Poolside Booking – Venetia Manuel

Poolside Booking. Addressing member and operational pain points to avoid overcrowding and allow equal opportunity for all

Pool season is a busy and popular time at Soho House, with 20 pools globally attracting members eager to soak up the sunshine. Members would often queue first thing in the morning to secure a sunbed, and if successful, hold onto it for the entire day, even if they were elsewhere in the house meaning limited members could enjoy the space. This mass arrival created operational challenges, particularly for the kitchen and bar teams as they struggled to manage the increased volume of orders.

We created a seamless and enjoyable booking system that supports the operational teams in delivering efficient service and ensures all members have a fair and equal opportunity to book and use the pool spaces.

Brand

Soho House

Year

2023

Responsibilities

Design Lead - End-to-end design process, user testing, stakeholder engagement and presentations, dev handover documentation, evolving of the design system, quality assurance.

Team

Product Designers, Product Manager.

IMPACT

Operational efficiency

Reduced influx of members on kitchen/bar teams. Flexibility to define slots to suit requirements p/House.

Maximising value

Equal opportunity for members to enjoy.

Visibility of available slots

Index view focused on booking status.

1.3 minutes

Average times it takes for beds to be fully booked.

Displaying locations next availability or booking status.

Slot status to inform booking options.

Working closely with the operational and membership teams, we outlined the specific requirements for the new app feature that aligned with business objectives:

Visibility of availability is a priority.
Limit the number of slot bookings to 1 per day, per member.
Flexibility for operations to edit the number of booking slots and length of slots per day, per house.
Control when it's available for members to book for any specific day, per house.
To work for different bed and pool types we have.
To work for different priorities – hotel guests, PWK (people we know), and walk-ins.

Design in-line with booking details revamp project.

Prompted when a members has a poolside already booked on the same day.

The Outcome: Enhanced pre-booking to elevating member experience and streamlining House operations

Member experience

The one-per-day pre-booking allows more members to access the spaces, reducing frustration by eliminating long waits with the risk of no availability. It helps members make an informed decision to plan their day more effectively, and enjoy the best possible experience at our Houses.

Operational

Each House team has the capability to define slots, capacities, durations, and event statuses both individually and at scale, ensuring they align with the events programme and adapt to changes in weather. The new staggered scheduling prevents kitchen and bar teams from being overwhelmed, resulting in a more efficient service for everyone to enjoy.