Dancing Bear Aspen is a high-end luxury fractional located in downtown Aspen, CO. An owner site was needed as the primary touch point between property owners and the residence club staff. Fractionals differ from timeshares in that buyers own a fraction of the deed. They pay quarterly dues and have six guaranteed weeks per year use of the property.

As the primary interface with the staff, the owner will use the site to make all reservations and requests associated with each visit to the property. From a technical standpoint, we began the Discovery Phase with the client just as they were investigating which Property Management System (PMS) application to purchase. The PMS would handle all internal billing, reservations, client profile information, house keeping and general operations information. As a result, we generated intelligence around two false starts. However, once the contract was signed with a specific PMS vendor, the development platform and requirements were quickly understood and resolved.

The user experience is directed towards getting things done with as few intermediary steps as possible. Owners use the site to make reservations for Aspen activities, dining experiences, reserving property amenities, concierge requests, etc. The goal is to make such form-based inputs fast and direct. Marketing copy is discouraged in favor of task-oriented directions.

I created a navigation model that broke with Blue Tent’s standards. Supporting an older, affluent client meant addressing the realities of failing sight and a general inclination towards talking on the phone to make requests, rather than using a website. In response to these user conditions, I made all navigation options prominent within the frame and always above the fold to encourage rapid comprehension and adoption. In fact, the intent is to create a site that rarely requires the user to scroll down.