Boutique Hotel Makeover

Bellevue Club Hotel

Throughout my career, I’ve collaborated with diverse boutique hotels nationwide, united by a common goal: outshining larger travel companies in online visibility. Balancing trendsetting designs with user-friendly interfaces, the challenge involves integrating captivating imagery while maintaining a seamless customer experience. These projects prioritize customization, offering a unique digital space distinct from online travel platforms like Expedia, all encapsulated in polished and intuitive designs.

About Bellevue Club Hotel

The Bellevue Club Hotel, renowned for its luxury accommodations and on-site athletic and social club, was undergoing a significant $6 million makeover. With newly-renovated rooms featuring neutral palettes and Pacific Northwest accents, the hotel sought a revamped website to match its elegant transformation. The goal was to create a digital presence that reflected the refined and contemporary experience offered within its walls.

The Challenge

The owner’s primary concern stemmed from the lack of visibility of his business in Google search results for ‘Bellevue Hotel.’ Frustrated by the absence of his hotel in top search rankings, he approached our team based on our proven track record of successfully optimizing the online presence of several boutique hotels. Having demonstrated our ability to compete effectively against larger travel industries in organic search, our team was tasked with revitalizing the online presence of the company.

The challenge extended beyond the hotel’s website; the company maintained three distinct websites for the hotel, gym, and membership services, each suffering from outdated designs and providing a subpar user experience. Recognizing the critical need for a comprehensive overhaul, the owner sought a modern and cohesive visual identity that could be seamlessly replicated across all three sites. Our mission was not only to enhance the aesthetics but also to ensure a consistent and enjoyable user experience throughout, creating a digital environment that mirrored the exceptional quality of the physical location. Central to this vision was the incorporation of stunning photography to showcase the hotel’s picturesque surroundings and elevate the overall online brand presence.

Project Roles

Project Management

Scoped and planned deliverables for diverse projects.
Conducted discovery sessions to identify project requirements.

Sales and Stakeholder Engagement

Collaborated with owners and stakeholders during sales processes.
Worked directly with hotel owners to understand and address their needs.

Team Leadership

Managed a cross-functional team of designers, developers, and content writers.
Conducted training sessions to empower staff in updating the website.

Project Execution

Led end-to-end project management, ensuring successful testing and launch.
Collaborated on wireframe design, sitemap creation, and information architecture.

Design and Development Collaboration

Engaged in user interface design processes to enhance project aesthetics.
Collaborated on front-end development to ensure seamless user experiences.

Tools Used

Project Management

Basecamp

UX/UI Design & Wireframing

Gliffy
Slickplan
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator

Web Development

Adobe Dreamweaver
HTML5
CSS3
PHP
JavaScript
WordPress
MySQL

WordPress Customization

Custom Theme
Advanced Custom Fields
Custom Post Types & Taxonomies
Google Map Integration
Dynamic grids and sliders built with Revolution Slider tools

Accessibility & Testing

WAVE Accessibility Tools
Firefox Developer Tools
Google Chrome Developer
Cross-Browser Testing

Analytics & SEO

Google Analytics
Google Webmaster Tools
Google Tag Manager
Yoast SEO

Solutions

Designed a unified interface to enhance the functionality of all three websites
Enhanced SEO strategies to elevate the visibility of Bellevue Hotel in search results
Engineered a versatile design solution applicable across all three platforms
Optimized website performance through meticulous attention to HTML syntax and prioritization
Seamlessly incorporated the booking system into the website, enhancing user convenience
Implemented a cohesive blog feature integrated throughout the website strategically to boost traffic
Established seamless integration between the gym and hotel interfaces
Developed a user-friendly WordPress website, ensuring ease of maintenance for the client
Crafted bespoke iconography

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More...

Below are links to some of the other hotels I have had the pleasure of working with and the sites that I have helped to create. Because the industry is constantly pushing the envelope with design some of the locations have moved on from my designs. In these cases, I have linked them to the Way Back Machine version of the websites I was involved with.