1. Page 1 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Auto-RDD Usability Test Results Conducted by Jayne Schurick Usability Consultant jschurick@jsldresearch.com (408)353-1293

2. Page 2 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Objectives Understand the effectiveness of the proposed auto-RDD flow. Define any optimization opportunities.

3. Page 3 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Test Format and Participants Remote test using WebEx so participants could view and control the InVision prototype. Conducted February 26 - 27, 2015. 4 Owners: –2 currently require guests to buy the insurance option offered by VRBO. They feel that this avoids any hassle dealing with guests that don’t agree with claimed damages. –1 includes a clause in her contract saying she can charge their credit card for damage. This owner said she signed up for online booking and payments only because not doing so affects her score and ranking. If someone chooses to “book now,” she replies offline, then declines the booking request and uses her own credit card processing. –1 doesn’t do anything and just “hopes for the best.” He doesn’t trust that he would get insurance reimbursement and he doesn’t want “get into a tussle with guests” over damages against a deposit. (So far, so good.)

4. Page 4 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Set up Auto-RDD Setting up the auto-RDD was very easy for all participants. They found it quickly and understood the options. 2 participants said they would set the reimbursement time period at 10-14 days; 1 said it should default to 48 hours with an option to extend it; and one didn’t suggest a time period because she can’t predict how long it will take to assess damages. 1 participant suggested that the feature be called “damage deposit” or “security deposit” rather than “damage protection.” She said it really is a deposit and that’s how owners and guests refer to it.

5. Page 5 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Set up Auto-RDD All participants said the the Rates page is the appropriate location and the order of options on the page is good. 2 participants liked that the options expand and collapse, and 2 said they would prefer them to be expanded by default. 1 participant suggested that the name of the page be “Rates/Terms.” Something that wasn’t mentioned directly but will affect many owners is where they will have the option to indicate they want to offer the insurance option. This and the damage deposit really should be in the same location. (Perhaps this was just due to the prototype.)

6. Page 6 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Manual Reimbursement Starting on the guest reservation page, there were no issues refunding the damage deposit.

7. Page 7 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Claim Damage When claiming damage, 2 participants tried to click on dollar sign icon, thinking they needed to select it in order enter an amount. 1 participant suggested combining the refund and claim damage options to simplify the interaction: a single option where the owner choses to refund all or a partial deposit.

8. Page 8 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Claim Damage After submitting a claim, 1 participant expected to get a receipt, including the date, amount credited to her account and a tracking number.

9. Page 9 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Overall Impressions Because the owners tested don’t collect damage deposits, they had some difficulty understanding how auto-RDD will work. Their questions included the following: –Where and how will the damage policy be communicated to guests? –How will guests agree to it? –Owners have different rental agreements so there’s no standard process for remediation. It seems like it’s opening a can of worms. –HomeAway runs the risk of being an arbitrator. How will they resolve disputes? –What authority does HomeAway have to claim damages on the owner’s behalf? –2 participants said that if the guest disputed the charge, they would reverse it rather than arguing (“the guest is always right”). –What will owners have to do to claim damages, e.g., send repair receipts to HomeAway? –1 participant expressed concern about HomeAway holding deposits; she doesn’t trust HomeAway to manage her money and wouldn’t want HomeAway between her and a guest in a negative situation.

10. Page 10 Auto RDD Usability Test Results | February 2015 Recommendations Consider changing the name to Damage Deposit or Security Deposit. Leave the option on the Rates page and in the relative order in which it appears in the prototype. Include other options for dealing with damage, e.g., insurance. Leave the name of the page as “Rates” and keep the options as expandable/collapsible. Remove the dollar sign icon in the Damage Claim Amount; instead include it as a regular font character in the text box. Consider combining the refund and claim options. Include optional information about how auto-RDD works, e.g., how it is communicated to guests, where the money is held, how disputes are handled, etc. This probably needs to go on the Rates page when owners are deciding whether to use it or not.