To inform the design of our hostel search website, we used three different methods for understanding hostels user and their needs. We talked to people about how they planned a trip where they stayed in hostels, what they looked for, and the result of their experience at the hostel. We evauluated a series of hostel search websites, trip planners, and informational trip websites to understand current tools available and how they related to our directed storytelling. We also looked at how people find out lodging information outside of a web interface.

The main themes we gathered from this research are the following:

• People who stay in hostels often stay at multiple locations throughout their trip
• The most predominant motivation for staying in a hostel is price
• Important factors for choosing a hostel also include: privacy, security, amenities, and quality
• Search criteria needs to be simplified and information displayed in a consistent manner