From 2015 until 2020, I worked at Booking.com. My job title was UX copywriter, but I have done a lot of product management work as well. As a writer, I worked with localisation teams and on internal tooling.

Booking.com

Most of my UX writing at Booking.com was either for internal tools or the Russian market (in Russian language). With the constant experimentation, almost all of it is gone now. Here are some examples of my work.

City landing pages

Challenge

Existing copy for city landing pages was (city name), here I come!. It was difficult to translate into Russian and several other languages, since the grammar structure depends on the city name (which can be either a singular or a plural noun). existing Russian copy (cached copy on Web Archive) existing English copy (cached copy on Web Archive)

Process

As with all copy for Booking.com, every new idea had to go through A/B test, aiming for a conclusively positive result. I tried multiple iterations of similar inspirational copy without grammatical challenges, but the results were always inconclusive. I decided to try a different approach and go for something simple.

Winning copy:

(city name)

Turns out, less is more. The copy with just the city name proved to be conclusively positive for conversion. After successful A/B test for Russian language only, the copy tested just as good for the rest of languages. new Russian copy (cached copy on Web Archive) new English copy (cached copy on Web Archive)

Challenge

In 2017, Booking.com could legally offer properties in the occupied Crimea region only for business travellers. The technical implementation was simple: if you search for Crimea without explicitly stating your purpose, you will get zero results. I became aware of the problem while reading Usabilla feedback.

I am aware that this case is ethically challenging. However, the company already was offering a loophole by allowing business bookings. The best thing I could do is to focus on the customer and provide them with clarity and transparency.

Process

First, I drafted a copy explaining that properties cannot be booked in the Crimea region if travelling for leisure. Once the copy was approved by the legal department, I ran an A/B test. It was conclusively positive, proving that transparency matters.

Winning copy

We’re sorry, it is not possible to make leisure reservations in Crimea at this time on our website. We're sorry, it is not possible to make leisure reservations in Crimea at this time on our website.