Key Takeaways:
- The UX market is set to hit $9.28 billion by 2030 as companies focus more on customer experience.
- Properly executed cross-functional UX research boosts efficiency, cutting costs and generating new revenue.
- Democratized and well-governed UX research reveals opportunities and aligns teams to drive measurable business impact.
The UI/UX market is on track to reach $9.28 billion by 2030 as organizations increasingly prioritize the customer experience over a product-first focus.
Hyatt Hotels has transformed its operations through a close collaboration between UX research teams and hotel colleagues, uncovering pain points and implementing solutions that enhance efficiency, service quality, and guest satisfaction.
The result? Better KPIs, cost savings, and new revenue.
Gavin Johnston, director of UX research at Hyatt Hotels and upcoming panelist at the UX360 Research Summit, spoke to us about how democratizing UX research and empowering cross-functional teams can drive operational efficiency, uncover hidden opportunities, and reshape business outcomes.
Who Is Gavin Johnston?
Gavin has over 20 years of UX research, strategic planning, and consumer research experience. During that time he has led research and strategy projects for a broad range of products, services, and industries including hospitality, consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, healthcare enterprise tools, education, and financial services. He joined Hyatt Corporation in 2021 and leads a talented team of UX design researchers focused on helping create world-class experiences for guests and colleagues. He has also spoken on UX research, digital strategy, research methods, and cross-functional collaboration conferences across the globe.
This year, the UX360 Research Summit will showcase the latest UX and design research — from planning and conducting to the analysis and implementation of UX insights.
A major topic to be explored is the democratization of UX research, a topic that Gavin is excited to discuss during his panel:
“I think defining what exactly we mean by ‘democratization’ is central to the discussion because there is a fine line between a system in which multiple voices lend themselves to the execution/interpretation of research and a descent into anarchy.
How we define it plays into how we create models of governance, how we determine degrees of expertise, and ensure the quality of outcomes are maintained.”
Democratizing UX research expands access to insights beyond dedicated teams, allowing more stakeholders to contribute. However, achieving the right balance is crucial — diverse input should enhance, not dilute, research integrity.
Gavin emphasizes the need for clear guidelines and training to ensure insights are applied effectively. Without these structures, broader access risks creating inconsistencies that can undermine decision-making.
Equally important, he points out, is the ability of researchers to translate findings into clear, actionable ideas that reflect the needs of users and businesses alike.
This involves having agreed-upon language, aligned goals, and a solid understanding of how the product fits into the overarching business strategy.
“Finally, and this is more of a mechanical element, the research team needs to work with other disciplines to create a useful, searchable research repository that is accessible to all.”
Understanding Complex Systems
For example, Hyatt’s hotels and resorts are very complex work environments.
“Hotels have high turnover rates, guests are demanding, etc. And yet, neither the product management team nor the developers had ever spent time with hotel colleagues as they went about their daily work,” Gavin explains.
So, when developing new internal software for reservation and guest management (including room changes, check-ins, loyalty program registrations, and other functions), Hyatt had a lot to consider.
As a result, Gavin’s team spent time investigating how software and tools fit into the broader context of the average workday across a wide range of property types.
“Those findings were then used to redefine the problems to be solved, KPIs, and design concepts.”
After collaborating across multiple disciplines in workshops, the design concepts underwent iterative usability tests before launch.
The result? Remarkable cost savings from improved efficiencies and significant revenue growth.
The key takeaway, according to Gavin: research planning, stakeholder collaboration, and method flexibility.
“I think these things hold true in most industries, but never more so than in the hospitality space.
Hospitality is an extremely complex space. Expectations both from colleagues and guests are radically different on a global scale and what flies in one location may be problematic elsewhere.”
Uncovering Opportunities Through Immersive Research
Gavin believes that UX research, at its best, uncovers unexpected opportunities — as it is immersive by nature.
“We frame problems differently because we look through more than one lens when defining or uncovering a problem.
Our approaches can be oblique at times. I think it’s that oblique approach to problem-solving that can produce the greatest competitive advantage.
While apocryphal, the story about Henry Ford said ‘If I’d asked people what they want they’d have said a better horse buggy’ holds true.”
This ability to reframe problems and uncover hidden opportunities is what makes UX research a powerful tool for business growth.
But how can companies effectively scale these efforts while ensuring insights remain actionable for decision-makers?
According to Gavin, the answer is ongoing education.
“I don’t mean that in a stuffy, pedantic sense, but rather as education through action. Our partners and stakeholders need to be directly involved in the research process.”
Equally important, he notes, partners and stakeholders should be part of the translation process from insight to action.
The more they’re involved in turning insights into solutions, the better positioned UX research teams are to make the case for growing their teams and influencing the business.
“From a purely management side, I would also say it’s imperative to get used to saying ‘No but…
What I mean by that is we need to be honest about resourcing as we see increases in our time and backlog work we can’t accomplish due to resourcing, but with that, we should provide alternative methodologies that may not be perfect but help move the needle,” Gavin adds.
When Does UX Research Become Essential for Growth?
When does UX research shift from a “nice to have” to a fundamental part of business growth?
Gavin explains that when UX research teams are in the early stages of development, the approach to resourcing is often ad hoc.
“It’s a ‘nice to have’ but not necessarily seen as fundamental to the design and product development process.
The point at which we, meaning researchers, are officially integrated into the development and intake processes, it’s a clear sign the business is ready to scale the research efforts.”
Simply put, the role has gained sufficient traction when UX research becomes a formalized step in the process alongside requirements gathering and competitive analysis — with researchers being actively consulted across departments.
This growing recognition of UX research’s value naturally leads to the next challenge — demonstrating its impact in measurable terms.
Most teams — Gavin’s included — use a standardized formula for demonstrating return on investment (ROI). When defining KPIs, Gavin believes in separating business goals from design goals and applying benchmarking when possible.
On top of that, teams should be willing to invent measures that are relevant to specific industries and business needs.
“For example, Time to Book is much more important than Time on Task for us – it’s less about increasing efficiency and much more about creating inspiration,” he notes.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Partners
Scaling UX research isn’t just about internal buy-in — it also depends on finding external partners who can challenge assumptions and push the work further.
In Gavin’s experience, finding an adaptable partner is front and center.
“This includes both methodological flexibility and the ability to adjust to shifting business needs,” he adds.
He also believes that UX partners should be willing to push back, guide the team, and make bold suggestions rather than just do what they are told.
“Bluntly, as a researcher you’re being paid to innovate and push the status quo.”
The cherry on top is if the partner can demonstrate their business experience through solid metrics.
That’s not all though. While the “perfect partner” can vary from business to business, Gavin cautions brands to watch out for these red flags when hiring an external team:
- Overly academic jargon: If a partner is unable to simplify their explanations clearly or identify specific methods and how they are developed.
- Lack of understanding of business needs: If a partner can’t articulate or ask about the business, insights might be difficult to implement or create distrust.
- Failure to tell a compelling story: If a partner can’t align data with audience needs, it raises doubts about the validity of their work.
“In other words, it’s about striking a balance. If an agency partner can’t align the data with the needs of the audience, then it calls all their work into question. If you’re talking to engineers, the needs are different for those of the C-Suite. Know how your audience thinks, what jibes with them, and tell a story that will drive action.”
Adapting to the Future of UX Research
As we’ve seen, the future of UX research hinges on the ability to adapt and stay ahead of emerging trends.
Gavin sees a future where deeper collaboration, mixed methods, and AI-powered tools reshape UX research.
His top picks include:
AI: Understanding that artificial intelligence is changing UX research with new tools and methods to learn about how users behave and what they prefer is a given.
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In theory, he notes, researchers and product designers can learn more about how users interact with products and services, what they like, and what frustrates them.
“But interpretation is going to be key and will fall to human beings.”
Deeper collaboration: Gavin believes the future of UX lies in the information flow between product teams, designers, developers, researchers, and data science teams.
“Effective flow of information between all departments will continue to grow in importance,” he predicts.
Live workshops: Conducting workshops and participatory design have become the norm thanks to virtual sessions However, Gavin feels the excitement and innovation derived from live sessions can’t be replicated virtually.
Because of this, he expects the return of live workshops to turn insights into solutions.
Accessibility: More than a trend, accessibility is a completely different, upgraded approach to designing modern and inclusive products. Looking ahead, Gavin believes UX research will increasingly focus on ensuring accessibility is top of mind and part of the core process.
Overall, combining qualitative and quantitative methods is the way forward when it comes to asking the right questions and getting real answers.
“Finding new approaches and ways to combine them will define good research,” he adds.
“Whether it’s from human factors, anthropology, or even improv theater, UX research will become more experimental.”
These approaches are key to pushing the boundaries of traditional research, enabling businesses to uncover deeper insights, create better user experiences, and subsequently scale.
