Case Study · 2026

Safe Stay — skip the line, unlock your room.

A contactless mobile experience that lets hotel guests authenticate, pay, unlock their room, order service, and check out — without ever stopping at the front desk.

Role
Lead Product Designer
Outcome
80% less wait time
Platform
iOS & Android
Focus
Trust · Speed
9:41
S
Safe Stay

Welcome back.

Enter your booking details to check in.

Booking ID
RV-7842-Q
Last Name
Chen
No booking? Find a hotel
01 · The Challenge

Hotel check-in is still stuck at the front desk.

Long lines after a long flight. Forms on a clipboard. A plastic key card that demagnetizes by Friday. The first impression of any stay is also the slowest. Safe Stay reimagines that moment as something a guest can do from the back seat of their taxi.

01

Lines after a long journey

Tired travelers wait 10–15 minutes at the front desk just to hand over an ID and sign a form.

02

Surprise charges at check-out

Incidental holds, mini-bar items, and resort fees show up as line items the guest has never seen before.

03

Trust gaps on sensitive steps

Uploading a passport or authorizing a credit-card hold without any reassurance about where the data goes.

The opportunity

If we move authentication, payment, and key delivery into the guest's pocket, then check-in becomes a 30-second task done en route. The front desk becomes optional, not the bottleneck.

02 · User Persona

Meet Maya.

A frequent business traveler whose week starts at one airport and ends at another. The choices that work for her tend to work for every traveler with a phone and an agenda.

Maya Chen

38 · Management Consultant · San Francisco
120 nights / year Gold member, 3 chains Mobile-first
"By the time I land, I just want a hot shower. Every second I spend at a front desk is a second I'm not asleep."
Goals
  • Get to her room in under five minutes
  • Know exactly what she'll be charged
  • Order room service without a phone call
Frustrations
  • Lines when she's running on three hours of sleep
  • Lost or demagnetized key cards
  • Hidden fees that surface on check-out
Behaviors
  • Books on her phone the morning of
  • Checks in during the cab ride from the airport
  • Skips loyalty calls — uses the app instead
Needs
  • One-tap actions, no decision trees
  • Clear receipts before any charge
  • A digital key that works on the first tap
03 · User Flow

From booking ID to room door.

Seven taps from the airport to the elevator. Every screen previews exactly what happens next.

Open app
push notif
Authenticate
01 · ID + last name
Verify ID
02 · scan passport
Authorize hold
03 · $100 incidentals
Digital Key ready
04 · room 1207
In-stay home
order · spa · key
Need anything?
room service · spa · housekeeping
request
Concierge
05 · order placed
Folio updated
live charges
Express check-out
06 · final folio
Release hold
07 · $100 returned
Stay complete
receipt emailed
Entry
Screen
Action
Decision
Success
04 · Design Principles

Six rules that shaped every screen.

Hotels are about trust. The product had to earn it on every tap.

01

Trust before action

Sensitive steps (ID, payment) lead with a security message before the input — never after.

02

Predict, never surprise

Every charge previews itself: "$100 hold, released at check-out" beats a mystery debit.

03

One-tap intent

The most common job — unlock my door — is the largest, closest element on every relevant screen.

04

Status, not steps

"Ready to unlock" tells a guest more than "Step 3 of 4". Show state, not progress.

05

Accessible on weary eyes

WCAG AA contrast minimums. 48px tap targets. Keys readable across a hallway.

06

Reversible by default

Every payment, order, and request has an undo within a confidence window.

05 · Low-fidelity Wireframes

Structure before style.

Trust hierarchy, content priority, and one-tap intent — locked in monochrome first.

BOOKING ID
LAST NAME
CONTINUE →
no booking? find hotel
01 · Authenticate
STEP 1 OF 3
PRIVACY ASSURED
SCAN ID
02 · Verify ID
STEP 2 OF 3
INCIDENTAL HOLD$100.00released at check-out
AUTHORIZE
03 · Authorize Hold
ROOM
HOLD
TO UNLOCK
DOORCONCIERGEBILL
04 · Digital Key
Recent
05 · Concierge
ROOM CHARGES
ROOM SERVICE
HOLD RELEASED+$100.00
TOTAL$423
CHECK OUT
06 · Check-out
06 · High-fidelity Designs

The finished journey.

Six screens that take a guest from the airport curb to their room — and from their room to a clean folio.

9:41
S
Safe Stay

Welcome back.

Enter your booking details to check in.

Booking ID
RV-7842-Q
Last Name
Chen
No booking? Find a hotel
01 · AuthenticateBooking ID + last name.
9:41
Step 1 of 3

Verify your identity

Place your passport or driver's license in the frame.

Privacy assured
Encrypted & auto-deleted after verification
passport
02 · Verify IDPrivacy assured first.
9:41
Step 2 of 3

Authorize incidentals

A temporary hold — released when you check out.

Incidental hold
$100.00
Released after check-out
Payment method
VISA
•••• 4821
Expires 09/27
+ Add new card
03 · AuthorizePredictable hold preview.
9:41
Room
1207
Floor 12 · King Ocean View
Hold
to unlock
KEY
CONCIERGE
FOLIO
04 · Digital KeyHold to unlock.
9:41
Concierge

Good evening, Maya.

Room service
24h menu
Spa
Book a slot
Housekeeping
Request now
Nearby
Restaurants & bars
Active order
Truffle pasta · sparkling water
Arriving in 12 min
On the way
KEY
CONCIERGE
FOLIO
05 · ConciergeTap to request.
9:41
Folio · Room 1207

Express check-out

Room (3 nights)
Oct 12–15
$285.00
Room service
2 orders
$84.50
Spa
60-min massage
$120.00
Hold released
Back on your card in 2–3 days
+$100.00
Final total
Visa •••• 4821
$489.50
06 · Check-outHold released, clearly.
07 · Design System

A foundation built on trust.

Hospitality navy, calming teal, and a monospace voice for the things that need to feel precise.

Color

WCAG AA on every pairing
Navy
#0A2540
Primary surface · trust
Navy 2
#13314F
Elevated dark
Teal
#00B2A9
Primary CTA · safe
Teal Dark
#008F87
Link · 4.9:1 AA
Teal Soft
#CCEFEC
Trust banners
Success
#10B981
Hold released · paid
Ink
#0F1F33
Text · 14:1 AAA
Ink 2
#4F5D75
Secondary · 6.8:1

Typography

Plus Jakarta Sans + JetBrains Mono
Display · Plus Jakarta Sans 800
Skip the line.
Geometric sans for moments that should feel modern and decisive — screen titles, totals, room numbers.
Body · Plus Jakarta Sans 400/500
Place your passport in the frame. We'll encrypt and delete it after verification.
Wide x-height, generous letterforms — readable in low light, on a small screen, after a long flight.
Mono · JetBrains Mono 600 — for IDs, totals & receipts
RV-7842-Q · $489.50 · ROOM 1207
Booking IDs, dollar amounts, and room numbers get a monospace voice so they read as fact, not copy.

Components

Modern, predictable, accessible
Primary button
Teal · 54px tall
Navy button
Sensitive actions
Privacy assuredVerifiedGold
Chips
RV-7842-Q
Input · Mono
Booking ID style
Hold
$100.00
Hold card
Privacy assured
Trust banner
Above ID & payment
08 · Outcomes & Reflections

What the design earned.

Measurable shifts plus the lessons I'll carry forward.

80%
Less wait time
Front-desk dwell vs. baseline
30s
From open to key
Median first-time check-in
AA
Contrast on key text
WCAG 2.2 audited
0
Hidden charges
Every fee previewed in-flow

What I'd carry forward

  • Trust messages belong before sensitive inputs, never after.
  • Show holds as friendly money — preview, then return, visibly.
  • The largest tap target should always be the most common job.

What I'd explore next

  • Mid-stay room switching as a one-tap action when housekeeping flags an issue.
  • Family-mode keys with parental limits on incidentals.
  • Offline key support for elevator-deep dead zones.
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