Why Accessibility is Everything at Booking.com

On today’s episode of Masters of MAX, it’s time to shake things up a bit and look at the world of mobile from a different angle. We’ve heard from marketing leaders as they share the brand power apps bring to the table, but we want to dig deeper into the app design itself. 

Joining to help us uncover more of the behind the scenes is Hao Xie, Senior App Designer at Booking.com, one of the world’s largest travel marketplaces, mediating between hotels, guesthouses, vacation rentals, and their guests. Hao has been with Booking.com for over a year, being brought on to build the native app experience for the Attraction offering.

Hear as Hao and Tom discuss how crucial accessibility is to the mobile experience as it opens the door to millions of users who otherwise would be shut out. An often overlooked aspect of the design process, accessibility impacts everyone, not just those of differing abilities. Hao provides real world examples of inclusive features the team at Booking.com employs to create a more holistic experience. 

Additionally, Hao shares a few stories from his time at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He describes how he and his team were able to get  live customer feedback immediately after piloting new features. How? Because they left their desks and asked passengers for their opinions as they waited to board their flights.