WeatherPromise | Helping travelers understand weather protection
The problem
People book vacations expecting good weather, but unexpected rain can disrupt their plans, especially for beach trips and outdoor getaways. Vrbo wanted to help travelers feel more confident about their vacation plans while increasing bookings.
The solution
Travelers can add WeatherPromise when booking their Vrbo. If it rains for a certain amount of time during their trip, their booking is refunded. The experience needed to clearly explain how it works, what travelers get, and when a refund applies.
My role
I led the content strategy and partnered with design, product, engineering, legal, and an external supplier on the end-to-end experience.
After the initial research phase, I transitioned to a high-priority initiative, and the content approach moved in a different direction. Following additional research and performance learnings after launch, I rejoined the project to update the content to help improve comprehension.
Impact
• Increased attach rate from 1.27% to 1.66%
• Increased booking CVR by 3.5%
• Improved understanding of the WeatherPromise offering
Discovery & collaboration
We partnered with an external supplier, WeatherPromise, to offer travelers protection against rainy weather. Our pod met with the supplier to explore the opportunity, review existing research, and discuss potential directions for the experience.
Journey map & content strategy
My design partner and I conducted a competitor analysis, synthesized research and workshop insights, and created a journey map to identify where travelers needed reassurance throughout the booking journey. Building on those findings, I explored messaging themes and voice and tone to shape the content strategy.
These exercises helped us identify the opportunities and constraints that shaped the rest of the experience.
Key considerations
•Homepage and landing page placements would come after the pilot.
•Due to technical constraints, we couldn’t show the WeatherPromise offer on the property page like competitors.
•Travelers most likely wouldn’t see the offer until the third checkout page.
•Post-purchase emails were sent by the supplier, so close collaboration was critical to create one cohesive experience.
•Legal requirements influenced how we described the offering.
Our approach
Building on our discovery, we explored different design and content approaches for introducing WeatherPromise.
Early explorations: priming banner
Because a homepage placement was planned for after the pilot, we looked for another opportunity to introduce WeatherPromise before checkout. Since competitors surfaced similar offerings on the property description page, we explored a priming banner that introduced the concept and linked to a generic “How it works” overview. Travelers would see trip-specific details later during checkout. We tested two versions of the banner: one with straightforward language and another that was more marketing-focused and included our supplier’s preferred phrase, “if it rains more than promised.” This had performed well in European markets and avoided describing WeatherPromise as a forecast or prediction, since that isn’t what it does.
During testing, participants didn’t notice the priming banner until the researcher pointed it out. At that stage of the journey, they were focused on reviewing the property amenities, so a WeatherPromise banner didn’t align with their mental model or fit what they were trying to accomplish. When participants did engage with it, they preferred the straightforward version because they quickly understood the benefit. The marketing-focused version and generic “How it works” overview caused confusion about what WeatherPromise offered. Because the overview couldn’t include trip-specific details, some travelers felt important information was being withheld, while others assumed it repeated what they’d see later and skipped it altogether.
Outcome: It made sense to remove the priming banner and have the checkout module as the first introduction to WeatherPromise, where travelers could see personalized details before deciding whether to add it.
Checkout module
We explored several versions of the checkout module, iterating on the content after each round of research. With limited space, the challenge was deciding which details travelers needed to make an informed decision and which could be on a “How it works” modal.
Our research, along with insights from our supplier, helped us identify the information travelers cared about most before deciding whether to add WeatherPromise. We prioritized:
•The number of rainy days needed to get a refund
•The number of hours it needed to rain (travelers assumed it had to rain nonstop)
•The refund amount
•The price
One of the biggest content challenges was balancing clarity with voice. Across our fintech experiences, we typically use “we” to create a more conversational, active tone. Because refunds were issued by our supplier, however, I needed to clearly distinguish who was responsible while still keeping the experience approachable.
We tested two versions of the checkout module. One paired with the more marketing-driven priming banner, while the other was designed to work with the straightforward banner. Once we decided to remove the priming banner, the checkout module also became travelers’ first introduction to WeatherPromise. That made a clear, benefit-driven header even more important, leading us to move forward with “Get a refund if it rains.”
Research also uncovered confusion about the refund eligibility. Travelers interpreted “3 days for 3 hours” as meaning it had to rain nonstop for three hours on each of the three days. I updated the copy to say “at least 3 days for at least 3 hours” to clarify the requirements.
Redesigning the checkout experience
My design pod shifted to a high-priority project, and a new team took over WeatherPromise. The experience evolved in a more marketing-driven direction, but attach rate and booking conversion fell short of expectations. Follow-up research showed that travelers didn’t clearly understand the benefit, and the two links in the checkout module created additional confusion.
Previous version
Updated version
Key updates
• Replaced the marketing-focused headline with a clearer value proposition.
• Simplified the content to highlight the information travelers needed to make a decision.
• Streamlined the information hierarchy and supporting links to reduce confusion.
• Updated the call to action to better match travelers’ expectations during checkout.
The redesign improved more than just attach rate. It increased booking conversion, generated more revenue per visitor, and reduced cannibalization of other insurance products, showing that a clearer experience helped travelers make informed decisions without negatively impacting the broader business. This project reinforced the value of using research to guide content decisions. Small changes to messaging and information hierarchy helped travelers better understand the offering while improving key business outcomes.