Position of Discounts & Promotions in a website

Question

I have an Internet Booking engine where the layout is as following.

Now in this layout I'm trying to show the available promotions and discount when the user selects an arrival date. My Concept is to drop a container by the side each containing with a promotion or a discount. A stack maybe! Which drops from the top of the website and stick at bottom of the website for few seconds. Like 10 seconds maybe. Will this be a good UX idea? Or is there a better way to position those in a strategic way?

Answer 1

The idea that you've suggested is a good one - it's relevant to the users search and therefore more persuasive in theory. But what about those users that are flexible on their dates? Or their location? What about the users that want inspiration and don't know where to go?

Do you notice that no other competitor (in the 8 that I've quickly reviewed) does what you've mentioned? It's not because "no one has ever thought about it" - more likely because it's not as strong as the alternative option: a landing page. I would recommend looking at your competition (which from your design see that you've already looked at AirBnb and Tripadvisor!). A quick search will show that most competitors take the user to a dedicated landing page for their sale. That way you can:

1. Provide inspiration
2. Give users more flexible options around their dates or location
3. Promote a dedicated landing page via PPC

You can test your theory by implementing both so long as there is that option almost a "catch all". I'd be interested to see the results. Here are some screenshots from competitors to consider - I'd make your Tripadvisor-esque banner header a large sale banner promoting your landing page - there's a lot of real estate here. The last screenshot below (Sandals) is particularly effective.

Answer 2

According to me you should let the landing page do just one Primary Job, that is of selecting the dates and displaying relevant results . Lots of flashy, bouncy animations can kill the flow. Be subtle in this respect. The main goal user has in mind when booking are not the offers but the type of hotel rooms, their images e.t.c .

Consider doing something like this

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