UI / UX Design
MakeMyTrip: Flexi Check-In
Improving hotel booking flexibility with a Flexible Check-in feature
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
8 Weeks
Deliverables
Mobile, Web, PWA
Team
Product Managers, Designers, Engineers
Project Overview
Hotel booking often assumes a standard check-in time, which does not always align with how travelers actually arrive at their destination.
Many users arrive early morning or late at night, but standard hotel booking flows do not clearly communicate flexibility around check-in times.
To address this gap, I designed the Flexi Check-in feature, which allows travelers to choose check-in times that match their arrival schedule.
The goal was to create a feature that reduces booking uncertainty and helps travelers make more confident hotel decisions.
The Problem
During the hotel booking journey, travelers often face uncertainty regarding check-in timing.
For example:
• early morning arrivals after overnight flights
• late night arrivals due to travel delays
• short day-use stays
Standard hotel booking flows rarely communicate flexible check-in options clearly.
As a result:
• travelers hesitate before booking
• users spend more time searching for suitable properties
• some users abandon bookings altogether
This created an opportunity to introduce a feature that makes check-in flexibility more transparent during the booking process.
Understanding User Needs
To understand how travelers approach hotel bookings, I analyzed booking behavior and common traveler scenarios.
Several patterns emerged.
Travelers care about:
• aligning hotel check-in with arrival times
• avoiding long waiting periods after reaching a destination
• finding properties that accommodate flexible schedules
These insights highlighted the need for a feature that makes check-in flexibility visible earlier in the booking journey.
Key Insight
Users want clarity about when they can actually enter the hotel room, not just the date they are booking for.
If flexibility is unclear, users often browse multiple properties before making a decision.
Making flexible check-in options visible can:
• reduce booking hesitation
• improve booking confidence
• simplify the decision-making process
Product Strategy
Before designing the Flexi Check-in feature, it was important to define how the feature would fit into the existing hotel booking journey.
The goal was not just to introduce flexibility, but to ensure the feature improved decision-making during the discovery and booking stages.
The feature needed to support three key objectives:
Improve booking confidence
Travelers should clearly understand whether a hotel can accommodate their arrival time.
Increase discoverability of flexible properties
Hotels offering flexible check-in should be easier to identify during search and browsing.
Integrate seamlessly with the existing booking flow
The feature should feel like a natural part of the MakeMyTrip experience without introducing additional complexity.
These principles guided the design decisions for the Flexi Check-in feature.
Designing The Feature
The Flexi Check-in feature was designed to integrate seamlessly into the existing hotel discovery and booking flow.
The goal was to ensure the feature felt natural within the MakeMyTrip experience without adding complexity.
The design focused on three key areas:
Highlighting properties that support flexible check-in
Allowing users to select preferred check-in time ranges
Providing clarity within the booking journey
Feature Experience
Flexi Check-in Badge
Hotels offering flexible check-in were marked clearly within the listing results.
This allows travelers to quickly identify suitable properties without opening each listing.
Flexible Check-in Options
Users could select check-in windows that match their travel schedule.
Examples include:
• early morning check-in
• late night check-in
• hourly-based stays
Booking Integration
The selected check-in preference is reflected throughout the booking process to maintain clarity and avoid confusion.
This ensures travelers understand the check-in conditions before confirming the booking.
Integration Into Booking Flow
The feature was integrated seamlessly into the existing hotel booking journey.
Users could:
discover hotels with flexible check-in
select their preferred time slot
confirm booking with transparent stay duration
ALTHOUGH ALL THESE RESULTED INTO HAPPY & SATISFIED CUSTOMERS ;))
Impact
Introducing Flexi Check-in helped travelers make booking decisions more confidently by aligning hotel stays with their travel schedules.
The feature also improved the discoverability of hotels offering flexible check-in options.
Other Contributions
In addition to Flexible Check-in, I also worked on other improvements within the hotel booking journey, including:
• Extra Bed feature
• Location Cards for better property discovery
• Booking journey improvements
These enhancements helped improve usability and decision-making during the booking process.
Reflection
The feature was designed to improve booking confidence and make flexible check-in options more discoverable.”
Designing the Flexi Check-in feature reinforced the importance of aligning product features with real user travel behavior.
By introducing flexibility directly within the booking flow, the experience became more transparent and decision-friendly for travelers.
This project also highlighted the importance of designing features that integrate smoothly into existing product ecosystems without disrupting familiar user journeys.
