A UX Journey to Rebuild Trust Through Transparent Pricing
Project: MakeMyTrip — Hotels Funnel (Price & Taxes Redesign)
Role: Product Design Intern | Duration: 3 weeks
Team: Product Manager, UX Director, Design Manager, Myself
🧩 The Setup: Where Pricing Was Losing Us
Imagine being moments away from booking a hotel room. You saw ₹6,899 per night, but on the final screen, you're suddenly facing ₹8,312.
You pause. You hesitate. You drop off.
And that’s exactly what users were doing.
We realized that we were losing user trust at the very last step — the price summary screen.
🎯 Goal: Make Pricing Feel as Clear as it Is
This wasn’t just about showing tax numbers.
It was about psychological clarity — making people feel confident in the price they’re seeing.
Our goal:
📌 Create a single, intuitive price breakdown where users could instantly understand the discounts, taxes, and final amount — and book without doubt.
🔍 Discovery & Research: Where Are We Failing?
🔎 Key Frictions Identified:
“Mandatory Charges” were shown as a separate block — often missed or misunderstood
The final price would jump without context, making discounts feel fake
There were multiple CTAs and breakdown cards, each solving only a piece of the puzzle
Tax tooltips were overlooked; people don’t hover on mobile
📊 User Funnel Metrics
From internal analytics and funnel drop-off tracking, we observed:
12–16% drop-off between the “Select Room” page and “Review & Pay” screen
Less than 7% of users interacted with the tooltip explaining taxes
Users who tapped on full price breakdown (when visible upfront) were 1.8× more likely to complete a booking
🧠 Insight
We weren’t charging more than what we said.
We just weren’t saying it clearly.
The fix?
One clean story, one place. Show everything — base price, taxes, discounts, mandatory fees — in one frame, like a transparent invoice.
Appropriate entry points. Giving an entry point at the listing page and review page makes the tax breakup very clear for the user to have a clarity about the tax to be paid now vs the tax collected at property.
🎨 Design Iterations — The Real Work
This project saw multiple UI and UX explorations, with every iteration aimed at reducing cognitive load, increasing price clarity, and building user trust. Here’s how the price breakdown evolved:
🧪 Iteration 1: Clear Split, But Visually Fragmented
What Worked:
The split between Pay Now and Pay at Property was introduced — a step forward in clarity.
Donations as an optional line item was tested transparently.
Pain Points:
Tax breakdown was too bundled as a single line → less granularity.
“Total Discount” looked clickable, but offered no affordance.
Visual hierarchy lacked weight — key numbers didn’t pop.
🎯 Learning: Even though values were correct, the UI lacked emphasis. Users had to read everything to understand anything.
🧪 Iteration 2: Deconstruction & Semantic Grouping
What Changed:
Broke down the taxes section: Taxes, Service Fees, City Tax
Added bold headers like “Room Price” and “Taxes & Fees”
Started grouping related fees together semantically
Improvements:
More logical flow: Discount → Net Price → Taxes
“Amount Due Now” now clearly defined
Still Not Perfect:
Repetitive headers like “Total Amount” and “Amount Due Now” caused confusion
Pay-at-hotel charges still lacked prominence
🎯 Learning: Structure helps, but over-labeling dilutes the message. The design was getting crowded again.
🧪 Iteration 3: Currency Context & Localization Testing
What Changed:
Added foreign currency format (AED 20 for City Tax) — tested international hotel flows
Introduced lighter font styles to create contrast between sections
Refined hierarchy using price scale (larger font = more important)
What Improved:
Localization tested successfully
Distinction between “You Pay Now” and “Pay at Property” became more clear
Minor copy tone polish (“Hotel Taxes,” “Service Fees”) improved UX trust
Remaining Issues:
Room price and discounts were still not grouped visually enough
Tax group felt too long on mobile
🎯 Learning: Localization and granular tax breakdown added trust — but we still needed punchier visuals and progressive disclosure.
✅ Final Iteration: Bold, Balanced, and Behaviorally Sound
What Changed:
Created two strong cards: one for “Pay Now,” one for “Pay at Property”
Used badges like “PAY NOW” and “PAY AT PROPERTY” for immediate comprehension
Introduced highlight color (orange) for tax disclaimers, making legal notes visible but not disruptive
Why This Works:
Room price and discounts are now bundled visually
“Due Now” pops with visual clarity
Local currency collection made clear with parenthetical conversion
🎯 Final Outcome:
A scannable, mobile-optimized, confidence-building price summary that merges UX clarity with trust.
Users now understand exactly what they’re paying, when, and why.
🧠 Insight
