Enhancing guest experiences through a new digital access pass that families found easy and exciting to use.
Paper passes were used to track event inclusions but were easily damaged or lost, causing guest frustration and missed opportunities to cross-sell for Great Wolf Lodge.
3 Weeks
Reduced product decision timelines, from 6 months, by accelerating validation.
88%
of guests interviewed preferred new app designs to current guest experience, de-risking mobile app decisions
3
guest-validated product iterations completed in 2 weeks—before committing build resources
Great Wolf Lodge is celebrated for creating unforgettable family experiences.
However, families and their children had to carry physical Wolf Passes at all times in order to use the inclusions in their pre-paid packages. Passes were easily lost, damaged, and or left behind in the guest room, and weren't connected to the Great Wolf App in any way.
For customers, this meant having trouble tracking which inclusions they had purchased and used, and wasting time retracing long walks back to their rooms to find passes or waiting at the front desk for a replacement.
For Great Wolf Lodge, this also meant less Wolf Pass sales for returning customers who wanted to reduce hassle on future visits. It was also a missed opportunity to gather app data on which inclusions guests use and increase their awareness of personalized offers.
affinityUX conducted a Research Sprint to analyze recent guest experiences and validate new designs for the Great Wolf App, exploring a fully digital vs. hybrid approach to the Packages & Passes offered at the lodge.
Our team tested and improved a high-fidelity mobile app prototype of a digital Wolf Pass.
We presented the findings a Research Readout — complete with interview notes, insights, and recommendations — helping Great Wolf make confident, evidence-based design decisions to support a seamless guest experience for families.
17 guests who had stayed at a lodge within the last 30 days:
“This would be AMAZING…[to see] when things were completed, started or redeemed…[so I could] know what to focus on next…instead of checking [all our] passes”
Frequent Guest
with 8 children
Positioned GWL to increase app usage, driving awareness of discounts, upsell opportunities, and other personalized offerings.
0
1
Identified key factors influencing customer booking decisions, app usage, and on-site experience.
0
2
Uncovered feature requests and customer-centered opportunities for future product roadmap.
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3
