UX Research · Product Design

NEREID

A marina booking platform redesigned around trust, confirmation, and arrival, built from interviews across Greece, the US, and Spain.

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1st

Best Client Work, of 20 teams

User interviews conducted

Countries represented

Trust breakdowns identified

"You never really know what information they'll need until you call." Jason, Greece

"Her creative thinking and iterative approach made the overall assignment easier to complete and with real quality." Dhruv Jain, teammate

The challenge

Digital marina booking systems break down when requirements, confirmation, and arrival ownership are unclear. Boaters kept calling marinas directly because the booking flow didn't tell them what they needed to know, and even after booking, confirmation didn't feel like certainty.

The solution

Three research-backed interventions mapped directly to the trust breakdowns we found: a restructured homepage, a verified booking flow, and Arrival Mode, a new feature addressing the post-booking anxiety our interviews surfaced.

What we found

Three structural trust breakdowns emerged from user interviews and competitive analog research across Greece, the US, and Spain: an inconsistent booking structure, limited transparency in confirmation, and high stress during arrival coordination.

Competitive analog research shaped the direction: Dockwa embeds marina rules directly into the booking flow, Airbnb makes booking scope and confirmation explicit, and International SOS clearly owns coordination in time-critical situations. NEREID needed to borrow from all three.

Diagram of three trust breakdowns found in marina booking research

Synthesis of interview findings into three structural trust breakdowns.

Who we designed for

🚤

The Boater, experienced boat owner (ages 40 to 60), tech-comfortable, 5+ trips/year

Key goals

Clear, streamlined information
Accurate, real-time availability
Knowing marina amenities & things to do

Biggest struggles

Using too many apps/channels
Not knowing arrival steps beforehand
Trusting the slip is actually reserved

Core tasks

Finding a slip that fits their boat
Navigating the marina
Planning the full trip and things to do

The journey, stage by stage

1Discovery: is this the right marina for me? ⌄

Boaters need to clearly see NEREID's value and quickly understand what the platform offers. Designed to feel not confusing, clear, and personal, the platform should be tailored to every boater, not generic.

2Booking: is my spot guaranteed? ⌄

The objective isn't just transaction completion, it's risk elimination. We designed for immediacy (confirmation occurs in seconds), transparency (total cost disclosed before payment), and control (clear cancellation rules for every weather scenario).

3Confirmation: do I know exactly what to expect? ⌄

The platform delivers an instant digital confirmation with berth assignment, arrival window, marina contact, and saved boater details, reducing the need for double-checking or last-minute calls. Boaters reported feeling reassured, and no longer worried about missing information.

4Arrival: will this go smoothly? ⌄

This is where Arrival Mode lives, increasing trust and reducing stress during arrival through a digital berth map, instructional images and videos for docking, prepaid services via QR code, live chat support, and a working hours phone number.

5Post-booking & retention: why would I use this again? ⌄

CRM tooling tracks repeat bookings, a points engine calculates rewards, and marina APIs sync real-time availability. Boaters can quickly rebook the same marina, easily access past reservations and receipts, and feel recognized as a returning guest.

What we designed

Homepage redesign

Restructured the information architecture to clarify the value proposition upfront and reduce confusion at the entry point. Introduced a boater-listed slip feature, giving owners a second pathway into the marketplace.

Verified booking flow

Instant digital confirmation with berth assignment, arrival window, and marina contact synced in real time, so a confirmed booking actually feels confirmed instead of something boaters need to double-check by phone.

Arrival Mode

Gives boaters a single place to access their slip location, QR check-in, marina contact, and real-time support before and during docking, replacing the scattered calls and uncertainty our research surfaced as the biggest source of arrival-stage anxiety.

How the work got done

Research, prioritization, and risk tracking behind the design decisions above.

Stakeholder mapPrimary vs. secondary stakeholders across boaters, marina staff, and regulatory bodies.

Sprint roadmapFour-sprint plan from research objectives through final recommendations.

Solution hypothesesIf-then hypotheses used to test design direction before building.

Risk trackingBooking, trust, and adoption risks logged and weighed against research.

Service blueprintFull frontstage/backstage mapping across all five journey phases.

View the final presentation ↗

Outcome

Paris Zoiros has implemented the redesigned homepage, with the verified booking flow and Arrival Mode currently in development as the team builds out the full app. NEREID won Best Client Work out of 20 teams, with the client and teammates citing the trust-breakdown research as the reason the design direction felt inevitable rather than arbitrary.