Presenting the Latest Marketplace Updates
By: Locktrip.Com, Loc Token, Official Blog
Tags: Travel, Locktrip, Booking, Flight, Hotel

In the meantime we would like to update you on some of the progress we have made recently and what you can expect in the near future.

Over the past weeks we have made a series of small deployments. They mostly consisted of hundreds of small changes to optimize the marketplace following the massive marathon of features we brought live over the past 6 months.

While it is difficult to convey such gradual developments in an article, we nevertheless wanted to summarize some of the core changes made and features added. Let’s get started!

🔎 Search Filter Logic

The search filters have been optimized for easier usage. In addition to solving known stability issues, which sometimes led to delayed or incomplete filtering, we have also made them 80–90% easier to use.

The change comes from the filtering logic, which is now adapted for simplicity. Before this update the default filters were all checked and someone who wanted to search for “Excellent 9+” rated hotels would need to uncheck the four other options available.

With the new logic all filters are unchecked by default and filtering for “Excellent 9+” is now as easy as checking that single option.

This reduces the number of needed clicks from four to only one.

⚡️ Improved Search Speed

If you’ve used the marketplace, you will have noticed that we have a 3-bar system to showcase the progress of the search. However, in many cases the results would only show up significantly after the loader was finished, delaying the entire search and turning it into a bad experience.

With the new update we were able to optimize search speed and better synchronize the pre-loader with the true progress. The result is a 20–30% quicker search process and a much more uniform search time (eliminated outliers).

🗺️ Enhanced Map Performance

The new version of the map has a higher performance while demanding less resources. Since the map is the most resource-demanding element of the search page, we will continue to tweak its code over the next week to make the site lighter and more efficient.

In addition to this, we have also given a higher priority to discounted pins on the map. When two or more pins overlap on the map, the one with the highest discount will show with priority.

Notice how the darker pins (with higher discounts) are always in front of the lower discounted ones.

⚙️ Powerful Speed Optimization Tools

We have integrated new and more powerful optimization tools to our workflow, which will start to reflect in all deployments being made in the future.

A new sprint of in-depth speed and stability enhancements will transform our marketplace into a smooth and mature product; ready to handle the expected travel recovery in the Summer.

🕑 Session Time-out Restores Previous Search

One of the annoying (but necessary) features we have is the session time-out, which prompts the following pop-up:

In our latest updates we tackled this problem by limiting its appearance so that it only shows up if absolutely necessary.

In the most recent update we also introduced a feature that saves your search parameters, filter settings and map view coordinates while doing the refresh. This way you can continue your search from where you left.

👩‍💻 Facebook Instant Login Enabled

Facebook instand login is now live! This was a frequently requested feature, which has been on our to-do list for some time.

This brings the signup/login options to a total of four, covering the most popular methods for minimal friction.

The timing of this integration as a preparation for the simple-signup deployment is not a coincidence (more on that at the last section of the article).

✔️ Social Logins now work in Conjunction

Another feature we are introducing is the compatibility between multiple sign-up methods. For example, up until now someone signing up via the Google method could not login with his Twitter account bound to the same Email address.

By consolidating all available methods to a single entity in our system, we are introducing compatibility with each other and thus prevent cases where people are seemingly locked out of their accounts.

This particular feature is ready and will be deployed soon.

📄 Landing Page Improvements

Your feedback regarding the landing pages has been very positive. We have gathered many suggestions for improvements and already deployed a number of them.

Aside from changes to the formatting and page configuration, we have also enhanced the featured image limits to better match the dimensions of the mobile and desktop pages.

🌍 Custom Search Radius for Islands and Exotic Destinations

Each destination is unique in what it offers and how it needs to be handled. This is especially true for islands and exotic destinations.

Let’s consider a standard search radius for an average city. While such will result in meaningful results for the vast majority of destinations, it may turn out inefficient for a number of scenarios.

A group of islands for example may require a much wider radius while a small country such as Andorra needs a reduced search area. This is why we have been working on a flexible search area, which will be deployed to the producton marketplace over the next 1–2 weeks.

💱 Integrated ETN and FIRO

As part of our marketing campaigns we have partnered up with the Electroneum and Firo projects. The announcements can be found below:

As part of these partnerships, the LockTrip marketplace now accepts both ETN and FIRO as crypto-based payment methods.

🔮 Upcoming Deployments

By far the biggest project we have been working on throughout the past weeks is the “simple sign-up” deployment. Although it sounds like a simple update, we decided to take the opportunity to couple it with various sign-up related features.

This turned it into a massive deployment with more than 10 new page designs, significant backend work, landing page integrations and plenty of new functionalities. We are looking forward to make the deployment over the next 1–2 weeks. It will completely transform the product experience for new users.

The second major project we have been working on is a complete re-write of our mobile apps. Over the past 1–2 years the apps have always been lagging behind the marketplace development. With this move they will be lifted to the same level feature-wise while offering mobile users a very smooth booking experience.

We will be sharing a sneak-peek with the community next week.

LockTrip is a blockchain-based travel marketplace that allows users to save up to 60% on their bookings by cutting out middlemen. Every booking burns LOC proportionally to its booking value, continuously reducing its total supply.