Holiday Home Sales UX Journey

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Strategic Context

Objective

Away Resorts sells holiday homes across 26 UK parks. The holiday homes sales arm of the business is a high-margin revenue stream with significant untapped potential. The website is the primary discovery and evaluation channel for prospective buyers – and improving its performance is the most capital-efficient route to growing holiday home sales.

Unlike paid advertising or expanding the sales team, website optimisation is scalable without proportional cost increase. Every friction point removed from the online journey is a permanent improvement that compounds over time. A customer who finds their ideal holiday home with confidence and clarity is more likely to convert than one who navigates confusion, incomplete information, and broken functionality.

This audit examines the holiday home sales journey end-to-end, identifying where the website is failing prospective buyers and what changes would have the greatest impact on conversion.

Success Metrics

  • Primary: Enquiry conversion rate (visitors to callback request or viewing arranged)
  • Primary: Bounce rate reduction on property details pages
  • Secondary: Enquiry quality and follow-through to purchase
  • Secondary: Multi-property comparison activity (pages per session, return visits)
  • Secondary: Inbound support requests for information available on the website

Scope

  • Starting Point: Away Resorts homepage (awayresorts.co.uk)
  • Ending Point: Submission of callback request or viewing arrangement on a property details page

Findings by Phase

Classification key:

  • Impact: The potential lift for user experience or business goals (Low, Medium, High, or Critical)
  • Effort: The relative operational cost to build and deploy the fix (Small, Medium, or Large)
  • Priority: Derived from Impact and Effort – P0 is critical and immediate, P3 is low priority

Phase 1: Homepage & Discovery

The user’s first encounter with Away Resorts as a holiday home sales platform. This phase covers navigation from the homepage to the search interface. It sets expectations before the user interacts with inventory.

1. Consolidate navigation paths to Holiday Homes

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a prospective buyer, I want a single, clear route into holiday homes for sale so that I arrive at the search experience with confidence rather than confusion.

Context: Two separate entry points (Ownership nav dropdown and hero search bar “Holiday homes for sale” tab) route to different pages via different mechanisms.

2. Prevent page jump when selecting Holiday Homes from hero search

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a prospective buyer who selects “Holiday homes for sale” in the search bar, I expect the search bar to update in place so that my intent is respected and I am not navigated away from the page I am on.

Context: Selecting “Holiday homes for sale” tab in hero search bar navigates to a separate page with different branding and layout, breaking context. awayresorts.co.uk homepage. Zeigarnik Effect: the user began a task (searching for a holiday home) and the page jump interrupts it, creating cognitive overhead and reducing the likelihood they complete the journey.

3. Standardise tab behaviour across search contexts

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a user switching between search categories, I expect tabs to behave the same way whether I am on the homepage or inside a search overlay so that I can navigate without unexpected page reloads.

Context: Tabs inside the search overlay switch categories without page navigation. Homepage search bar tabs trigger full page reload. Inconsistent behaviour across the same component. Jakob’s Law: users spend most of their time on other websites and expect tabs to behave consistently – when the same component behaves differently in two contexts, it creates confusion and erodes trust.

4. Global navigation area within Caravan Ownership should enter ownership search

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer navigating via the global menu under Caravan Ownership, I want clicking an area (e.g. Cornwall) to show me holiday homes for sale in that area so that I do not land on a generic page with no ownership context.

Context: The global navigation Parks menu contains a Caravan Ownership submenu. Individual park links work correctly. However, clicking an area label (Cornwall, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, etc.) navigates to a generic area landing page covering holidays, ownership, local attractions and more – not to the ownership search filtered by that area. The page exists to serve SEO traffic and may have legitimate marketing value, but in this navigation context the user has already declared intent by selecting Caravan Ownership. Sending them to an unfiltered landing page breaks that intent. Jakob’s Law applies: users have built their mental model from every other faceted navigation they have used – selecting an area within an ownership context should filter to ownership results, not restart the journey. The filtered search page already exists; the link destination simply needs to point there.

Phase 2: Search & Results

The user has entered the search experience and is browsing available holiday homes. This phase covers search filtering, result display, information hierarchy, and the emotional experience of evaluating available inventory.

5. Simplify bedroom filter - remove nested overlay

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a user setting bedroom preferences, I want to select the number of bedrooms from a simple dropdown so that I do not have to navigate a dropdown inside an overlay I am already within.

Context: Clicking “Bedrooms” filter inside search overlay opens a secondary dropdown overlay within the existing overlay.

6. Replace budget selector with min/max range input

Priority: P1  [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer with a specific budget, I want to set both a minimum and maximum price so that I only see properties within my intended spend and can identify which options best use my budget.

Context: Budget filter offers only a single maximum value (£20k, £30k, £40k, £50k). No minimum value option. Users set £50k but see properties from £20k upwards.

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7. Remove or reposition "Explore all our parks" CTA from search flow

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a user actively searching for holiday homes, I want the search interface to keep me focused on results so that I am not prompted to navigate away before completing my search.

Context: Mid-search interface contains a link to a separate parks overview page, creating an unnecessary exit point during active filtering.

8. Restructure result card hierarchy - lead with location, not model name

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer searching by location, I want to see where a property is before anything else so that I can immediately identify which results are relevant to me.

Context: Result cards lead with model name (e.g. “ABI Oakley 2015”). Location appears as secondary text. Users search by location but have to scan past irrelevant model names to find it. Serial Position Effect: the first piece of information in a card receives the most attention and is most likely to be remembered – wasting the primary position on a model name the buyer does not recognise means the most decision-relevant attribute (location) is consistently underweighted.

9. Surface key property attributes on result cards

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer scanning search results, I want to see bedrooms, sleeping capacity, dimensions, and location on each card so that I can evaluate properties without clicking into every individual listing.

Context: Result cards show model name, park, price, and bedroom count. Sleeping capacity, square footage, and other evaluation criteria require opening the details page.

10. Add sorting controls to search results

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer with a maximum budget of £50,000, I want to sort results by price descending so that I can see what my budget gets me without scrolling past cheaper properties I am not interested in.

Context: No sort controls exist on results page. Default sort is price ascending with no indication to the user. Users cannot reorder by price, size, or recency. Miller’s Law: users can hold approximately seven items in working memory – without sorting, buyers must manually scan and mentally compare across multiple pages of results, exhausting cognitive capacity before they can make a decision.

11. Replace property type navigation buttons with inline search filters

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer on the search results page, I want buttons labelled “New caravans”, “Used caravans” and “Luxury lodges” to filter my current results so that I can refine what I am looking at without leaving the search I am already in.

Context: The search results page displays prominent buttons for New caravans, Used caravans and Luxury lodges. These look and feel like filter controls – they are visually positioned as refinement tools within the search results context. In practice they navigate to separate static landing pages, removing the user from their active search entirely. Jakob’s Law: users expect interface patterns that look like filters to behave like filters. Separately, the filter functionality that would achieve the same outcome (condition: new/pre-loved, type: caravan/lodge) does exist in the search system but is accessed via a small, unlabelled icon that most users never find. The prominent buttons are driving users away from the journey they are already in, while the actual filter mechanism is invisible to most.

12. Make search filter controls visible and labelled

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer wanting to refine my search results, I want to find filter controls easily so that I can narrow results by type, condition and other attributes without hunting for a hidden icon.

Context: The search results page contains a filter icon that reveals condition (new/pre-loved), type (caravan/lodge), and other refinement options. The icon has no text label and is visually de-emphasised. Fitts’s Law: the target is small and its low visual weight makes it harder to acquire – users are unlikely to click something they have not consciously identified as interactive. Miller’s Law: the cognitive cost of discovering hidden functionality is high enough that users abandon the attempt. The result is that the richest filtering tools on the page are functionally invisible to most users, while the prominent type buttons (Ticket 11) send them elsewhere. Labelling the filter control and giving it appropriate visual prominence would resolve both problems.

13. Replace three-tile gallery with single hero image on result cards

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer browsing listings, I want each result to lead with its strongest image so that I can make a quick visual assessment without scrolling within individual result cards.

Context: Result cards display three images in a scrollable tile format. First image is not selected for visual impact. Scroll behaviour within a card is unexpected and unclear. ContentSquare recording shows a user scrolling through six or seven images in the mini-gallery on a result card before clicking through to the listing – only to find the gallery resets to the first image on the details page. They then have to scroll through the same images again from the start. This repetition is a direct result of gallery state not being preserved on navigation. Peak-End Rule: forcing a user to repeat an action they have already completed creates a negative moment that colours the entire experience of that property.

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14. Preserve gallery scroll position from results to listing

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer who has been browsing images on a result card and then clicks through to the full listing, I expect to land on the image I was last looking at so that I do not have to scroll through the same photos again from the beginning.

Context: When a user scrolls through the mini-gallery on a result card and then opens the listing page, the gallery resets to the first image. They must then scroll through every image they have already seen before reaching the point they were at. ContentSquare recording shows a user scrolling through six or seven images before clicking through, then repeating the same scroll on the details page. This pattern is observed across multiple properties in the same session – the same wasted effort repeated each time. Zeigarnik Effect: the user has an incomplete task (finding the image that caught their eye) and the reset forces them to restart it, adding friction at the exact moment engagement should be building.

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15. Clarify or remove "Manager's special" label

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer viewing a listing flagged as a Manager’s Special, I want to understand what that label means so that I can evaluate whether it is genuinely beneficial to me.

Context: “Manager’s special includes decking” badge appears on some listings with no explanation of what the term means, whether decking is normally excluded, or what the actual benefit is.

16. Reframe reduced price display away from e-commerce discount language

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer evaluating a holiday home, I expect pricing to reflect property valuation so that I am not confused by retail-style “was/now” discount presentation.

Context: Result cards show “Was £33,000 / Now £27,000” format. This pattern is associated with fast-moving consumer goods, not property. Creates a mismatch with the buyer’s mental model.

17. Reframe monthly payment as financing, not subscription

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer considering financing options, I want monthly cost to be clearly framed as a finance plan so that the listing feels like a property purchase rather than an ongoing subscription product.

Context: “From £400 per month” appears as a primary price point. Monthly framing implies recurring cost rather than optional finance against a one-time purchase.

18. Remove redundant "Finance options available" label

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer viewing search results, I want each label on a listing to carry unique information so that I can scan results efficiently without reading repeated content.

Context: “Finance options available” appears on every result card. Monthly payment option is already shown. Both labels communicate the same information.

19. Replace generic "More details" CTA with action-oriented copy

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer who has found a promising property, I want the call to action to reflect what I am about to do so that clicking feels purposeful rather than transactional.

Context: All result cards use “More details” as the primary CTA. No variation by property type, price tier, or availability. Generic copy creates no sense of progression or aspiration.

20. Add aspirational content to search results page

Priority: P2 [Impact: High / Effort: Large]

Story: As a buyer browsing available properties, I want to feel the appeal of holiday home ownership so that I remain emotionally engaged while evaluating practical options.

Context: Search results page is entirely transactional. No lifestyle imagery, owner stories, or vision content exists to reinforce the aspiration of owning a holiday home. Users complete search but feel no excitement.

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Phase 3: Property Details

The user has selected a property and is evaluating it in detail. This phase covers information architecture, gallery experience, contact form design, and the overall ability of the page to build purchase confidence.

21. Remove search filters from property details page

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer viewing a specific property, I want a clean page focused on that property so that I am not confused by search filter controls that no longer reflect my current context.

Context: Search filters persist at the top of the details page showing previous search values (e.g. “New Key Bay / 2 bedrooms / £50,000”), not the current property’s attributes.

22. Defer chatbot trigger until user has engaged with page content

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer exploring a property I am interested in, I want to browse without interruption so that I can form a clear view of the property before deciding whether to engage with support.

Context: Automated chat widget appears repeatedly throughout the journey, covering content and requiring dismissal. Intrusive on both search results and details pages. Critically, in the minimised state the chat button physically overlaps the “Arrange a Viewing” CTA at the bottom of the screen. Fitts’s Law: the effective target size of the primary conversion action is reduced by the overlapping element, increasing the time and effort required to acquire it and raising the likelihood of mis-taps.

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23. Fix lightbox gallery - resolve image loading and aspect ratio errors

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer wanting to view property images in full size, I expect the gallery lightbox to display images correctly so that I can properly evaluate the property’s condition and features.

Context: Opening gallery lightbox results in blank first image, slow loading on subsequent images, and incorrect aspect ratios (stretched/skewed). Images display at no larger size than on the page itself. ContentSquare recording shows a user opening the full gallery approximately 82 seconds in. Large images load slowly, leaving white boxes visible for several seconds. The user was on the verge of closing the lightbox when the main image loaded in time to retain their attention. This near-miss is unlikely to be isolated – buyers who do not wait will close the lightbox and lose confidence in the listing.

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24. Ensure first image loads before lightbox opens

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer clicking to enlarge a property image, I expect to see an image immediately so that I do not assume the feature is broken and abandon my evaluation.

Context: Lightbox opens to a blank frame on first load. Images only appear after navigating to the second image and back.

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25. Display total square footage alongside property dimensions

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer comparing properties, I want to see total square footage as well as individual room dimensions so that I can compare size across listings without calculating it myself.

Context: Details page shows “10 by 28 foot” for individual dimensions. No total square footage displayed. Buyers with property experience expect both figures.

26. Fix location link to open resort information rather than raw coordinates

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer who wants to understand where a property is located, I want clicking the location to show me the park or resort so that I can evaluate the setting without copying coordinates into a separate map search.

Context: Clicking location name opens a new browser tab containing raw latitude/longitude coordinates in Google Maps. Does not open the resort’s page or a useful map view.

27. Fix Read More to expand description inline

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer reading a property description, I expect “Read more” to expand the text in place so that I can continue reading without losing my position on the page.

Context: “Read more” on the property description triggers an accordion further down the page to open rather than expanding the description inline. Non-standard behaviour for this pattern.

28. Rewrite accordion labels to be clearly distinct

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer exploring property information, I want each section to have a label that clearly tells me what it contains so that I can navigate to the information I need without opening every section.

Context: Current accordion labels – “The Property”, “What’s Included”, “Park Information”, “How Much Will It Cost?”, “Services” – overlap in meaning and do not reflect their actual contents clearly.

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29. Replace accordions with tabs or expanded H2 sections

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer evaluating a property, I want to browse all available information without having to manually expand multiple collapsed sections so that I can build a complete picture of the property efficiently.

Context: Five accordion sections are all collapsed by default. ContentSquare session recordings show users opening the first accordion and reading it in full before rapidly scanning the second and third without finding what they need, then returning to search results. The accordion structure is creating information fatigue and search abandonment. Peak-End Rule: users judge their experience of a property page by its most intense moment and how it ends – when the end state is frustrated abandonment after hunting through collapsed sections, that negative memory persists and reduces the likelihood of returning.

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30. Expand key accordions by default

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer arriving on a property details page, I want the most important information to be immediately visible so that I can begin evaluating the property without additional interactions.

Context: All five accordions are collapsed on page load. ContentSquare scroll maps show users spending significant time on the first accordion, then losing engagement progressively across subsequent sections. Content buried in later accordions is not being read.

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31. Reposition social share buttons - move conversion CTA above the fold

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer who has reviewed a property and is ready to take action, I want a clear and prominent next step so that I know how to express my interest without hunting for it.

Context: Social share buttons (Facebook, WhatsApp, Email) appear immediately after the last accordion, before the contact form. They occupy the position where the primary conversion action should be.

32. Remove salutation field from contact form

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer submitting an enquiry, I want to provide only the information necessary to be contacted so that I am not slowed down by unnecessary form fields.

Context: Contact form begins with a “Please select a Salutation” dropdown (Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms). This data is not required to process a callback or arrange a viewing.

33. Consolidate names and salutation into a simple input

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer filling in the contact form, I want to enter my name in a single field so that completing the form requires minimal effort.

Context: Contact form uses three separate inputs to capture name: Salutation dropdown, First Name field, Last Name field. A single Name field captures the same information with less friction.

34. Add a clear label to the notes field

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer looking at the contact form, I want to understand what I am expected to write in the open text field so that I do not hesitate or leave it blank unnecessarily.

Context: Notes field displays placeholder text “I’m interested in [property name]…” with no field label. Users are unsure whether this is required, optional, or what they should write.

35. Rewrite holiday inspiration checkbox in plain language

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer completing an enquiry form, I want any optional opt-ins to be written clearly so that I can make an informed decision about whether to check them.

Context: Checkbox reads “Looking for holiday inspiration if you’d like us to…” followed by a “read more/less” toggle. Users cannot determine what they are opting into without clicking to expand.

36. Reduce contact form to minimum viable fields

Priority: P1 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer ready to express interest in a property, I want to submit my enquiry with as few steps as possible so that my momentum is not lost at the final stage.

Context: Contact form requires seven inputs before submission. For a user in early evaluation, this level of detail creates abandonment risk at the moment of highest intent. Hick’s Law: the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number of choices or inputs presented – each additional field is a micro-decision that adds to the cognitive load of form completion, increasing the likelihood of abandonment before submission.

37. Enable today's date in the viewing date picker

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer who wants to arrange a viewing as soon as possible, I want to select today’s date so that I can act on my interest immediately rather than being forced to choose a future date.

Context: Date picker for “Arrange a Viewing” form has today’s date greyed out and unselectable. Users ready to book immediately cannot express that urgency.

38. Add expected callback timeframe to callback confirmation

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer who has requested a callback, I want to know when I can expect to hear from someone so that I understand what happens next and do not feel my enquiry has been lost.

Context: Callback request form provides no indication of response time after submission. Users have no expectation of when they will be contacted.

39. Expand "Manager's Special" banner to explain the offer

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer who sees a Manager’s Special badge on a property, I want to understand what is included and why it is being highlighted so that I can evaluate it as a genuine benefit rather than unexplained marketing.

Context: “Manager’s special includes decking” banner appears on some listings with no explanation in any of the property accordions. Information about the offer is absent from the page entirely.

40. Restructure layout so property information leads and contact form follows

🚫 Ticket to be archived

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer evaluating a property, I want to read all available information before being presented with an enquiry form so that I arrive at the contact step with confidence rather than uncertainty.

Context: Right-hand sidebar contact form is visually dominant on page load. Core property information in the left column is fragmented across collapsed accordions below the fold. Page architecture prioritises lead capture over user education.

Phase 4: Multi-Property Comparison

The user is evaluating multiple properties side by side and returning between results and details pages. This phase covers navigation context, filtering reliability, content quality, and the user’s ability to make an informed purchase decision.

41. Fix "Back to results" to restore original search context

Priority: P1 [Impact: Critical / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer returning from a property details page, I expect to return to the search results I came from so that I can continue evaluating other properties without re-entering my search criteria.

Context: “Back to results” navigates to a results page filtered to only the park of the property just viewed (e.g. New Key Bay). Original search across multiple parks is lost. 29 results become 7. Zeigarnik Effect: users have an active, incomplete task – comparing multiple properties across their chosen area. The back button destroying their search context interrupts this task, creating frustration and cognitive overhead as they attempt to reconstruct what they were doing. ContentSquare and Hotjar session recordings show users returning to results and scrolling rapidly up and down, visibly disorientated by the reduced inventory. Users then click into other properties and check the park name – indicating they are aware something has changed but cannot identify the cause. Multiple recordings show this same pattern.

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42. Persist search parameters across all navigation

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer moving between details pages and results, I want my search filters to remain active throughout my session so that I am always viewing results relevant to my original criteria.

Context: Navigating from results to details and back resets or modifies search parameters. Users must manually re-enter criteria to restore their original search.

43. Fix budget filter - enforce maximum price on results

Priority: P0 [Impact: Critical / Effort: Large]

Story: As a buyer who has set a budget of £50,000, I expect to see only properties within that budget so that I do not have to manually identify and skip results outside my price range.

Context: Budget filter is applied on initial search but ignored when pagination changes. With 50 results per page selected, properties at £52,000, £65,000, £70,000, and up to £170,000 appear in results. Filter is non-functional under these conditions.

44. Fix pagination to preserve all active filters

Priority: P1 [Impact: Critical / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer changing how many results are displayed per page, I expect my search filters to remain applied so that changing the view does not alter which properties I see.

Context: Changing from 10 results per page to 50 removes the budget filter from the active query. Results expand to include properties far exceeding the user’s stated maximum budget.

45. Change default sort to price descending when budget filter is active

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer with a maximum budget, I want to see the best properties my budget can reach first so that I evaluate the most relevant options before encountering cheaper alternatives.

Context: Default sort is price ascending. With a £50,000 budget, the lowest-priced properties appear first. Users must scroll through cheaper options to reach properties closer to their stated limit.

46. Remove sold listings from active search results

Priority: P1 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer browsing available properties, I want to see only homes I can actually purchase so that I do not invest time evaluating something that is no longer for sale.

Context: Sold properties appear in search results with only a small “Sorry, it’s gone” indicator. Users click through to details pages before discovering the property is unavailable.

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47. Sold status clarity

Priority: P3 [Impact: Low / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer who encounters a sold property, I want a clear and direct status indicator so that I immediately understand the property is unavailable without ambiguity.

Context: Sold properties display informal copy “Sorry, it’s gone” as their status indicator. Language is vague and inconsistent with the property buying context.

48. Ensure all listings have a written property description

Priority: P1 [Impact: Critical / Effort: Large]

Story: As a buyer reading about a property, I want a description that helps me understand its character and appeal so that I can form a view of whether it suits me.

Context: “Read more” button appears above blank space on multiple listings. Expanding it adds a few pixels of empty space and toggles to “Read less”. No content exists. ContentSquare recording shows a user tapping “Read more” and encountering exactly this – blank space expands and collapses. The user pauses, then returns to search results without enquiring. This is a direct abandonment event caused by a missing content field.

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49. Hide Read More button when description content is absent

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Small]

Story: As a buyer viewing a property listing, I want interactive elements to function correctly so that I do not assume the page is broken.

Context: “Read more” button renders and is clickable even when the description field is empty. Clicking it expands nothing. The button should not appear without content to reveal.

50. Standardise content quality and completeness across all listings

Priority: P1 [Impact: Critical / Effort: Large]

Story: As a buyer comparing properties, I want each listing to contain the same categories of information so that I can make a fair comparison without some properties appearing more complete than others.

Context: Content quality varies significantly between listings. Some have full descriptions, detailed specs, and clear imagery. Others have empty accordions, missing descriptions, and placeholder text.

51. Replace AI-generated park descriptions with authored content

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Large]

Story: As a buyer reading about a park, I want genuine information about the location and its character so that I can evaluate whether it suits my lifestyle and expectations.

Context: Park Information accordion on some listings contains visibly AI-generated text. Generic, non-specific language that does not describe the actual park. Immediately recognisable and undermines trust in the listing and the company.

52. Audit and standardise property photography across all listings

Priority: P2 [Impact: Medium / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer using images to evaluate a property, I want consistent, accurate photography so that I can trust that what I see reflects what I would find on a visit.

Context: Photography quality varies between listings. Some images are over-processed or filtered to an unrealistic degree. Others are low quality. Inconsistency makes it difficult to compare properties fairly and raises questions about accuracy.

53. Display pitch fee information consistently across all listings

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer calculating the total cost of owning a holiday home, I want to see pitch fee information on every listing so that I can compare the true ongoing cost across properties.

Context: One listing mentions “No pitch fees until 2027”. No other listings mention pitch fees at all. Pitch fees are a significant recurring cost that materially affects affordability. Their absence from most listings makes cost comparison impossible.

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54. Expand "What's Included" content to explain each item

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer reviewing what comes with a property, I want each included item to be described clearly so that I understand its relevance and value rather than interpreting a list of terms.

Context: “What’s Included” accordion lists items including “Safety tests”, “Smoke alarm”, “CO monitor”, “TV aerial”. No explanation of what safety tests involve, whether items are new or pre-existing, or which items carry any cost.

55. Provide a complete and transparent cost breakdown on every listing

Priority: P1 [Impact: High / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer evaluating a property, I want to understand the full cost of ownership – purchase price, pitch fees, service charges, and any additional costs – so that I can make an informed financial decision.

Context: Listings state purchase price and optional monthly finance. Some reference VAT with no explanation of what it applies to. Pitch fees, setup costs, annual service charges, and all other ownership costs are absent or inconsistently presented.

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56. Introduce a property comparison view

Priority: P2 [Impact: High / Effort: Large]

Story: As a buyer evaluating two or more properties, I want to view their key attributes side by side so that I can make a clear, informed choice without relying on memory or opening multiple tabs.

Context: No comparison functionality exists. Users evaluating multiple properties must navigate between individual details pages and retain information themselves. Properties in the same park with similar prices cannot be directly compared on the website.

57. Define and communicate the product model - property purchase or curated inventory

Priority: P1 [Impact: Critical / Effort: Large]

Story: As a buyer arriving on the holiday homes section, I want to understand what kind of experience I am in so that I know what level of information to expect and how to navigate my decision.

Context: The website does not clearly establish whether users are browsing a property marketplace (like Rightmove) or a curated product catalogue (like an e-commerce store). Information architecture, content depth, and interaction patterns are inconsistent with either model.

58. Resolve systemic trust deficit by improving transparency across all touchpoints

Priority: P1 [Impact: Critical / Effort: Large]

Story: As a buyer considering a significant financial commitment, I want to feel informed, in control, and confident in the accuracy of what I am reading so that I can move forward with an enquiry.

Context: Multiple compounding failures – broken filters, reset navigation, empty listings, absent pricing data, vague labels – combine to create a pervasive sense that the website cannot be trusted. This is not a single ticket but a systemic condition caused by the sum of unresolved issues across all phases.

59. Audit and improve the post-enquiry phone call experience

Priority: P1 [Impact: Critical / Effort: Medium]

Story: As a buyer who has submitted an enquiry and is waiting for a callback, I want to receive a prompt, professional call so that my interest is reinforced rather than destroyed at the point of first human contact.

Context: A callback request was submitted via the website. A call was received approximately 15 minutes later – within an acceptable timeframe. However, the caller was silent for a couple of seconds and then hung up without speaking. No follow-up call was made. This interaction represents the conversion endpoint of the entire digital journey: a buyer who navigated a complex, friction-heavy website, found a property they were interested in, and committed their personal details to request contact. A silent, disconnected call at that moment can lose a sale worth £50,000 to £170,000. UX does not end at the screen. The Peak-End Rule applies across the entire experience: the phone call is the end of the enquiry journey, and a negative end state will define how the buyer remembers the whole interaction – regardless of any positives earlier in the process. This ticket requires research into how callbacks are currently handled, logged and followed up, with the goal of establishing a minimum quality standard for first contact that matches the intent shown by the buyer.

Identified Priority

This is the section where we actually “do the work” for our chosen ticket. This is where the person reading gets to see me “do the UX” as the uneducated would say.

  • Which ticket have we chosen and why?
  • First step is always research: Hotjar recording, analytics – whatever proved this is a user problem.
  • Solution: let’s skip all the concepts and simply wireframe the solution with facts as to why it’s the solution.
  • No need to vibe code a prototype because the ticket we’ve selected is simple and we don’t have tine.
  • Tracking success: Which metrics should we track once built, to see how this is performing? There’s a few:
    • Percentage of unique visitors who fill in the form (testing it’s less overwhelming)
    • Percentage of form-starters who complete the form (less friction)
    • Percentage of form-fillers who Away Resorts turn into a “qualified lead” (quality of submission)

Suggested Next Actions

The following three tickets represent the highest-value actions from this audit, selected by discipline. Each is the lowest-effort, highest-impact ticket available within its category. The design ticket has been taken through to a completed UX solution – the development and content tickets are detailed here for the relevant teams to pick up.

Design

Tickets 29 & 30: Restructure property details page information architecture

  • User Story: As a buyer evaluating a property, I want to browse all available information clearly and without effort so that I can build a complete picture of the property and arrive at a decision with confidence.
  • Why it is prioritised: ContentSquare session recordings show a consistent pattern across users: the first accordion is opened and read thoroughly, then engagement drops sharply across subsequent sections, and users return to search results without enquiring – repeating the same behaviour on the next property. The accordion structure is fragmenting information that should flow, hiding content that should be visible, and creating fatigue at the exact moment a buyer needs clarity. This is the highest-impact design problem on the page and the one with the clearest behavioural evidence behind it. The fix is pure UX – no development dependency, no new content required. Restructuring how existing information is presented will directly reduce the bounce rate from property details pages. [ContentSquare recording: INSERT_URL]
  • Execution Context: Replace the five collapsed accordions with a single scrollable page using clear H2 section headers. All content visible on load – no interactions required to reveal information. Sections ordered by buyer decision priority: what it is, what you get, where it is, what it costs, how to enquire. Completed UX solution included below.

Development

Ticket 41: Fix “Back to results” to restore original search context

  • User Story: As a buyer returning from a property details page, I expect to return to the search results I came from so that I can continue evaluating other properties without re-entering my search criteria.
  • Why it is prioritised: This is the most damaging navigational failure in the entire journey. When a buyer clicks “Back to results”, the page reloads filtered to only the park of the property they just viewed – silently reducing 29 results to 7 with no explanation. Hotjar recordings show users scrolling rapidly up and down after returning to results, checking park names on other listings, trying to understand what has changed. Most will not identify the cause. They will simply assume inventory is limited and leave. This fix directly protects the multi-property comparison behaviour that characterises the highest-intent buyers in the journey. [Hotjar recording: INSERT_RECORDING_ID]
  • Execution Context: Store the full search state (filters, sort order, pagination, location parameters) in session when a user navigates from results to a details page. Restore that state exactly on return. The simplest implementation appends search parameters to the “Back to results” URL so the browser reconstructs the correct results page. Test against all filter combinations to ensure no parameters are dropped on restore.

Content

Ticket 53: Display pitch fee information consistently across all listings

  • User Story: As a buyer calculating the total cost of owning a holiday home, I want to see pitch fee information on every listing so that I can compare the true ongoing cost across properties without having to ask for it.
  • Why it is prioritised: Pitch fees are a significant ongoing cost that materially affects the affordability of every property on the site. Currently only one listing surfaces this information (“No pitch fees until 2027”). All other listings are silent on the subject. A buyer comparing two properties at the same purchase price cannot make an informed decision if one carries substantial annual pitch fees and the other does not. This is a content addition task – not a rewrite – requiring the content team to source the pitch fee for each listing and add it to a consistent field on the listing template.
  • Execution Context: Define a standard pitch fee field in the listing template. For each active listing, populate with the current annual pitch fee figure and any known future changes (e.g. “£3,200 per year / no fees until 2027”). Where fees are not yet confirmed, display “Pitch fee – contact us for details” rather than leaving the field absent. This prevents buyers from assuming there is no fee when in fact the information is simply missing.