BenTomy
Project Overview:
Bentomy Hospitality Product Development Executive
Type: Ux/ product design
roles:
- Human-Centered Product Designer: Applied design principles to create products that enhance guest comfort, accessibility, and satisfaction in resort and hotel settings, focusing on inclusive and user-friendly solutions.
- End-to-End Product Research Lead: Conducted qualitative and quantitative research through on-site visits, contextual inquiries, and field studies, observing guests and staff to identify needs, accessibility challenges, and workflow inefficiencies, translating findings into innovative product designs for improved usability and quality.
- Competitive Product Analyst: Performed market analysis to spot gaps and competitor weaknesses, using user interviews, usability testing, and iterative prototyping to inform product positioning and development strategies. Product Usability Validator: Crafted test scripts, recruited participants, executed moderated and unmoderated usability tests, analyzed data, and prioritized design refinements to ensure products meet user needs and deliver optimal experiences.
Duration:10 weeks Role: Product Designer/UX research, interaction design, prototyping, testing
Target Audience:
Primary Users: Hotel and resort procurement managers and hospitality staff responsible for sourcing and managing supplies. They prioritize cost-efficiency, quality assurance, and alignment with guest expectations.
Secondary Users: Hotel guests, including families, business travelers, and eco-conscious individuals, who seek comfort, sustainability, and modern amenities during stays.
Stakeholders: Bentommy’s internal team and external partners (hotels, suppliers) focused on sustainable growth and market expansion.
Background
I initially started with a passion for creating handmade accessories for women and men. To bring this idea to life, I opened a small shop in a well-located area where I could display my products and interact directly with customers. These daily interactions became an unexpected source of insight.
Problem Discovery
While speaking with customers, many shared stories about their personal lives and travel experiences. Over time, a recurring theme emerged especially among women around dissatisfaction with hotel and resort stays. Guests frequently mentioned poor-quality materials in essential, personal-use items such as towels, linens, and basic in-room amenities.
These conversations revealed a gap between guest expectations and the actual experience delivered by many hospitality providers.
Research & Insights
Motivated to better understand this gap, I conducted qualitative research, including in-depth interviews with:
Hotel and resort managers
Hospitality staff
Hotel and resort guests
The research focused on identifying pain points across the guest journey, particularly related to comfort, material quality, and perceived value. Key insights showed that many hotels prioritized cost efficiency over user experience, leading to dissatisfaction in areas that directly impact guest comfort.
Opportunity Identification
As the business grew, I recognized an overlooked opportunity within the hospitality sector: improving guest experience through thoughtfully designed, high-quality physical products. This insight also led to the idea of exporting and scaling beyond a boutique model.
Solution & Outcome
These findings guided the evolution of Bentommy from a handmade accessories brand into a supplier of high-quality hotel and resort products. The product ecosystem now includes serving trays, housekeeping carts, bath amenities, bed linens, slippers, decorative cushions, and guest-room toiletries—all designed with a user-centered mindset and aligned with real hospitality needs.
Impact
By grounding product decisions in user research and real guest feedback, Bentommy addresses critical experience gaps in the hospitality industry, transforming everyday hotel items into touchpoints of comfort, quality, and trust.