Observed
Obs-P1: “Lane” F 53 Charlotte, NC In-Person Researching Royal Caribbean cruise options and emailing options to additional members of the travel group which included the participant and four other couples.
Obs-P2: “Sarah” F 29 Atlanta, GA In-Person Planning a weeklong trip to Jamaica with her mother and sister, looking to find an all-inclusive resort.
Obs-P3: “Jenny” F 19 Paris, France Skype Screen Sharing
Planning a two-week long group trip, seeking housing accommodations in Rome, Italy.
Obs-P4: “Kayla” F 28 Chicago, IL In-Person Planning a weekend getaway, looking for housing
accommodations for herself and two friends in Austin, TX.
Each travel group consisted of at least three people. Three out of the four users were
planning for groups of individuals while one was planning for a couple’s trip with a total
of 8 people.
Interviews
Since small group travel proved to be a difficult domain for recruitment, we conducted
interviews with three of the four participants from our observations (Sarah, Jenny, and
Kayla). Consent forms included both the observation and interviews; as such, these
participants had already completed the informed consent form. The fourth participant,
Whitney, who was new to this study and had previously traveled with a small group, was
given the informed consent form (see Informed Consent in Appendix) prior to the
interview.
The four interview participants were female and ranged between 19 to 31 years old, with
an average age of 27 years. Interview participants were friends and family of the team
and were not compensated for their time. Table 2 summarizes our interview participant
demographics.
Table 2: Interview Participants
Name Gender Age Location Also Participated in Observation?
Int-P1: “Whitney” F 31 Atlanta, GA No
Int-P2: “Sarah” F 29 Atlanta, GA Yes
Int-P3: “Jenny” F 19 Paris, France Yes
Int-P4: “Kayla” F 28 Chicago, IL Yes
Survey
Survey participants were recruited through email, SMS messages, social media
(primarily Facebook), and word-of-mouth recruiting through snowball sampling. In
order to participate, respondents must have traveled as part of a group with at least two
other travelers within the previous 12 months. Thirty-five participants completed the
survey. Tables 3, 4, and 5, below provide a breakdown of our participant demographics.
Table 3: Survey Participants by Age
Age # of respondents %
18-29 11 30%
30-39 17 49%
40-49 0 0%
50-59 5 14%
60-69 2 6%
70+ 0 0%
Prefer not to answer 0 0%
Table 4: Survey Participants by Gender
Gender # of respondents %
Male 6 17%
Female 29 81%
Prefer not to answer 0 0%
Table 5: Survey Participants by Level of Education Completed
Education # of respondents %
High school 1 3%
Some college 3 9%
Bachelor’s degree 20 57%
Graduate degree 11 31%
Doctorate 0 0%
Prefer not to answer 0 0%
Data Collection Methods
In this section we discuss our data collection methods from the observations, interviews,
and survey.
Observations
Three observation sessions took place in-person in the participant’s home in Atlanta,
Georgia (Sarah); Charlotte, North Carolina (Lane); and Chicago, Illinois (Kayla), while
one remote observation (Jenny) took place through screen sharing software Skype
(http://skype.com). Jenny was in Paris, France while the moderator was in New York,
New York. Observation sessions ranged between 20 and 44 minutes.
The moderator (i.e. a team member) began by reviewing the Informed Consent form
with the participant (see Informed Consent in Appendix). Then, we asked the user to
explain what type of group travel they were planning, what they have done so far, and
what they planned to accomplish today. The participant was then asked to go about their
planning process as they normally would and let us know once they were finished. We
observed the participant’s screen and took notes while the participant planned a portion
of their upcoming trip. Once the participant expressed completion, we asked questions
to clarify any actions that were unclear.
During the observations, each team member took notes with a pen or pencil and a
notepad, using the AEIOU (Activities, Environment, Interactions, Observations and
Users) framework as a guide. After completing the observations, we transcribed our
notes into a password-protected, centrally-located document so that the team could
compare notes.
Interviews
Three interview sessions took place in-person in Atlanta, Georgia (Sarah); Chicago,
Illinois (Kayla); and Nassau, Bahamas (Whitney). Two interviews were conducted in the
participant’s home (Sarah and Kayla), while one in-person interview took place in a
hotel room (Whitney). The singular remote interview again was through Skype, with the
interviewer in New York, New York, and the respondent (Jenny) in her home in Paris,
France.
Interviews lasted 25-40 minutes and were semi-structured in nature. The interview
discussion guide was comprised of 26 questions in total, consisting of nine warm-up
questions about previous trips and frequency of travel; three questions relating to
coordination and planning roles; four questions about decision making; three questions
about improving the overall group travel experience; and seven demographic-based
questions (see full Interview Protocol/Script in Appendix).
During the interview, each team member took notes with a pen or pencil and a notepad.
After completing interviews in the field, team members transcribed their notes into a
digital format that was easily sharable.
Survey
Our team conducted a survey of 35 adults over the course of six days. Respondents were
asked questions about their patterns and attitudes in reference to group travel. Before
beginning, all participants provided their informed consent and were made aware that
the survey would take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
The survey was created in the online tool Qualtrics (http://www.qualtrics.com) and
consisted of 26 questions. The questions were organized by qualifiers (to ensure
participant had previously traveled as part of a group within the past 12 months), trip
details (reason for last trip, trip duration, travel frequency, and travel partners); group
planning roles; communication methods; payment methods; and demographics (See
Survey Questionnaire in Appendix). Question formats included multiple choice, short
answer, yes/no, and Likert scales. Each question was required.
Analysis Methods
In this section we discuss our data analysis methods from the observations, interviews,
and survey.
Observations
To begin our analysis, we consolidated our notes into one AEIOU framework. Each team
member added their situation, activities, environments, interactions, objects, and users
into Stormboard (http://stormboard.com), an online tool for collaboration and affinity
diagramming (See Consolidated AEIOU Framework in Appendix).
We then used Stormboard to create an affinity diagram (See Final Affinity Diagram in
Appendix). After transferring all of the interactions captured during the observations
and referencing the consolidated AEIOU notes, we agreed on common themes and
created a sequence model that described the common themes.
Interviews
After completing the interview process, team members met synchronously via Google
Hangouts to debrief on interview findings. To identify patterns among the participants,
the team used the interview data to do systematic inductive coding in Stormboard and
then grouped those codes into common and salient themes.
Survey
The survey data was analyzed descriptively within the results panel of the Qualtrics
online survey tool. The tool tallied all participant responses and output a report which
allowed us to compare, contrast, and ultimately run a statistical analysis. We used IBM
SPSS Statistics to test our three hypotheses using inferential statistics (Mann-Whitney U
test and Chi square tests).
Findings
In this section we discuss our findings from the observations and interviews.
Observations
Each participant, regardless of age or group size, used very similar methods and tools
when planning a group trip: (1) a computer with internet access to plan/research, (2) a
mobile phone or email to communicate with group members, and (3) a pen/pencil and
paper and/or spreadsheet to record notes. While all of our participants were in the
planning process of their group trip, the point of the process where they are at varied.
Half of the users that we observed had a hard deadline and were looking to book
immediately, while the other half was doing preliminary research for their trips.
Whether this was the user’s initial planning session or their fourth planning session,
each user followed the same sequential process: pre-planning, searching, and planning;
see Figure 1 for an overview of this sequence.
Figure 1: Vacation Planning Process
Three out of the four users initially navigated to Airbnb, TripAdvisor, and Priceline,
third-party booking websites. The fourth user went directly to the Royal Caribbean
website to research cruise options. Once there, participants compared prices, browsed
property photos, and searched transportation options.
All four participants spent the majority of their time Searching and Planning, though
half of the sessions ended in the middle of Planning, after relaying findings to group
members. None of the participants booked travel during the observations.
Each participant used a computer to research. Half of the participants used a
spreadsheet to reference individual member preferences, such as budgets and available
dates. Each participant used email to communicate, with three participants using Gmail
and one participant using Yahoo! Mail. Two users also communicated through phone.
Interviews
We categorized interviews into three themes: (1) Planning, (2) Communication, and (3)
Issues.
Planning
Participants began planning from six months to three weeks in advance of their trip.
None of the participants recalled an instance when there was an official designation of
the group planner, but each participant said that the same type of person usually
volunteers to plan for the entire group. For example, in Jenny’s case, a woman always
plans the group trips, regardless if the group is co-ed. Whitney said that her group
planners tend to be the “type-A personalities" while the others "go with the flow." She
added that the exception is if the group is celebrating someone’s birthday, then that
person or someone very close to that person will do most of the planning. Whitney is
also the only participant who used a travel agent, though she said that there is still some
level of planning involved. Kayla was the planner of her most recent vacation because
she happened to be the one with the most downtime.
Communication
The participants primarily used email and/or text messaging to communicate with their
travel partners. When asked if there were meetings, Kayla replied, “Not really, other
than just hanging out normally, we would talk a little about the trip -- which restaurants
or bars people had recommended to us, but no formal meetings.” Sarah was the only
participant to talk on the phone, and it was often used as a last resort. “We usually
communicate using email and every once and while we call each other,” she said.
Issues
Each participant experienced at least one issue when planning a trip with more than two
people. These issues can be classified as miscommunication, coordination difficulty, and
difference of opinion.
Miscommunication: Whitney recalled a trip when a last minute change of plans was not
communicated well, resulting in her flying while the others drove so that they could stay
an extra day. Says Whitney, “It was disappointing because I wanted to stay an extra day.
I had paid more money than them [to fly], and I just couldn’t afford to make that
change.”
Coordination difficulty: Half of the participants mentioned coordinating group
availability as an issue. While Sarah said that it was difficult to find time to discuss the
trip and make decisions because everyone was so busy, Kayla told us that coordinating
the date of the trip was their greatest challenge. "Scheduling is usually our biggest issue
because everyone can't usually get the same dates off,” she recalled.
Difference of opinion: Each participant mentioned some conflict or difference of
opinion during the planning of their group trip. In Jenny’s case, half of the travel mates
wanted to stay in Venice, while the other half wanted to go to Verona. They decided to
split up. Compromising during group travel is common, according to the participants,
and was often mentioned as advice to those traveling in a group for the first time.
“Understand that people will have different preferences, “says Whitney. “Don't force
people to do what you want to do.”
Survey
Our survey analysis identified key details on how users organize group travel. Eighty-
five percent of our respondents have been on a group vacation within the last year to
either relax or reconnect with friends or relatives. Sixty-four percent of those vacations
involved international travel. While the majority of our respondents vacationed for at
least a week, 39% only vacationed for a weekend.
Overall, respondents were happy with how their respective groups coordinate their
vacations. Of the 35 respondents, only three were dissatisfied with the planning of their
last group vacation.
We used our survey to test three hypotheses. Because our observations and interviews
had answered many of our initial research questions, we modified them slightly based
on our observation and interview findings. The revised research questions and
accompanying hypotheses are detailed below.
Advance planning and vacation satisfaction
We saw through our observations and interviews that vacation planning does not occur
in only one sitting; it spans days or weeks. For our survey, we wanted to determine
whether there is a relationship between when people start planning their group vacation
and their overall satisfaction with the vacation.
● Research Question: Are people more satisfied with their group vacation when
they plan in advance?
● Hypothesis: The further in advance people plan their group vacation, the more
satisfied they are with the outcome of the vacation.
To test this hypothesis, we asked respondents how far in advance they planned their last
group vacation (Q9) and to rate their overall satisfaction with that vacation (Q15). We
classified those who started planning 3 months or less in advance as “Group 1” and
those who started planning 4 months or more in advance as “Group 2”. Table 6
summarizes the data.
Table 6: Group vacation satisfaction by planning timeframe
Q15: How would you rate your overall satisfaction with your last group vacation?
1 (Very dissatisfied)
2 3 (Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied)
4 5 (Very satisfied)
Total
Group 1: Planned < 3 months
1 1 1 2 18 23
Group 2: Planned > 3 months
0 0 0 5 7 12
We conducted a Mann Whitney U test to compare the vacation satisfaction from those
who plan far in advance to those who do not plan far in advance. While there were more
people in Group 1 that were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their vacation than
Group 2, there was no significant difference between the satisfaction at alpha level .05
(U(33) = 118, p = .503, z = -.877).
Planning involvement and planning satisfaction
The majority of our observation and interview participants were the lead planner of
their respective group trips and had expressed issues with miscommunication,
coordination difficulty, and difference of opinion. For our survey, we wanted to find out
whether there is a relationship between planning involvement and planning satisfaction.
● Research Question: Are people who do the majority of the planning more
satisfied with the overall planning of the vacation than those who are not as
involved?
● Hypothesis: People that do the majority of the planning are more satisfied with
the overall planning than people that do very little planning.
To test this hypothesis, we asked respondents to rate their involvement in planning their
last vacation (Q13) and to rate their overall satisfaction with the planning (Q14). We
classified those who rated their planning involvement a 1 or 2 as doing “very little
planning,” and those who rated their involvement a 4 or 5 as doing “majority of the
planning.” Table 7 summarizes the data.
Table 7: Planning satisfaction by planning involvement
Q14: How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the planning of your last
vacation?
1 (Very dissatisfied)
2 3 (Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied)
4 5 (Very satisfied)
Total
Group 1: Little or no planning
1 1 2 2 3 9
Group 2: Majority or all planning
0 1 1 5 5 12
We conducted a Mann Whitney U test to compare the planning satisfaction from those
who plan from those who do not plan. While there were more people in Group 1 that
were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the planning effort than Group 2, there was no
significant difference between the satisfaction at alpha level .05 (U(19) = 41, p = .382, z =
-.971).
Planning involvement and payment
We found through the observations that the lead planner handles the research of the
vacation details and the dissemination of information. Since none of our observation
participants were ready to purchase their vacation accommodations, we were unable to
see whether the lead planner also manages the payment process. Thus, we used our
survey to determine whether there is a relationship between planning involvement and
vacation payment.
● Research Question: Are people who do the majority of the planning also
paying for everything and asking to be reimbursed later?
● Hypothesis: People who do the majority of the planning tend to pay for
everything and ask to be reimbursed later.
To test this hypothesis, we asked participants to rate their involvement in planning their
last vacation (Q13) and how they handled payment of the vacation expenses (Q17). We
classified those who rated their planning involvement a 1 or 2 as doing “very little
planning,” and those who rated their involvement a 4 or 5 as doing “majority of the
planning.” Table 8 summarizes the data.
Table 8: Vacation expenses payment by planning involvement
Q17: Last time you went on a vacation, how did you handle the payment of
vacation expenses?
I paid for everything and asked for reimbursement
(Any other response was selected)
Total
Group 1: Little or no planning
0 9 9
Group 2: Majority or all planning
3 9 12
We conducted a Chi-square test to compare how participants who plan and participants
who do not plan handle payment. There was no significant difference of how payment
was handled between the groups at alpha level .05 (χ2 (1, N = 21) = 2.625, p = .105).
Personas
Our two personas are based on the user spectrums we created after interviewing our
study participants (See User Spectrums in Appendix). The spectrums described
different behaviors and attitudes we found in the interviews. These personas represent
both the seasoned group traveler (Liz Leader) as well as the traveler new to planning
trips with friends (Natalie Novice).
Figure 2: Liz Leader Persona
Figure 3: Natalie Novice Persona
Scenarios
Liz Leader
Liz’s company has just instituted a new vacation policy stating that employees may no
longer roll over any unused vacation days to the following calendar year. Knowing that
she has rollover days that she does not want to lose, Liz decides to plan a trip out of the
country. She first checks her team’s vacation calendar and picks a two week span when
no one else has requested off.
Then, she does a quick search on Kayak.com to see different fares for European
destinations that she has been wanting to visit. She notices that Florence is cheaper than
all other options during her chosen timeframe and is thrilled -- as Florence was high on
her “must-see” list. She decides to email her search results to her closest friends who live
in Los Angeles and Chicago and lets them know that she is going on the trip no matter
what, but that it would be that much more enjoyable if they came.
Ten minutes later, she gets a group text from her friend in Chicago saying that she’s in,
and her two friends that are based in Los Angeles reply shortly after confirming that
they would like to go, too. Liz and her friends then separately book their flights, and Liz
creates a spreadsheet for the group to fill out over the next few months detailing the
days of the trip.
Natalie Novice
Natalie has just graduated college and finally has disposable income. When she
graduated, she and her friends separated to different parts of the country for their jobs.
One day while texting at work, they begin reminiscing about Spring Break from their
senior year of college. One of Natalie’s friends suggests that all the girls get together and
have a reunion during the late spring.
During her lunch break, Natalie goes on Airbnb and finds five different options for
houses that she and her friends can rent out in Los Angeles. She copies and pastes the
links into an email and sends it out to her friends to vote on. Within the week, everyone
has responded and Natalie books the house for the weekend. She then uses TripAdvisor
to find restaurants in the area and makes reservations via their online booking system.
Experience Map
Priority Matrix
Frequency Importance
Liz Leader Natalie Novice Liz Leader Natalie Novice
Research/Planning
Browse travel sites Often Often High High
Read reviews Often Often High High
Browse destination photos
Sometimes Often Low Medium
Ask group members about destination preferences
Often Often High High
Review travel dates Often Often High High
Communication
In-person meeting Sometimes Sometimes Medium Medium
Share using spreadsheet Often Often High High
Call group members Often Sometimes High Medium
Online conference (e.g. Skype)
Rarely Often Low Medium
Email Sometimes Often Medium High
Booking
Book through travel agent
Sometimes Rarely Low Low
Handles all booking Often Often Medium High
Each group member books separately
Sometimes Sometimes Medium Medium
Traveling
Preformatted itinerary Rarely Sometimes Low Medium
Group members decide together
Often Often Medium High
Discussion
When it comes to planning vacations, people are relying less on travel agents and more
on their own Internet research. While this may work well for traveling alone or with one
other person, we suspected that group travel could be difficult because of the need to
coordinate among multiple parties traveling from various locations. We learned through
our competitive research that there is no one system or tool for groups to synchronize
their information. Thus, the purpose of our study was to uncover problems or pain
points associated with group travel planning, specifically trips with members who are
geographically-dispersed.
● We learned through our observations that that all of our participants used very
similar methods and tools when planning a group trip: (1) a computer with
Internet access to plan/research, (2) a mobile phone or email to communicate
with group members, and (3) a pen/pencil and paper and/or spreadsheet to
record notes. While toggling between these three different tools seemed
cumbersome to us, none of our participants seemed to mind.
● We then conducted one-on-one interviews to hopefully expose additional
breakdowns that we were not able to observe. While we found that there can be
issues with miscommunication, coordination difficulty, and difference of opinion,
none of our participants expressed a major problem or breakdown in the
planning process that needed to be solved.
● Finally, we conducted a survey, but regardless of when they started planning, the
communication tool used, or the role in planning they played, our respondents
were pretty satisfied with the planning effort and outcome of their group
vacations.
In conclusion, we were unable to uncover any issues with group travel. Our participants
shared minor issues, but nothing that would warrant a major upheaval of the existing
system. Therefore, the ideas and features that we explored in our Personas and Priority
List would simply make a seemingly uneventful process that much more pleasant.
Limitations
There were some limitations with our observational study that may have hidden
additional breakdowns in planning. Group travel planning can span days or weeks,
especially when members are traveling from multiple locations. The timeframe and
varied locations created two limitations. First, the 20-40 minute observation was merely
a glimpse into a much longer process. For example, only half of the users received
feedback from their travel partners during the session. And, every group was in the
initial requirements gathering phase. We did not observe any groups that were finalizing
plans and making final payments. Second, we monitored the group member that was
most accessible to the moderator, who always happened to be the leader of the group. In
both cases, we missed the opportunity to observe the recipient of the information, and
their response to the input.
We have also identified a limitation with our interviews. The group trips that our
participants described were so diverse that it was difficult to identify common themes
between them. For example Jenny went on a group trip with her parents and seldom
does the planning, whereas Kayla went on a group trip with her friends and did the
majority of the planning. While both participants were qualified based on our pre-
screening questions, their experiences with group travel are vastly different. If we were
to do this again, we would either interview more people or recruit participants with
more similar trips.
In our survey, we forgot to ask a very important question: of the participants who are
planning a group vacation, how many of them are traveling with members who are not
in the same location? While geographically-dispersed members was a requirement in
our observations and interviews, this was an oversight in our survey. Without this
question, we were unable to assess issues with geographically-dispersed members, such
as miscommunication. But if our observations and interviews are any indicator, the
issues would have been minor.
Future Work
If we were to continue exploring this problem space, we would conduct a diary study to
follow the entire planning process. We would want members of the same group to
participate so that we could study, for example, how the group planner communicates
information and how the recipient interprets it. And to supplement our notes, we would
request records of group text messages and email threads after the planning is complete.
We would also conduct another survey, but with heavier emphasis on group travel and
with members who do not live in the same location.
Bibliography
Cheyne, Jo, Mary Downes, and Stephen Legg. "Travel agent vs internet: What influences
travel consumer choices?." Journal of Vacation Marketing 12.1 (2006): 41-57.
“Sources used to plan leisure and business travel in the U.S. as of May 2014, by type”.
The Statics Profile. n.d. Web. 4 October 2015.
Appendix
A. Informed Consent Form
ADULT CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Planning Group Travel
Principal Investigator: Katharine Banks, Human-Computer Interaction graduate
student
Institution: DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Department (School, College): College of Computing and Digital Media
Faculty Advisor: Cynthia Putnam, Assistant Professor, College of Computing and
Digital Media
Collaborators: David Boston, Kelly Burke, Leilani Johnson; Human-Computer
Interaction graduate students
What is the purpose of this research?
We are asking you to be in a research study because we are trying to learn more about
the way in which small groups book and coordinate recreational travel plans including.
This study is being conducted by Banks, Boston, Burke, and Johnson; graduate students
at DePaul University as a requirement to obtain his or her Master’s degree. This
research is being supervised by his or her faculty advisor, Cynthia Putnam.]
We hope to include about four people in the research.
Why are you being asked to be in the research?
You are invited to participate in this study because we are you are currently in the
process of booking a trip with a small group of companions. We are seeking participants
of any race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national
origin, or ethnicity. You must be age 18 or older to be in this study. This study is not
approved for the enrollment of people under the age of 18.
What is involved in being in the research study?
If you agree to be in this study, being in the research involves participating in two
activities, the first of which is an observation of coordinating, planning, or booking small
group travel. The observation may occur in your own home or residence. Secondly, a
follow-up interview will take place where we ask you about your experience planning,
coordinating, and booking travel as part of a small group. The interview may again take
place in your own residence, and will include questions such as:
● How often do you travel as part of a group?
● Do you typically find yourself as the coordination lead?
○ How does your group assign a leader?
● How did your group come to a consensus in terms of destination,
flights/transportation, accommodations, activities, etc.?
● Which channels did you use to communicate with other group members?
○ Were any group members remote?
○ Did you do any live, in-person meetings?
How much time will this take?
This study will take about 30 minutes to complete.
Are there any risks involved in participating in this study?
Being in this study does not involve any risks other than what you would encounter in
daily life. You may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about answering certain
questions. You do not have to answer any question you do not want to.
Are there any benefits to participating in this study?
You will not personally benefit from this study. We hope that what we learn will help
other people more expediently and efficiently book and plan group travel.
Is there any kind of payment, reimbursement or credit for being in this
study?
You will not be paid for participating in this research.
Are there any costs to me for being in the research?
There is no cost to you for being in the research. You are responsible for any normal
costs related to booking any aspect of your group travel that we are observing.
Can you decide not to participate?
Your participation is voluntary, which means you can choose not to participate. There
will be no negative consequences, penalties, or loss of benefits if you decide not to
participate or change your mind later and withdraw from the research after you begin
participating.
Who will see my study information and how will the confidentiality of the
information collected for the research be protected?
The research records will be kept and stored securely. Your information will be
combined with information from other people taking part in the study. When we write
about the study or publish a paper to share the research with other researchers, we will
write about the combined information we have gathered. We will not include your name
or any information that will directly identify you. We will make every effort to prevent
anyone who is not on the research team from knowing that you gave us information, or
what that information is. However, some people might review or copy our records that
may identify you in order to make sure we are following the required rules, laws, and
regulations. For example, the DePaul University Institutional Review Board and/or the
Data and Safety Monitoring Board may review your information. If they look at our
records, they will keep your information confidential.
What if new information is learned that might affect my decision to be in
the study?
If we learn of new information or make changes to any portion of the study, and the new
information or changes might affect your willingness to stay in this study, the new
information will be provided to you. If this happens, you may be asked to provide
ongoing consent (in writing or verbally).
What if I am injured as a result of my participation?
If you were injured as a result of this research, you should seek medical treatment
through your regular doctor or medical care plan. There are no plans for the researchers
to pay for treatment of an injury that is a result of being in the study. However, you are
not precluded from seeking to collect compensation for injury related to malpractice,
fault, or blame on the part of those involved in the research. If you were injured as a
result of the research you should contact: Katharine Banks,
Who should be contacted for more information about the research?
Before you decide whether to accept this invitation to take part in the study, please ask
any questions that might come to mind now. Later, if you have questions, suggestions,
concerns, or complaints about the study or you want to get additional information or
provide input about this research, you can contact the researcher, Katharine Banks,
This research has been reviewed and approved by the DePaul Institutional Review Board
(IRB). If you have questions about your rights as a research subject you may contact Susan
Loess-Perez, DePaul University’s Director of Research Compliance, in the Office of
Research Services at 312-362-7593 or by email at [email protected].
You may also contact DePaul’s Office of Research Services if:
● Your questions, concerns, or complaints are not being answered by the research
team.
● You cannot reach the research team.
● You want to talk to someone besides the research team.
You will be given a copy of this information to keep for your records.
Statement of Consent from the Subject:
I have read the above information. I have had all my questions and concerns answered.
By signing below, I indicate my consent to be in the research. By completing the survey
[or other study activity] you are indicating your agreement to be in the research.
Signature:_______________________________________________
Printed name: ____________________________________________
Date: _________________
B. Consolidated AEIOU Framework
(For larger view, please click here.)
C. Final Affinity Diagram
(For larger view, please click here.)
D. Interview Protocol/Script
Screener Verification Questions:
1. Have you ever been on vacation with a group before or are you currently planning
a vacation with a group? For the purpose of this study, we consider a group to be
3 or more people.
2. When planning this group vacation, were you and your travel companions located
in the same city?
Our Research Questions:
1. What tools do participants use for booking their trips and searching for prices?
2. How do group members communicate about trip plans?
3. How do group planners keep track of individual preferences and decisions made?
4. Does an entire trip get planned in one sitting?
Introduction
Hello, my name is [variable], and I am a graduate student at DePaul University. Thank
you for agreeing to participate in this interview. I am working in a group to conduct
research to better understand how small groups of people plan trips together when they
live in different in different geographical locations.
There are no right or wrong answers and your answers will be kept confidential.
Today’s interview session should take approximately 30 minutes, without interruptions.
Please refrain from using your cell phone during the interview.
Before we begin, would you please read and sign this informed consent form?
Great, thank you. Do you have any questions before we start?
Warm Up Questions to Build Rapport
1. I understand that you enjoy traveling. Tell me about the favorite place you’ve ever
visited…
2. About how many vacations did you take this year?
a. Where did you go?
b. Was this a pretty typical year for you
3. In the last five years, how often do have you gone on group vacations? (By group
we mean travel with at least two other people).
4. Who typically joins you on group vacations?
5. Please describe your group the last time you traveled in a group.
a. Where did you go, what did you do?
6. How does that group number compare to other vacations you’ve taken as part of
a group?
7. When was the last time you traveled with people coming from a different city,
state or country than you?
Roles
In that last vacation,
8. Tell me about everyone’s role in planning, including yours.
a. Was there a coordination lead in your group?
9. How do group members decide on travel responsibilities?
10. Have you traveled with this group more than once?
IF NOT: Is there a group that you have traveled with more than once? Tell me
about that group? Where have you gone? Tell me about the last vacation?
a. Is there a coordination lead in your group?
i. [If yes] Who is typically the coordination lead?
ii. How does your group assign a leader?
Making Decisions
11. How early did you plan for the trip [to xxx with the yyy group]? Would you say
that’s typical?
12. How did your group come to an agreement about vacation details?
a. Were there any aspects of the trip that were particularly hard to gain
agreement on?
13. How did you communicate with other group members?
a. Did you have any calls or meetings? Tell me about those…
b. How did you record ideas or important information?
14. Once all of the decisions had been made, how were things purchased? I want to
ask specifically about:
a. Hotel
b. Transport
c. Other
Room for Improvement
15. How did the trip go? Did everything go according to plan?
16. Is there anything that could have made your life easier while planning your trip?
a. In a perfect world, what kind of tool or technology do you think would
have helped in planning [latest group trip]?
17. If you were speaking to someone else who happened to be planning a trip with a
group of people, what advice would you give them?
Demographics
18. How old are you?
19. What gender do you identify as?
20. In which city and state do you live?
21. What is your marital status?
22. Do you have any children?
23. What is the highest level of education you’ve completed?
24. What is your occupation?
Closing
That concludes all the questions I have for you today. Do you have any final thoughts
you would like to share or any questions that you would like to ask at this time?
[Await participant’s response. When all of the participant’s questions are answered,
move along.]
Once again, I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me today. If there’s
anything further you need, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at
[variable email address].
E. Interview Coding Schema
(For larger view, please click here.)
F. Hypothesis Data
Advance planning and vacation satisfaction
Planning involvement and planning satisfaction
Planning involvement and payment
G. User Spectrums
Travels in groups
<-------W------J-------------------------------S----------K------>
Never Always
Is primary planner of group trips
<-------------------------S--------------J-----------K-----W----->
Never Always
Adheres to strict budget when planning trips
<--------------K--------S---------------------W----J------------->
Never Always
Communicates trip details through email
<----------------------------------W----------------A------J--K-->
Never Frequently
Communicates trip details through text
<------J-----------------------W------------------A-------K------>
Never Frequently
Begins travel planning >2 months before trip
<--------------------------K-----J-----A------------W------------>
Never Frequently
H. Survey Questionnaire
You are being asked to participate in a research study being conducted by Katharine Banks, David Boston, Kelly Burke, and Leilani Johnson at DePaul University. We are asking you because we are trying to learn more about how people plan group travel. This study will take about 10-15 minutes of your time. If you agree to be in this study, you will be asked to complete this survey. You must meet the following requirement: (1) You must have traveled as part of a group, consisting of yourself and at least two other travelers. (i) Travel can be domestic or international. The survey will include questions about your role in planning group travel, including picking destinations and researching accommodations, transportation, and your overall satisfaction with the process of planning travel as part of a group. Your answers will be kept anonymous. No personal information will be collected that can identify you. You can choose not to participate. There will be no negative consequences if you decide not to participate or change your mind later. You can quit this study at anytime by closing your browser.
If you have questions about this study, please contact Katharine Banks at [email protected]. If you have questions about your rights as a research subject, you may contact Susan Loess-Perez, DePaul University’s Director of Research Protections at 312-362-7593 or by email at [email protected]. By clicking next, you are agreeing to participate in this study.
# Question Instructio
ns Answers Reasons Comment
Screener
1 How many vacations have you gone on in the last 12 months?
Select one. ● 11+
vacations
● 6-10
vacations
● 1-5 vacations
● I have not
gone on any
vacations
Understand if participant fit required criteria for our study.for our study.
Terminate if they have not gone on any vacations.
2 How many vacations
have you gone on with
Select one. ● 11+
vacations
Understand if participant fit required
Terminate if they have not gone on any
two or more people (not
including yourself) in
the past 12 months?
● 6-10
vacations
● 1-5 vacations
● I have not
gone on any
vacations
with two or
more people
criteria for our study.
vacations with two or more people
Trip Details
3 What was the reason for your last trip?
Check all that apply.
● Family trip
● Relaxation
● Adventure
● Celebration
● Reunion
with friends
and/or
family
Understand the motivation for group travel.
4 How many of your
previous group
vacations were to an
international
destination (outside of
your home country)?
Select one. ● More than 2
vacations
● 1-2 vacations
● None
Understand distance travelled and if travels further from home require more planning.
5 What was the duration of your last trip?
Select one. ● Weekend
● 1 week
● 2 weeks
● More than 2
weeks
Understand trip duration to see if it has an impact on amount of planning required.
6 When going on
vacations with two or
more people (not
including yourself), who
do you typically travel
with?
Check all that apply.
● Significant
other
● Friends
● Coworkers
● Classmates
● Family
● Other
Understand who users typically travel with as part of a group.
Group Planning Roles
7 How many of the group
vacations you have
Select one. ● More than 2
vacations
Understand if users plan on
taken did you book
through a travel agent?
● 1-2 vacations
● 0 vacations
their own or through the use of a service such as a travel agency.
8 How would you rate the
importance of planning
for vacations in
advance?
Select a number on the scale.
● 1- Not
important at
all
● 2
● 3 - Neutral
● 4
● 5 - Very
important
● 6 - Don’t
know
Understand how much planning people feel needs to go into their vacations.
9 How far in advance did
your group plan the last
group vacation?
Select one. ● 1-3 weeks
prior to the
vacation (or
should this
read? Less
than one
month prior
to vacation)
● 1-6 months
prior to the
vacation
● More than 6
months
prior to the
vacation
Understand how early users begin planning for a group trip.
10 Describe the planning
process for the last
group trip that you
took. In your answer,
include where you
went, the size of the
group, and how
members of the group
contributed to the
planning.
Write in your answer.
[open field] Understand how the user planned their last trip and how various trip members interacted with the planning process.
11 How long have you
known the people you
Write in your answer.
[open field] Understand if there are differences when
went on your last group
trip with?
planning trips based upon how long travel parties have known one another.
12 How would you rate
your individual
participation in
planning your previous
vacations with two or
more people (not
including yourself)?
Select a number on the scale.
● 1- None of
the planning
● 2
● 4 - Some of
the planning
● 5
● 6 - All of the
planning
● Don’t know
Understand if participants spend different amounts of time planning depending on the trip..
13 How would you rate
your individual
participation in
planning your last
vacation with two or
more people (not
including yourself)?
Select a number on the scale.
● 1- None of
the planning
● 2
● 4 - Some of
the planning
● 5
● 6 - All of the
planning
● Don’t know
Understand how active the respondent was in planning their last vacation.
14 How would you rate
your overall satisfaction
with the planning of
your last vacation with
two or more people?
Select a number on the scale.
● 1- Very
dissatisfied
● 2
● 3 - Neither
satisfied nor
dissatisfied
● 4
● 5 - Very
satisfied
● Don’t know
Understand how users feel about the group travel planning process.
15 How would you rate
your satisfaction with
your last group vacation
overall?
● 1- Very
dissatisfied
● 2
● 3 - Neither
satisfied nor
dissatisfied
● 4
● 5 - Very
satisfied
● Don’t know
Understand overall satisfaction with last group vacation. Will be analyzed in comparison to level of planning by
the individual user.
Group Communication
16 Last time you went on a
vacation, how did you
communicate with your
group to discuss
vacation plans? (Check
all that apply)
Check all that apply.
● In-person
meeting
● Online
conferencing
(Skype,
Hangout,
Facetime,
etc.)
● Phone call
● Text
message
● Shared
document
● Travel app
● Other____
Understand how groups work together to distribute information and arrive at consensus.
Payment Methods
17 Last time you went on a
vacation, how did you
handle payment of
vacation expenses?
Select one. ● I give my
money to
someone
else
● I pay for
everything
and then ask
for
reimbursem
ent
● I pay for my
portion and
other people
on the trip
pay for
theirs
● Other trip
goers and I
split the cost
of expense
(i.e. I pay for
housing and
Understand how participants pay for vacation expenses, and how many parties are responsible for paying.
they pay for
food)
● Other____
18 Last time you went on a
group vacation, how did
you reimburse other
members of your group
for vacation expenses
incurred?
Select one. ● Cash
(physical)
● Check
(physical)
● Digital
payment
(Chase
QuickPay,
Venmo,
PayPal,
Square, etc.)
● Other____
● N/A
Understand that if group travel is booked on one person’s bill, how do people reimburse other members of their travel group.
Demographics
19 Please select your age range.
Select range from menu.
● 18-29
● 30-39
● 40-49
● 50-59
● 60-69
● 70+
● Prefer not to
answer
Understand background information on participants
20 What gender do you identify as?
Select one. ● Male
● Female
● Prefer not to
answer
Understand background information on participants
21 In which city and state do you live?
Write in your answer.
[open field] Understand background information on participants
22 What is your marital status?
Select one. ● Single, never
married
● Married or
domestic
partnership
● Divorced
● Separated
● Widowed
Understand background information on participants
● Prefer not to
answer
23 Do you have children? Select one. ● Yes
● No
● Prefer not to
answer
Understand background information on participants
24 What is the highest level of education you’ve completed?
Select one. ● High school
● Some college
● Bachelor’s
degree
● Graduate
degree
● Doctorate
● Other
● Prefer not to
answer
Understand background information on participants
25 What is your occupation?
Write in your answer.
● [open field] Understand background information on participants
26 What is your annual salary or income?
Select one. ● $20,000 or
less
● $20,001-
$40,000
● $40,001-
$60,000
● $61,001-
$80,000
● $80,001-
$100,000
● $100,001+
● Prefer not to
answer
Understand background information on participants
Thank you for participating in our survey. Your responses are highly valued for our
research. If you have any questions or comments about the survey, please contact