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How Booking.com makes you book a room — a UX analysis
Is Booking.com a master of psychological manipulation?
“I want an interface full of fear!” — Booking CEO Glenn D. Fogel (presumably)
Booking.com stresses me out. And they do that on purpose, it is their way of making you book a room. They use a variety of psychological tricks to lure you in. First and foremost scarcity and social proof — sprinkled with a bit of loss aversion and commitment.
What does that all mean? Let’s have a closer look:
Masters of Scarcity
Scarcity is a well-established social-psychological phenomenon that states the rather simple fact, that scarce things are more desirable than others. If we don’t act upon the scarce product or information, we fear to lose it.
Booking.com is using this knowledge — a lot!
I counted 10(!) different uses of scarcity on their website.
A very subtle but ingenious trick will show up guaranteed as the 3rd or 4th hotel of every search result on Booking.com. No matter if you are searching in Berlin, New York, Rome or Sherwood Forrest, it will always be there:
