Gate83
Sign in
Gate83 Research ReportSample

Trust & credibility mission

Independent verdict or paid placement?

Can visitors distinguish an independent hotel verdict from a paid recommendation — and does it change whether they would book?

Website
Harbour & Key — a fictional hotel review site · open it
Audience
6 personas
Tasks
2
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona First Points QuestionIllustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Delta ApologistIllustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Redeem Don't HoardIllustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Bonvoyed SurvivorIllustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Affiliate WatchdogIllustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Thumb-Only Skimmer

Headline finding

The verdict persuades experts and loses the people it's meant for.

  • 01

    Experienced and skeptical personas located the rating method; newcomers and mobile skimmers did not.

  • 02

    The commission disclosure was reached by two of six personas, both after scrolling past the verdict.

  • 03

    Personas who could not find the evidence behind a verdict described the recommendation as advertising.

Who trusted the hotel verdict?

Doubted itTrusted it
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Bonvoyed Survivor
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Affiliate Watchdog
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Thumb-Only Skimmer
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Redeem Don't Hoard
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Delta Apologist
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona First Points Question
Bonvoyed Survivor: Doubted it; Affiliate Watchdog: Doubted it; Thumb-Only Skimmer: Doubted it; Redeem Don't Hoard: undecided; Delta Apologist: Trusted it; First Points Question: Trusted it

Key findings

What the page shows, how a persona read it, and what to change — kept apart. Hover a label to see what kind of evidence it is.

F-01

Verdict evidence sits far below the verdict on mobile

High severityModerate confidence
ObservedE1

On a 390px phone screen the “Expert pick” verdict first appears after 1.2 screen heights, and the “How we rated this hotel” link only after 4.2.

Phone, 390px · verdict card with no link to the rating method1
Phone, 390px · verdict card with no link to the rating method
Persona readingE2
“I see the recommendation, but I can't tell what evidence supports it.”
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Thumb-Only SkimmerThumb-Only SkimmerVL-026
Mobile-first visitors
Recommendation

Move a one-line evidence summary and link directly beneath the verdict badge.

F-02

Commission disclosure reads as boilerplate

Medium severityModerate confidence
ObservedE1

The commission disclosure is 12px light-grey text at the very bottom of the footer, below the legal links.

Phone, 390px · page footer2
Phone, 390px · page footer
Persona readingE2
“That disclosure looks like legal filler. Does the hotel pay you or not?”
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Affiliate WatchdogAffiliate WatchdogVL-023
Skeptical readers
InferenceE3
Recommendation

State commercial relationships in plain language next to each booking link.

F-03

Loyalty consequences are missing from the verdict

Medium severityLow confidence
ObservedE1

The verdict card lists the rooftop, breakfast and tram distance; nothing on points, elite-night credit or member rates.

Desktop, 1280px · verdict card3
Desktop, 1280px · verdict card
Persona readingE2
“If I book through this link, do I still get my nights? That decides it for me.”
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Delta ApologistDelta ApologistVL-011
Frequent flyers
InferenceE3
Recommendation

Add a loyalty-impact line for chains with member benefits. Validate with real members first.

Where personas disagreed

Is the top recommendation trustworthy?
  • Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona First Points Question
    First Points QuestionYes

    “It says ‘Expert pick’, so I'd go with that.”

  • Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Bonvoyed Survivor
    Bonvoyed SurvivorNo

    “Every site has an ‘Expert pick’. Show me the stay data.”

  • Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Redeem Don't Hoard
    Redeem Don't HoardDepends

    “Fine if the points value is real — I can't see the math.”

Task outcomes

Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona First Points QuestionFirst Points QuestionM04 Failed
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Delta ApologistDelta ApologistM04 Completed
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Redeem Don't HoardRedeem Don't HoardM04 Completed
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Bonvoyed SurvivorBonvoyed SurvivorM10 Completed
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Affiliate WatchdogAffiliate WatchdogM10 Partial
Illustrated portrait of the synthetic persona Thumb-Only SkimmerThumb-Only SkimmerM10 Abandoned
No benchmark score is shown. Scores appear only when every scored session has verified screenshots, traces and timestamps.

Compared with the previous mission

Re-running the same personas and tasks after a redesign shows what changed for whom.

Longitudinal comparison

No baseline here — this is the site's first mission.