Do existing operators and new operators have different needs?
What we tried to achieve
We wanted to uncover whether the operators who were new to the sector may have different needs when it comes to the introduction of a registration service, compared to those operators who have been in the sector for a longer period of time.
We wanted to learn things such as:
- Did operators who were new to the sector have any additional information needs before they started registering
- Did operators who were new to the sector need to know anything different to existing operators with regards to compliance with the scheme
- Did operators who were new to the sector have any different guidance and support needs (when compared to existing operators) throughout the registration process
Answering these questions would help us clarify Assumption 21 - “We assume that the needs of prospective/new short-term let operators are different to those of existing operators”.
How we tested our assumption: methods, validation, and rationale.
Our testing approach
We tested this assumption across all 3 rounds of testing. There were no particular participants that this testing focused on, as we were comparing experienced and inexperienced operators. A summary of the participants for each of the rounds of testing can be found in the table below.
| Breakdown of key characteristics of Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 participants that tested this assumption | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | |
| Experience of owner | 1 × Prospective owner 1 × Less than 12 months 1 × 1-5 years 2 × 10+ years | 2 × Prospective owners 2 × less than 12 months 1 × 10+ years | 1 × 1-5 years 2 × 6-10 years 2 × 10+ years |
| Type of short-term lets owned | 2 × Entire privately owned house(s) 1 × Privately owned self-catering holiday home(s) e.g. Holiday Cottage 1 × Individual rooms or annex within privately owned house(s) & Privately owned self-catering holiday home(s) e.g. Holiday Cottage, Self-catering Apartment, Serviced Apartment 1 × Individual rooms or annex within privately owned house(s) 1 × Entire privately owned house(s) & Self-catering Apartment | 5 × Privately owned self-catering holiday home(s) e.g. Holiday Cottage | 2 × Privately owned self-catering holiday home(s) e.g. Holiday Cottage 2 × Entire privately owned house(s) 1 × Individual rooms or annex within privately owned house(s) |
| Number of short-term lets owned | 1 × 1 short-term let 2 × 2-5 short-term lets 1 × 5 short-term lets 1 × 10+ short-term lets | 2 × 1 short-term let 1 × 2-5 short-term lets 1 × 5-10 short-term lets 1 × 10 short-term lets | 3 × 1 short-term let 2 × 2-5 short-term lets |
| Number of days the short-term let is let out over a calendar year | 1 × let for 31-90 days 3 × let for 181-365 days 1 × Own a property that could be used as a short term let but are currently not using it for this purpose | 3 × Unsure on the exact amount 2 × Own a property that could be used as a short term let but are currently not using it for this purpose | 1 × let for 31-90 days 2 × let for 91-180 days 2 × let for 181-365 days |
| Location of short term lets | 1 × Northwest England 1 × Northeast England 1 London/Greater London & Southeast 1 × Southeast England 1 London/Greater London & Southwest | 2 × North Yorkshire 1 × Derbyshire 1 × West Yorkshire 1 × West Yorkshire & Devon | 1 × Southwest England 1 × Northwest England 1 × London 1 × East Midlands 1 × West Midlands |
| Self managed or using a management company | 2 × self-managed 1 × use a management company 1 × Part self managed & also uses a management company 1 × None of the above (prospective operator) | 3 × self-managed 2 × None of the above (prospective operator) | 3 × self-managed 2 × use a management company |
| Places where participants advertise (multiple choice) | 1 × Sykes Cottages 3 × Airbnb, 1 × Facebook 1 × Booking.com, 2 × Vrbo UK 1 × Holiday Lettings | 1 × Facebook 1 × Airbnb 1 × Booking.com 1 × I don’t advertise online | 5 × Airbnb 4 × Facebook |
| Digital literacy | 5 × 10/10 | 2 × 10/10 3 × 9/10 | 1 × 8/10 1 × 6/10 1 × 7/10 2 × 3/10 |
| Access needs | None | None | 2 × Dyslexia 1 × Dyscalculia 1 × ADHD |
| Assistive Tech used | 1 × iOS speech & Immersive Reader 1 × Isolator & Time Timer 1 × Text-to-Speech & MathTalk 1 × iOS speech, Immersive Reader, & Firefox Reader View |
There were no specific user research tests which tested this assumption. Researchers gained a better understanding through observing participants’ behaviour when using the prototype, and trying to understand if they had any specific needs from this. An example of this would be observing to see whether participants were searching for additional information or guidance, or whether they were paying particular attention to the ‘learn more’ links, or the ‘related content’ that was present throughout the prototype. We were also keeping a record of any pain points that were mentioned during the testing, for example, if any parts of the prototype were difficult to use, or if there were parts where a participant would give up progressing through the section, or where they would need to come back to complete a section later.
The findings from our usability testing sessions can be found in the ‘Our findings’ section below.
Creating the information page prototype
To help test this, we mocked up a full “information page” and used links in a contents style format which contained guidance for short term let operators registering their property(ies). See imagine below. When operators clicked on a link, more detailed content would appear at the bottom of the page, depending on what they were selecting. To note, the content of this guidance is not yet complete in the prototype and will need to be reviewed, tested and redrafted where necessary during the next phase of digital development.
Users were given access to apply online to register a property through the related content panel on the right hand side, as well as access to other useful links to information related to short-term lets in general.
As users selected a link that was most appropriate to them, e.g. “Who qualifies to complete the short-term let registration?” only the bottom information section would change and not the full page. This was considered to hopefully reduce the cognitive overload of a page filled with such heavy content.
Our findings
Findings from usability testing sessions with operators
The findings for this testing are best shown in the personas that were created of different types of short-term let operator. These personas show the different needs, motivations, challenges and opportunities for users of a short-term lets registration service. The 5 operator personas that we created were:
- Experienced short-term let operator
- Prospective short-term let operator
- Multiple short-term let operator
- Anxious short-term let operator
- Niche short-term let operator
You can read more about these personas in our ‘The users of this service’ page. Two of our personas relate to the operators experience, they are the ‘Experienced short-term let operator’ and the ‘Prospective short-term let operator’ personas. The table below documents the user needs of each of those two personas.
| User need ‘topic’ | Experienced short-term let operator | Prospective short-term let operator |
|---|---|---|
| Reputational needs | I am happy to comply with regulations and see it as a positive step to rooting out bad apples. I need to show that I am one of the good hosts. | I am happy to comply with regulations. I would have half expected there would be something already. I need to show that I am one of these good hosts. |
| Information needs | None | I want to do the right thing from the off. If I am asked to provide certain information that is fine, I just need to understand what is being asked. I have thought a lot about how this is going to work. I have Googled a lot of stuff online, including looking at competition and looked at related professionals websites (i.e. solicitors). I have also spoken to my friends who do something similar. I need to have all that information at the top of Google search. When things get more technical, or beyond what I might already know as a homeowner then I will need clearer instructions on what to do. |
| Application needs | I am a diligent record keeper and I feel confident we would have anything required to comply with a registration scheme. However, we might need the time to bring all those records together to submit into any sort of application. | None |
| Marketing needs | I need to be able to advertise my property in different ways - repeat business, their own website and socials, and different booking platforms - both national and niche. | None |
Looking at the table above, it is evident that there are different types of needs for prospective operators of short-term lets. Our prospective owner’s personas needs relate more to information, specifically a need for clearer guidance and an ability to access it easily.
This difference becomes more apparent when you compare it to the needs of the experienced operator persona., whose needs are wider ranging. They have additional needs relating to marketing and for completing an application to register their short-term let.
There is one area of similarity when comparing prospective and experienced operators needs and this is that they both want to demonstrate they have a good reputation as a short-term let operator.