Enhancing Security and Transparency in Short-let Management
Enhancing Security and Transparency in Short-let Management
Enhancing Security and Transparency in Short-let Management
Overview
Overview
Overview
The inventory timestamp app product, PreStayCheck, enables users to confirm the status of properties and items before and after use. The app is designed to benefit managers of short-let services by providing security and status checks of inventory, ensuring accountability and transparency.
Approach
Approach
Approach
I took on this project with problem solving and user marketability as the drivers of success. We wanted to make a product that would easily scale while delivering mostly product MVPs, leaving secondary functions for further development.
Role
UI Design, UX Design, Creative director. Motion Deisgner, Research
Tools
Figma, Illustration kit, undraw.co
Platform
Fully responsive website (landing page and dashboard), Mobile app.
In 2024, I was contracted to solve a common issue faced by short-let property managers.
I collaborated on PreStayCheck, an inventory timestamp app designed to tackle a widespread challenge: ensuring transparency and accountability in property management. The goal was clear—develop a system that provides property managers and their clients with a secure, reliable way to confirm inventory status before and after use.
While the idea seemed straightforward, the execution required meticulous planning. I conducted extensive research, speaking with property managers to uncover their pain points and exploring how we could design a solution that fit seamlessly into their busy workflows.
One recurring story stood out: disputes over property damage or missing items, often because there was no reliable way to document the property's state before and after a stay. Managers like Ehis, a busy short-let operator, struggled with:
Maintaining trust with clients.
Spending hours resolving disputes.
Experiencing financial losses due to unchecked damages.
We realised this wasn't just Ehis's problem—it was an industry-wide issue.
In 2024, I was contracted to solve a common issue faced by short-let property managers.
I collaborated on PreStayCheck, an inventory timestamp app designed to tackle a widespread challenge: ensuring transparency and accountability in property management. The goal was clear—develop a system that provides property managers and their clients with a secure, reliable way to confirm inventory status before and after use.
While the idea seemed straightforward, the execution required meticulous planning. I conducted extensive research, speaking with property managers to uncover their pain points and exploring how we could design a solution that fit seamlessly into their busy workflows.
One recurring story stood out: disputes over property damage or missing items, often because there was no reliable way to document the property's state before and after a stay. Managers like Ehis, a busy short-let operator, struggled with:
Maintaining trust with clients.
Spending hours resolving disputes.
Experiencing financial losses due to unchecked damages.
We realised this wasn't just Ehis's problem—it was an industry-wide issue.
Unpacking the Problem
To understand the challenge fully, I conducted interviews with various short-let managers. Synthesising insights using empathy maps revealed some common frustrations:
Trust: Clients and managers lacked a consistent way to verify property conditions.
Time: Disputes consumed hours of productivity.
Transparency: Manual processes often left room for errors or omissions.
Unpacking the Problem
To understand the challenge fully, I conducted interviews with various short-let managers. Synthesising insights using empathy maps revealed some common frustrations:
Trust: Clients and managers lacked a consistent way to verify property conditions.
Time: Disputes consumed hours of productivity.
Transparency: Manual processes often left room for errors or omissions.
Unpacking the Problem
To understand the challenge fully, I conducted interviews with various short-let managers. Synthesising insights using empathy maps revealed some common frustrations:
Trust: Clients and managers lacked a consistent way to verify property conditions.
Time: Disputes consumed hours of productivity.
Transparency: Manual processes often left room for errors or omissions.
"I just want a simple way to manage my properties and maintain trust with clients."
Goals
Have a seamless check in process in my rentals.
My staff can handle things in my absence.
Spend less time handling disputes.
Ehis is a career short-let owner who has spent years in the business. amongst all the issues he faces, securing his items from sketchy renters has remained a challenge.
Frustrations
Current methods are time-consuming and prone to disputes.
My staff can’t handle things well without disturbing me.
"I want to feel confident about the properties I rent out."
Goals
To secure my rental and items.
A simple way to verify the state of the property before use and ensure no false claims after.
Amaka craves ease and security. Renters tend to take women for granted in the industry and she wants a process that takes away ambiguity in protecting her items.
Frustrations
Lack of evidence during disputes makes the experience stressful.
The back and forth process of verifying with clients after damage has been done is too stressful and unrealistic.
"I want to feel confident about the properties I rent out."
Goals
To secure my rental and items.
A simple way to verify the state of the property before use and ensure no false claims after.
Amaka craves ease and security. Renters tend to take women for granted in the industry and she wants a process that takes away ambiguity in protecting her items.
Frustrations
Lack of evidence during disputes makes the experience stressful.
The back and forth process of verifying with clients after damage has been done is too stressful and unrealistic.
"I just want a simple way to manage my properties and maintain trust with clients."
Goals
Have a seamless check in process in my rentals.
My staff can handle things in my absence.
Spend less time handling disputes.
Ehis is a career short-let owner who has spent years in the business. amongst all the issues he faces, securing his items from sketchy renters has remained a challenge.
Frustrations
Current methods are time-consuming and prone to disputes.
My staff can’t handle things well without disturbing me.
"I want to feel confident about the properties I rent out."
Goals
To secure my rental and items.
A simple way to verify the state of the property before use and ensure no false claims after.
Amaka craves ease and security. Renters tend to take women for granted in the industry and she wants a process that takes away ambiguity in protecting her items.
Frustrations
Lack of evidence during disputes makes the experience stressful.
The back and forth process of verifying with clients after damage has been done is too stressful and unrealistic.
"I just want a simple way to manage my properties and maintain trust with clients."
Goals
Have a seamless check in process in my rentals.
My staff can handle things in my absence.
Spend less time handling disputes.
Ehis is a career short-let owner who has spent years in the business. amongst all the issues he faces, securing his items from sketchy renters has remained a challenge.
Frustrations
Current methods are time-consuming and prone to disputes.
My staff can’t handle things well without disturbing me.
Figuring Out What to Build.
To define what PreStayCheck should achieve, I needed to focus on one primary problem. Based on Ehis, my key persona, the core problem statement emerged:
Ehis is a busy real estate mogul who needs a system to confirm the status of his properties and inventory before and after a short-let because manual checks are prone to errors and disputes.
This issue has significant implications—not just operational inefficiencies but also damaged trust between property managers and clients. It was reinforced by interviews and secondary research, including going into a 3 week thinktank with the development team, showing this pain point is widespread in the short-let market.
So how could we create a solution that’s reliable, transparent, and valuable in a competitive market?
Market Exploration
While there were no direct competitors offering inventory timestamp systems for short-let properties, I explored adjacent solutions in:
Property Management Software: Tools that track bookings and general property details.
Logistics Management Apps: Platforms for verifying shipments and inventory conditions.
Digital Contracting Services: Systems for automating agreements between parties.
By auditing these tools, I identified critical differentiators that could inform our design:
Simplicity: Users need a quick and easy process, especially in high-turnover environments.
Accountability: Clear documentation with timestamped evidence builds trust.
Flexibility: Features should cater to varying user workflows and property types.
Unique Value Proposition.
Considering these insights, I laid out the core value proposition for PreStayCheck:
🔍 Capture timestamped property reports Ensure every detail of the property’s state is documented before and after a stay.
📋 Generate automated inventory summaries Save time with ready-made reports that both parties can agree on.
✍️ Digitally sign contracts Secure agreements with built-in e-signature functionality tied to inventory reports.
📊 Gain actionable insights Analyze property trends to identify recurring issues or maintenance needs.
✅ Enable seamless client collaboration Provide clients with a transparent process that fosters trust.
Considering these insights, I laid out the core value proposition for PreStayCheck:
🔍 Capture timestamped property reports Ensure every detail of the property’s state is documented before and after a stay.
📋 Generate automated inventory summaries Save time with ready-made reports that both parties can agree on.
✍️ Digitally sign contracts Secure agreements with built-in e-signature functionality tied to inventory reports.
📊 Gain actionable insights Analyze property trends to identify recurring issues or maintenance needs.
✅ Enable seamless client collaboration Provide clients with a transparent process that fosters trust.
Scope and Structure
Due to demands for a product that delivered the core MVP functions, and the target aduience in mind, I began designing for web and mobile. This is so that managers can set up their rentals and have their staff manage the spaces and items with a mobile phone. My goal was to make the designs as realistic as possible, accounting for practical development constraints. This meant:
Ensuring seamless functionality for uploading and swapping out images in web web and mobile.
Addressing edge cases, such as incomplete fields.
Balancing user needs with business objectives, such as integrating subscription models or premium features for advanced analytics.
Crazy 8ight
I needed to strike a balance between creativity and process while delivering something that is most useful to users.
The best way to do this I found was with the Crazy 8 system where I drew out 8 ideas in 8 mnutes.
At the end of the process, I carefully picked sections from the ideas that worked best and peiced them together.
I used this process to sketch the landing page.
The dashboard will be where users interact with the product the most, and I sketched with that in mind.
This way ehis sees his rentals and setup primarily, including statistics from rental history. He can update furnishing item status and spend as little time as possible achieving the most.
The most important action a new user could take in PreStayCheck is to set up a property and confirm its inventory status—this is our primary flow. I charted a basic version of this flow, considering the steps users would need to follow and specifying a clear happy path to ensure they can seamlessly achieve their goal.
The most important action a new user could take in PreStayCheck is to set up a property and confirm its inventory status—this is our primary flow. I charted a basic version of this flow, considering the steps users would need to follow and specifying a clear happy path to ensure they can seamlessly achieve their goal.
Great visual design is all about balancing Creativity and Process
Great visual design is all about balancing Creativity and Process
Problem.
The development process accelerated my designing, putting forwaard a unique problem for me, skipping the process of testing before creating high fidelity prototypes and going straight to them.
The development process accelerated my designing, putting forwaard a unique problem for me, skipping the process of testing before creating high fidelity prototypes and going straight to them.
Solution.
I decided to use members of the development team as supervised test cases. Taken their feedback into account. This helped in two ways:
1. It provided usability feedback from people who nderstood the product and its direction. 2. It helped me better design for development, erasing a lot of the usual designer-developer clashes.
I decided to use members of the development team as supervised test cases. Taken their feedback into account. This helped in two ways:
1. It provided usability feedback from people who nderstood the product and its direction. 2. It helped me better design for development, erasing a lot of the usual designer-developer clashes.
Before
After
I made visual design choices by creating a brand persona for PreStayCheck.
Colours
Colours
Colours
I used Royal Blue for trust and clarity and Kings Yellow for warmth and positivity, creating a vibrant yet professional feel.
Blue dominates functional screens, ensuring a calm, trustworthy foundation, while yellow accents energize key actions like confirming inventory or adding properties.
This balance helps users stay focused without overwhelming them.
For content-heavy areas like dashboards, I relied on lighter, airier tones to boost scannability and reduce cognitive load. High-attention tasks, like inventory verification, are more stylized with contrasting colors to draw focus, ensuring a seamless and intuitive user experience.
Typography
Typography
Typography
I decided to go with Gantari, a modern and geometric sans-serif font, to represent the PreStayCheck brand. Its clean and approachable style reinforces trust and professionalism while maintaining excellent legibility across all touchpoints.
Typography hierarchy is established through varying weights, sizes, and color combinations. Bold styles are used for headings to draw attention, while lighter weights and smaller sizes are reserved for labels and body text. These clearly defined styles ensure a consistent and intuitive reading experience, balancing clarity with brand personality.
Iconography
Iconography
Iconography
I kept the iconography simple and intuitive to make navigation easy and interactions clear. Every icon serves a purpose, like adding properties or confirming statuses, without cluttering the design.
To help developers, I used Material UI’s icon library, which works seamlessly with frameworks like React. This made it easier for them to integrate consistent, scalable icons quickly while keeping everything clean and professional. It saved time and ensured the design stayed polished throughout development.
Illustrations
Illustrations
Illustrations
I used illustrations from the Illustration Kit Figma plugin and undraw.co. These illustrations are simple, lightweight, and perfectly align with the app's color scheme and geometric design style.
Their minimal aesthetic keeps the interface clean and user-friendly, while their flexibility made it easy to integrate them seamlessly into the project. This approach not only enhanced the visual appeal but also ensured consistency across all screens.
Components and Grids.
I used a soft 8pt grid paired with a column layout to structure screens in a way that feels logical and is easy to develop. Spacing follows consistent intervals, ensuring a clean, organized look across all screens. For added flexibility and speed, I relied on auto-layout where appropriate.
To maintain consistency, I created a simple sticker sheet that acts as a design system. It tracks all components, styles, and variants, including key states like errors and confirmations. This ensures seamless collaboration between design and development while keeping the user experience cohesive.
Full Flow.
At the end of the process, I had created a user flow that takes every user through the most important jouney that leads to satisfaction.
Final thoughts.
While there is always room for improvement, PreStayCheck was ready to move forward into the implementation phase. Usability testing demonstrated that users could navigate the platform effortlessly, complete inventory checks, and understand the system’s flow and purpose. Most importantly, users felt confident in the tool’s ability to streamline the property inventory process and ensure accountability. This directly aligns with the project's original goal:
"The tool will provide a seamless way for users to document and timestamp the status of property inventory before and after use, ensuring transparency and accountability. Effectiveness will be measured through first-time user feedback and usability testing."
The personas’ challenges are effectively addressed: Ehis, a property owner, can now document his property’s condition with timestamped proof, reducing disputes with tenants. Ada, a tenant, can quickly complete her move-in and move-out checks, feeling reassured by the platform’s clear and unbiased process.
Future iterations of PreStayCheck could incorporate advanced features, such as AI-assisted damage detection, integration with property management tools, or enhanced reporting features for insurance claims. These enhancements could further align with the needs of a growing user base.
Ultimately, no product is ever truly finished—there’s always room to refine, adapt, and grow based on user feedback and evolving requirements. PreStayCheck is now well-positioned to deliver on its promise of trust and efficiency..
