Context
Southwest Rooms rents rooms and flats in the UK. Almost all of its bookings came through platforms such as Booking.com, Airbnb and Expedia.
Problem
In summer 2020 the client wanted more revenue and more control over their own online channel: to stop relying only on the OTAs for traffic, and to stop paying commissions of up to 20% on every booking.
Solution
The brand came first: a clean logo with a touch of luxury that worked on the website and social media, in blue, white, black and gold. Then the website, designed in Figma after studying competitors and the content structure, responsive on every screen.
The hard part wasn't the interface but the three systems behind it. Bookings: each room has a form with a calendar that, through the Beds24 API, reads the days already booked on every OTA and validates the request. Payments: guests pay by card or cryptocurrency through the Payzone gateway before the booking is passed on to the other platforms. Property management: on a small budget and a tight deadline, a PHP page that reads each property's title, description, features and photos from a JSON file the client edits on their own.
Outcome
Website delivered in 45 days, with direct booking and payment and availability always in line with the OTAs. The client rated the work five stars; their review is among those on the home page.
Technologies
Related serviceCustom software