Great Wolf Lodge
“[I am a quote]”
– Tom Zeinen, Product Manager at Great Wolf Lodge
With over 10 million guests visiting its nationwide resorts each year, Great Wolf Lodge aimed to streamline and enhance guests' stays by digitizing its passes and packages.
To ensure that digital transformation preserves the best of the analog passes and packages experience while also improving upon it, Great Wolf Lodge partnered with affinityUX to lead a 4-week research sprint focused on recent guest experiences from end-to-end and collected feedback on prototypes of a digital interface soon to be included in the Great Wolf App.
Preserving the Legacy, Embracing the Future
Deliverables
Interview Guides
Interview Notes/Transcripts
Research Findings Report
Research Highlights Slide Deck
Roles
In-Depth User Interviews
Qualitative Analysis
Prototype Development
Tools
Figma
Notion
Fathom Notetaker
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While Great Wolf Lodge's physical passes and packages have proven popular, offering a sense of ownership and independence for younger guests and a straightforward redemption process, they also presented limitations.
By transitioning to a digital solution, Great Wolf Lodge sought to preserve the positive aspects of the physical experience, such as ease of use, while addressing these limitations and introducing new opportunities for personalized offers and enhanced convenience.
The Challenge
After
Digital Activity Tracking: Guests will automatically see activities redeemed on their app and can easily track which activities and discounts are still available.
Multiple Pass View: Guests can easily track multiple passes and different pass types on one screen.
Convenience Driven: Guests can now manage their passes on their phone which most guests already carry at all times.
Operational Efficiencies: Simplified data collection and accounting processes.
Before
Fear of Loss & Damage:
Guests shared concerns about losing or damaging physical passes and that there is no way to recover them if/when lost.
Difficult for Large Groups: Multiple passes were sometimes stressful or difficult to manage for guests with large groups of young children.
Manual Data Collection: Staff were required to track pass redemptions and input data manually.
Manual Inclusion Tracking: Guests had to manually cross off each activity they completed on the back of their physical passes, with some sharing that water can smudge or ruin their markings.
Added Hassle:
Guests mentioned not wanting to take passes to the water park, which led to long trips back and forth to their rooms and created more effort to remember passes.
Outcomes
88% Positive Reaction
Digital passes received positive feedback from users, with 88% finding it intuitive, easy to use, and informative.
App Utilization
Positioned GWL to increase app usage, driving awareness of discounts, upsell opportunities, and other personalized offerings.
Key Insights
Identified key factors influencing customer booking decisions, app usage, and on-site experience.
New Opportunities
Uncovered feature requests and customer-centered opportunities for future product roadmap
Who
17 guests who had stayed at a lodge within the last 30 days:
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Larger families: 10/17 families had 5+ members
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Young Children: Only 5/17 families included children ages 12+
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Newer to Great Wolf: The majority of guests had stayed at a lodge 4 times or less
What
45-minute in-depth interviews with prototype stimuli:
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Asked about guests’ most recent experience from end-to-end
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Tested sentiment around prototypes of a new P&P experience in the Great Wolf App