Client
Club Med Joyview
Company
PwC EC
2017-2018
Role
Digital Strategy
Product Lead
The Background
Club Med Joyview is a newer addition to the brand, exclusively in China, created for urban travelers who seek premium escapes that feels close to nature but easy to reach. Just a few hours from major cities, Joyview makes spontaneous weekend trips possible with no flights and complicated planning. Unlike traditional all-inclusive Club Med resorts, Joyview offers more flexible stay options while keeping activities, family-friendly atmosphere and beautiful natural settings the brand is known for.
The Challenge
As the brand expands quickly with multiple new resorts, strong brand recognition alone was no longer enough. Guests experience friction at key moments throughout their stay. With the growth of short-haul domestic travels, Joyview saw an opportunity to rethink the guest experience, finding ways to make each touchpoint smoother and more engaging, while preserving the sense of ease and comfort that defines a Club Med holiday.
The Research
To gain a deeper understanding of guest pain points and unmet needs, we ran a two-day workshop with Club Med Joyview stakeholders and G.Os (hosts). This brought together firsthand operational knowledge from the front line with insights from guest reviews and internal feedback. From UX perspective, designers and developers were involved throughout the process to ensure the ideas we explored were not only user centric but also technically feasible.
Based on their core audience, we focused on the two primary groups that represent the majority of their guests.
The Family Planner
“I want my kids to be happy and everything is taken care of.”
Age group: 32-55
Status: Married with 1-2 children, ages from 5-14
Location: Tier 2 cities
Income: Upper-middle to high
Travel style: 1-2 Planned family trips per year
About
A detail-oriented parent who naturally takes the lead in planning family holidays. Often juggling work and family responsibilities, they are time-poor but deeply invested in creating memorable experiences for everyone, especially their children. They value structure and are willing to pay more for peace of mind, safety and predictable outcomes. For them, a successful holiday is one where logistics fade into the background and the family can simply enjoy time together.
Wants & Goals
-
A stress-free holiday
-
Safe and fun activities for kids
-
Clear schedules
-
Value for money without constant upsells
-
Time to relax while kids are occupied
Needs
-
Transparent pricing & inclusions
-
Easy booking and logistics
-
Clear kids club information
-
Orientation on arrival
Frustrations
-
Not knowing which activities need advance booking
-
Long checkins after traveling with kids
-
Feeling guilty or stressed if kids are bored or overwhelmed
Emotional Drivers
-
Create memories for the family
-
Feel confident that every detail has been thought through
-
Feel recognized for putting the effort to make the family experience special
The Premium Professional
“If I'm paying premium, nothing should feel confusing or slow.”
Age group: 27-38
Status: Couples
Location: Tier 1 cities
Income: High
Travel style: Short but premium escapes
About
A senior professional or business owner with limited free time and a demanding schedule. Used to high standards, they expect services to be intuitive and efficient, with minimal friction. Travel is not just a break from work but a form of recovery and a chance to recharge while still seeking a sense of adventure. They value smooth and orchestrated experiences over novelty and are willing to invest in quality if it means everything simply works.
Wants & Goals
A frictionless premium experience
Minimal decision-making
High quality dining, spa and service
Feeling recognized and valued as a guest
Needs
Fast booking and check-in/check-out
Clear guidance within the resort
Easy access to concierge or support
Consistent service quality across touchpoints
Frustrations
Long waiting times
Unaware of the facilities or activities
Having to figure things out themselves
Non-personalized communication
Emotional Drivers
Feel valued through thoughtful services
Not to worry about logistics or interruptions
Trust premium experiences that respect their time and privacy
As a group, we mapped the user journey together and encouraged open discussion, allowing participants to share real experiences from the ground.
We were able to consolidate recurring pain points and align on shared priorities. This allowed us to identify opportunities that were meaningful for guests and feasible for the business. We decided to focus on 3 pain points for the first iteration.
Inefficient Checkin/out Experiences
Guests → Causes frustration by unnecessary delays
Club Med Joyview → Increases manual errors and unsatisfied guests
Unclear Resort Offerings
Guests → Causes confusion and missed experiences
Club Med Joyview → Increases friction during peak hours and limited ability to promote under utilized activities or operational offerings
Poor Location Coordination
Guests → Causes wasted time and high stress levels
Club Med Joyview → Increases complaints and safety risks
Based on the three key pain points, we ran an ideation session where participants explored as many practical solutions as possible from both the guest and G.O perspectives. Looking at the experience from both sides helped us decide how we can satisfy guest needs with what is actually realistic for the team delivering the service.
The Process
The mobile app was intentionally focused on enhancing the on-site experience, rather than duplicating features already available on other existing platforms. This keeps the product lean while reducing development effort and cost.
With the development team, we mapped out the user flows to give us a clear picture of what needed to happen behind the scenes, such as migrating existing customer data, setting up a CMS (Content Management System) for easy updates and defining the necessary frontend and backend services.
While the backend tasks were handled by a separate team, ongoing collaboration helped us identify limitations early on and keep the designs practical and realistic.
The Solution
Where premium escapes feel effortless.
To make the Club Med Joyview experience feel as effortless as possible, we focused on removing frictions at the moment the guests step into the resort.
Each guest receives an RFID wristband when they arrive. By scanning a QR code, guests are instantly connected to the rest of their travel party through the app. The wristband functions as a room key, location-sharing device and payment method.
To make discovering activities feel easy, the main feed shows daily events that are happening around the resort. This makes it easy to join activities spontaneously. For guests who prefer to plan ahead, the activity directory provides clear information and instant booking, helping guests feel in control of their time.
Upcoming bookings trigger notifications and all booking details can be viewed in one place. Guests can easily modify their bookings as needed.
In a large resort, travel groups naturally spread out. Integrated with RFID and location beacons across the resort, the wristband allows guests to see where they and their travel party members are at any time. Whether parents are checking on their children or friends are finding one another, this provides reassurance without constant updates.
Instead of waiting in line or keeping track of cards and cash, guests can simply tap their wristband to make payments. All expenses are visible directly in the app, creating a fully cash-free experience. Guests can prepay their bills at anytime, making checkout faster and completely stress-free.
The Results
The mobile app and RFID experience were first launched at Club Med Joyview Beidahu as a pilot implementation. The solution was fully integrated with Club Med Joyview’s backend systems, enabling access to member profiles, bookings and real-time resort data.
Within the first month, the app achieved 100% adoption, showing strong engagement and immediate relevance to guests’ needs. Guests quickly embraced the app as part of their stay, using it to discover activities, manage bookings and navigate around the resort. As a result, operations ran more smoothly and participation across activities became more evenly distributed.
This was an important step in elevating the Club Med Joyview experience and it laid the foundation for expanding the solution to additional resort locations.