How to Build a Booking Website for Travel and Hospitality Businesses

This article explains how to build a booking website for travel and hospitality businesses.

 

It is based on Onix’s broad booking system development experience; our experts create travel booking websites, e.g., misterb&b (gay-friendly accommodations booking platform), TravelBid (platform for booking hotel rooms, transfers, and cars), and TravelTail (pet-friendly hotel booking website), and can share lots of insights and tips. 

 

Whether you’re starting an online travel agency, want to build a hotel booking website for your hospitality business, or plan to offer booking services for hotels, airlines, and tour operators, here you can find valuable insights, such as:

 

• what you need to know before you start a travel booking website 
• which functionalities the platform should include
• how to build a travel booking website in five steps
• what technologies are recommended for travel booking systems
• how to make it user-friendly, appealing, and profitable
• how much travel booking website development costs

 

In 2022, two-thirds of the travel and tourism revenue already came from online sales. According to Research and Markets’ 2023 report, the online travel market, valued at US$667.55 billion in 2023, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13% and reach US$1.56 trillion by 2030.

 

The accommodation booking segment, driven by global online hotel bookings, is expected to grow the fastest in the online travel market.

 

2025 looks like a great time to create hotel booking websites and mobile apps, rental marketplaces, car rental services, and other digital booking solutions favored by youth and professionals.

 

Travel Booking Platform Features

Before learning how to start a travel booking website, you need to understand its structure and what functionalities it may include.

 

Technically, an online travel booking system consists of three parts.

 

1. Back-end

A database stores real-time information about travel products for online reservations, customers, bookings, customer communication, etc.

 

2. Front-end

These web pages present information from the database to users and retrieve forms from them. Front-end web pages typically include:

 

• a landing page with a search function for requesting information from the database
• a response page showing the requested info
• forms where users enter the information necessary for hotel or ticket booking
• confirmation pages…

 

… and other business-specific details. For example, hotel booking website features should enable visitors to find a hotel on the map, view a room’s details, read customer reviews, etc.

 

3. Middleware

This software moves data between the database and the web pages. It processes users’ input, pulls information from the database as necessary, and submits new data back into that database.

 

User-wise, a travel booking website is divided into two systems: front-office and back-office. The front-office enables travelers to search and evaluate travel products, book selected items, and pay for them.

 

Back-office software empowers owners of an online travel agency or businesses (hotels, tour operators, car rental services, etc.) to administer the websites, manage reservations, bills, and accounts, and control enterprise productivity, much like other companies’ enterprise resource planning systems.

 

Here are the features that the systems should include:

 

Travelers’ website features (on the example of a hotel booking service) 

 

Search

The search parameters should start with:

 

1) Destination (city or even particular address)

2) Date (arrival and departure/check-in and check-out dates)

3) Number of persons (adults, children, and possibly pets)

3) Number of rooms or type of accommodation

 

Search for hotels by name or nearby is valuable. Users may also need to pick a location based on its proximity to the sights of interest they plan to visit. 

 

Results page

When users see listings that match their initial parameters, filters and sorting can provide refinement, e.g., enabling users to see the cheapest options, meals, and hotels with the highest user rating first. A geolocation feature will be practical: travelers can see an accommodation on a map and measure the distance to airports, train stations, or landmarks.

Example of travel booking platform design by Onix – TravelTail 

 

One of Onix’s clients, a Japanese hotel booking platform, actively uses customer data to enhance user experience and facilitate bookings. Some of the solutions they use are:

 

• Individual preferences

At registration, travelers can specify their preferences, selecting their favorite hotel chains, essential amenities, and desired destinations. Through integration with various platforms, the system gathers real-time data to match accommodations with each traveler’s unique interests and requirements.

 

For instance, if a user expresses an affinity for museums, the system suggests hotels near such cultural attractions. It tailors the search process and interface elements based on the user's primary preferences, such as displaying a map of their chosen location with nearby recommended hotels.

 

As users update their preferences or add new destinations, the interface seamlessly adjusts to offer personalized recommendations.

 

• Location-based filtering

The platform prioritizes hotels in areas previously visited by the user and those with higher review scores and ample customer feedback. Users can also filter hotels based on proximity to specific metro stations, with the platform calculating distances and presenting relevant results to align with travelers' preferred transportation modes.

 

Location-based promotions and discounts on the homepage are customized according to each user’s preferences.

 

• Amenities filtering

The application also filters hotels based on desired amenities, including swimming pools, parking, free Wi-Fi, or complimentary breakfast options.

 

Learn more: Hyper-Personalization in Hospitality – a Step beyond Customization

 

Listing details

The following accommodation details are essential:

 

• The hotel’s address, description, check-in/check-out time, hotel policies, places of interest nearby, etc.
• Hotel photo gallery
• Map with the hotel location and environs
• Amenities (e.g., Wi-Fi, accessibility, parking places, etc.)
• Reviews and the average score
• A list of bookable rooms with pictures, descriptions, and price per day
• Cancellation details
• Pricing block with offers from different booking systems

 

It’s also helpful to include:

 

• Room status that shows a room’s availability in real time
• Social share buttons
• Suggestions of other matching options and additional items

 

If you offer extra services during hotel booking, you can increase customer satisfaction and revenue.

 

Booking form

An interactive form should collect traveler’s data, such as check-in and check-out dates, number of quests, and other details.

 

Payment

A travel booking website should offer both the ability to pay at check-in and a fast and secure online payment option. Users should see the total amount and the payment by day.

 

Multiple payment options (credit card, debit card, PayPal, etc.) will help ensure a good customer experience and reduce the number of abandoned transactions. A printable reservation confirmation should include all payment details.

 

Learn more: Payment Gateway for a Travel Website: Expert Insights and Strategies

 

Messaging

Instant messages can inform users about their reservation confirmation, changes in rates, exclusive deals, etc., remind them about scheduled activities, provide personalized tips and advice, etc., increasing user engagement and winning customer loyalty.

 

Travel assistant chatbots can answer frequently asked questions 24/7 and guide users through search, looking for deals, booking process, and an entire trip.

 

After completing a booking, the booking engine may proactively suggest similar accommodations through follow-up emails, leveraging the customer's preferences and the characteristics of their reservation to encourage further exploration within their preferred parameters.

 

Additionally, users may receive notifications about new hotels or promotions akin to their favorites or previously viewed options.

 

For instance, Onix’s client misterb&b, the accommodation booking service catering to LGBTQ+ travelers, has integrated with Vero, a customer engagement platform (CEP) with advanced customer segmentation capabilities.

 

Vero provides robust content creation and design tools, fostering personalization and facilitating A/B testing to optimize content and timing across diverse customer segments. Leveraging precise data, Vero ensures that every email and push notification is tailored to individual preferences.

 

By harnessing Vero, misterb&b can deliver impeccably timed messages strategically aligned with the customer’s activities on the booking platform.

Example of accommodation booking platform development by Onix – misterb&b

 

Push notifications

These keep customers informed about relevant services, discounts, and changes. This is why a progressive web application and, eventually, a mobile app should be considered.

 

Learn more: The Ultimate Guide to Developing a Mobile Booking App

 

Registration

Sign-up should be optional, but you may suggest it once a user makes a booking or returns. Users should be able to sign up via email or their Facebook or Google accounts.

 

User profile

This page should contain the customer’s booking history, current reservations, payments, reviews, and wish-lists, and enable users to configure, manage, and review reservations, and change their language, currency, locale, time zone, and other settings.

 

Information like profile picture, name, age, and country are optional, but businesses should encourage customers to provide these and further details because this information will facilitate more personalized experiences and offers.

 

The Japanese hotel booking app mentioned above enriches the user experience by preserving users’ searches, preferences, and booking history:

 

• Saved searches and preferences

The platform allows users to save their preferred search criteria and hotel preferences in the user’s account. It stores the information locally, ensuring continuity across devices and locations, and utilizes it to enhance query parameters.

 

A unique feature allows users to share their saved search criteria and preferences with others, who can share insights and recommendations. Moreover, users can reset filters for friends or acquaintances, adding an interactive element to the hotel search process. Dynamic URLs reflecting saved search criteria facilitate sharing filtered results with others.

 

• Booking history

The platform intelligently leverages the user’s previous bookings to suggest similar options, catering to returning customers' preferences and habits.

 

For instance, if users typically opt for hotels near tourist attractions, the system highlights relevant promotions in those areas and prioritizes familiar neighborhoods or business districts based on past interactions. Recommendations also consider positive feedback from similar users, enriching the selection process.

 

• Special offers and discounts

The system generates individual offers and discounts using previous reservations and user preferences. The homepage can highlight special promotions for those hotels that meet the user’s criteria.

 

For example, suppose users frequently select hotels within a certain price range or with specific amenities. In that case, the system suggests relevant offers for similar properties prominently displayed on the homepage or the user’s account page.

 

• Favorites and visits history

The user profile section includes a list of previously viewed hotels, which is handy for users who revisit specific locations.

 

Customer feedback

Reviews and rating blocks improve a service’s credibility, and customer feedback enables you to enhance your web application and your business. After each stay, customers should be able to rate staff, facilities, cleanliness, convenience, etc., write a review, and add photos if they want. 

 

Besides the customer’s journey, the website should include other important pages. For example, the landing page should also include links to:

 

• About Us

A compelling story about your company will help build trust and an emotional connection with your brand and convert visitors into customers.

 

• Contact Us

Information like your office’s address, contact number, email, etc., and a contact form are practical and help establish credibility.

 

• Social proof

It would help if you also displayed travelers’ testimonials, ratings, endorsements, awards, publications, or other information that can further promote your service.

 

• Blog

A blog section with enticing images and practical tips should encourage visitors to explore destinations and featured spots while inspiring confidence and trust.

Example of travel booking website design by Onix – TravelTail

 

More or less sophisticated, these features can be found in many travel websites. To make your platform more competitive, you must invest in personalization and innovation, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and big data.

 

Learn more: The Tech Advantage: Trends Reshaping Hospitality and Guest Engagement

 

For example, Onix implemented advanced ML algorithms and geospatial intelligence in the hotel booking engine as part of a modernization strategy for the same Japanese client. Some of the results are: 

 

• The integration with mapping technologies allows curating hotel suggestions that resonate with each location’s unique atmosphere.

 

• Going beyond conventional search parameters, the booking engine allows travelers to explore hotels based on their proximity to railway stations.

 

• The system dynamically profiles users based on user-hotel interactions, constantly learning and adapting to individual preferences. This intelligent profiling ensures that recommendations evolve with the user.

 

• Dynamic pricing algorithms factor in seasonal variations, special events, and booking lead times to give users real-time pricing information. This approach empowers travelers to make well-informed decisions and save money during peak seasons or promotional periods.

 

Onix’s AI/ML team has a track record of building solutions that can promote personalization, such as:

 

• image classification
• language identification
• news categorization
• social media content analysis
• social media sentiment analysis
• conversational engines based on natural language processing and deep learning
• image denoising in info-communication systems
• product type and style recognition
• face recognition and manipulations
• crowd video analysis and behavior pattern recognition
• mapping and geographic information systems

 

According to the 2022 report “Hospitality in 2025: Automated, Intelligent… and More Personal” by Oracle and Skift, over 30% of travelers would be interested in virtually exploring a hotel before making a reservation.

 

Many hotels’ websites already include virtual reality (VR) tours, and almost half of hoteliers said they were creating or would create VR maps of their properties to enable such tours.

 

An innovative booking website can provide 360-degree photos and videos of hotel rooms, restaurants, SPA facilities, etc., 3D models of the buildings, and similar content that travelers can access even without a VR headset. 

 

Learn more: AR and VR Business Opportunities in the Travel Industry

 

Moreover, it’s possible to offer a VR-based booking tool: travelers would explore accommodations, access the details, such as prices and availability, retrieved dynamically from the hotel’s content management system (CMS), and make reservations right in virtual reality. (Similar solutions can be used for cruise and air ticket booking, such as a system once developed by Onix.) 

 

 

Back-office website features

Back-office may include or be integrated with: 

 

• Content management system (CMS) for uploading and managing the website’s content
• An inventory management system, such as a hotel property management system (PMS) or interface where owners can list their properties
• Bookings management dashboard
• Customer relationship management system (CRM)
• Consumer loyalty program management
• Customer support
• Customer feedback and behavior data collection and analysis, and more

 

Learn more: How to Develop an App Like Airbnb? [Complete Guide]

 

Again, if you want to make your hotel booking service more efficient and competitive, you need to implement automation solutions. For example, so did misterb&b, aiming primarily to free up the customer support team and mitigate risks. Some of the automation solutions implemented by Onix include: 

 

• Identity verification

Integration with Shufti Pro enables seamless automatic validation of the authenticity and ownership of identification documents.

 

• Fraud detection

Onix’s specialists developed a sophisticated system to identify and flag suspicious financial activities in real time, including fraudulent credit card transactions, theft, cyber hacking, and dubious messages, safeguarding users’ finances.

 

• Image moderation

To prevent uploading inappropriate profile pictures or property photos facilitating off-platform arrangements, misterb&b utilizes Sightengine integration for automatic identification and removal of such content.

 

• Automated translation

Accommodation descriptions and other texts are translated automatically.

 

• Payments

A semi-automated payment system expedites and streamlines payment processing to hosts, significantly reducing processing times.

 

• Tax collection

Misterb&b automates tax collection and facilitates automatic tax returns for hosts, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

 

• Validators

Various validators are employed to minimize human errors, further enhancing operational efficiency and accuracy.

 

Travel Booking Website Development: Step-by-Step

Here are the basic steps entrepreneurs need to take to create a travel booking website:

 

1) Assemble a product development team

2) Conduct market and customer research

3) Select your travel booking website features

4) Design the website

5) Have the website programmed, tested, and launched

 

Let’s delve into the details.

 

Step 1. Organize the development team.

A skeleton team required to build travel booking websites should include:

 

• a front-end programmer
• a back-end programmer
• a specialist in user interface and user experience design (UI/UX designer) 
• a quality assurance (QA) engineer
• a DevOps engineer 
• a project manager (PM) 

 

You may have this team before or after the research and planning stages (steps 2 and 3). We recommend the first scenario because it offers valuable benefits.

 

Your travel or hospitality company may be already relying on in-house IT experts for tasks like developing and maintaining your hotel PMS, ERP systems, and other essential infrastructure. However, committing to a new project can strain your IT team, potentially impacting their efficiency and the smooth operation of existing systems.

 

Additionally, while skilled in their respective domains, your in-house team may lack expertise in developing online booking services.

 

Considering these hurdles, there are three primary options, each with its pros and cons and implications for your budget:

 

1) Recruiting local talent to form a new in-house development team offers maximum control over the development process and outcomes but demands significant effort, commitment, and investment.

 

2) Hiring individual freelancers grants access to a global talent pool and can substantially reduce project costs. However, this approach may introduce organizational, control, and reliability challenges.

 

3) Outsourcing the project involves delegating your online booking system development to a software development agency or hiring remote developers from such an agency. This option combines the advantages of in-house development with substantial time and cost savings.

 

Learn more: 2025 Guide to Software Development Outsourcing

 

 

If you choose to outsource, several factors warrant consideration: candidates' time zone and English proficiency, portfolio, client reviews, and, critically, niche experience within the travel or hospitality industry.

 

For instance, Onix’s case studies for misterb&b or TravelBid prove that our designers and developers know how to create hotel booking websites. 

Example of travel services platform designed and built by Onix – TravelBid

 

Step 2. Conduct the necessary research and ideation.

Firstly, you need to decide on the type of travel booking website you need:

 

1) Brand or white-label application for airlines, hotel chains, car rental services, cruise or tour operators, or another type of travel business.

 

2) Online travel agency (OTA) facilitating bookings from multiple travel and hospitality businesses, such as Agoda, Booking.com, and Trip.com. 

 

3) Aggregator, or meta-search engine, which doesn’t handle reservations directly but compares prices across OTAs and travel business sites. Examples include Kayak.com, Skyscanner.com, TripAdvisor, and Trivago. 

 

If you want to create a hotel booking website like Booking.com and the like, you should understand that you should both emulate these platforms and compete with them eventually.

 

A brand online booking app is most reasonable when a service provider is big enough, but direct bookings can also mean sales at higher rates for smaller businesses. A quality website increases brand awareness, creates new customer streams, and helps maintain customer loyalty.

 

A hybrid booking web app can aggregate offers from top online booking services and simultaneously offer travel products from your business(es). This will attract many users and earn additional income while increasing your brand awareness.

 

Another critical question involves the market. A family-owned hotel or local tour operator may start by targeting local audiences and, if successful, shift to the hybrid business model and expand their reach. Otherwise, covering as many cities and countries as possible may be better.

 

According to Research and Markets’ 2023 report, the Chinese market may be the most lucrative due to the burgeoning middle class fueling both domestic and international travel growth, rapidly growing internet and mobile penetration coupled with a tech-savvy population, and government initiatives and investments in infrastructure.

 

When selecting markets to target, it’s helpful to consider factors that can drive online travel sales, such as:

 

• the demand for online accommodation booking in the country (it’s most popular among the younger generation) 

 

• the demand for personalized travel experiences, luxurious accommodations, and digital innovations

 

• the targeted consumers’ disposable income (it must be growing)

 

• the availability of low-cost airline services or growing low-cost airline industry

 

• the popularity of online payments and the number of reliable online payment options available in the country

 

• the popularity of couple-oriented package vacations, weekend culture, and group travel, especially among younger professionals

 

• the hosting of sporting events by the cities or countries you plan to target

 

• influence of social media on exploring new destinations

 

• increasing Internet adoption and mobile phone usage

 

 … and even growing urbanization.

 

The online travel market is saturated with booking solutions, and replicating existing services is pointless. You have to offer customers something one-of-a-kind and develop your unique value proposition (UVP).

 

Research your would-be competitors in the identified market, focusing on the top performers. Explore the websites’ features, user flows, business models, and marketing strategies, study user reviews, and evaluate each rival’s pros and cons. Their weaknesses may become areas of opportunity for you. Their strengths should provide you with benchmarks.

 

You must also study your potential customers’ needs, problems, and preferences. Learn what they dislike about existing booking tools, what they would like to find on your website, etc. Your task is to find out what the market lacks and fill that gap or “improve” an existing service. 

 

For example, the founder of misterb&b developed the idea of an LGBTQ-friendly accommodations booking service after a negative personal experience with an Airbnb host and other LGBTQ guests’ complaints of discrimination. Currently, misterb&b is considered the largest “gay hotelier.”

 

Similarly, a group of pet owners came up with the idea of the ultimate pet-friendly travel platform. With the help of Onix’s designers, they built TravelTail to enable fellow pet owners to enjoy hotels, vacation rentals, resorts, restaurants, and activities across Nordic countries and eventually worldwide together with their companions.

 

Since TravelTail prioritizes the pets’ well-being, in addition to the traditional (but in this case, pet-friendly) accommodations, they curated a pet care services directory including veterinary clinics and grooming salons.

 

“We envision TravelTail as a game-changer, reshaping the landscape of pet-inclusive travel. The website not only offers practical solutions but also fosters a community of pet-loving travelers who share their experiences and recommendations.”

TravelTail – Travel services platform designed by Onix

 

NB. Including a domain expert or someone who can provide an “end-user’s POV” in the product development team may be helpful. For instance, if you plan to facilitate religious tourism, you will benefit from adherents’ insights. If you intend your website as a business-to-business (or B2B) travel agent, you need someone familiar with the intricacies and challenges of corporate travel on board.

 

Step 3. Select the website features and formulate the product requirements.

Approximate cost at Onix: $1,400-$2,800. (The numbers here and below are rough estimates since the costs largely depend on each client’s requirements.)

 

The research conducted at Step 2 will help you select the functionalities and features of your travel booking app and plan the business model and monetization strategy for it. Your goal is to figure out how to leverage the competitors’ benefits, omit their shortcomings, and fill the gaps.

 

It’s safer and more cost-effective to start with a minimum viable product (MVP): a functional booking system with the bare minimum of features, to which you may add features, bells, and whistles after getting the first customers’ feedback. 

 

List the primary and additional features of your booking website that align with your UVP. For example, TravelTail’s key features include:

 

• Search and booking of vetted hotels, accommodations, and unique lodging options ensuring a welcoming stay for both the travelers and their pets
• Ability to explore local pet-welcoming eateries, activities, and pet care services with helpful ratings, reviews, and enticing visuals

 

The more urgent the travelers’ problem or the greater the expected impact on the bottom line, the higher the feature should be on the list. Entrepreneurs usually start with something that existing solutions lack.

 

Learn more: How to Prioritize Features for an MVP 

 

Smartphones and tablets are poised to dominate the online travel industry, so a mobile app may be a helpful addition to your web platform.

 

Describing the future travel booking system’s features, you need to define the role-based groups (e.g., travelers, hosts, administrators, and support) and roles, describe their prospective interactions with the booking engine and with each other, and specify each user’s levels of access to each functionality and type of data. You also need to describe the user flow and user stories.

 

You should also consider possible legal and security concerns that may affect your travel booking system design. 

 

A project requirements document must comprise all of the above and other details you may wish to include.

 

 

If you don’t have the time or expertise for such writing, you may delegate it to professional software developers. A web design and development agency can help you with market and competitor research, selecting the necessary functionalities and technology stack, requirements documentation, creation of wireframes, and validating your ideas.

 

For instance, Onix provides software product discovery services to help clients bridge the gap between their vision and its technical execution.

 

 

Step 4. Design your travel booking website.

Approximate cost at Onix: $8,750-$10,500.

 

This step encompasses the development of

 

• user flows
• low-fidelity wireframes
• high-fidelity mockups
• interactive prototypes

 

The designers can make the necessary changes and repeat each step until you are satisfied. After the user experience (UX) is finalized, the designers will create your travel booking application's user interfaces (UI), including page layouts, color scheme, style, icons, and other visual elements.

 

The best practices of e-commerce UI/UX design generally apply when you design your travel booking website.

 

 

You can find more information on how to make a hotel booking website intuitive and efficient further in this article.

 

Branding, which is developed simultaneously, must distinguish your travel platform from the competition. It takes a skillful and experienced designer. For example, Onix has a team of designers that create travel booking website and mobile app interfaces and branding for tourism businesses.

 

NB. At least at this stage, you need to pick a name by which your customers will recognize your service. It must be unique, brandable, easy to remember, and concise, as it will also be your domain name.

 

For example, TravelTail’s name uses a pun (“travel tales”) celebrating the connections forged during travels with tailed friends. The name of the tourism booking system also inspired a logo that encapsulates the shared joy of travel and freedom.

 

A logo is the essential component of any travel business’s brand. For TravelBid, Onix’s designer created many logo concepts, playing around with the idea of flights, planes, and birds. They presented each concept to the client on the home page layout and with different backgrounds.

 

Finally, the client chose a combination of a stylized plane and the initial “t” as the most suitable for their business and the platform’s style.

Example of branding design for a travel service booking company by Onix

 

The last iteration of your travel website design turns the selected features into clickable, interactive screens that look almost identical to a real-life product. You can give the prototype to users to quickly collect real-time feedback and validate your concept or conduct A/B testing.

 

Step 5. Have the travel booking website built and tested.

Approximate cost at Onix: $20,000-$27,300.

 

The database development starts with creating a database diagram that includes several tables. The first should contain the resources to book, such as flights when you build a flight booking website. The second table should determine the dimension used to book the resources. Usually, it’s a calendar.

 

Complex scheduling, e.g., air ticket booking, hotel reservation, and car rental at the customers’ chosen destinations, requires pulling information from multiple tables. 

 

Dummy information is necessary for testing the database system as your team builds it.

 

The team should test the database, web pages, and middleware deployment with various booking options. Booking databases usually begin with simple structures and gradually expand to deal with more complex needs. The database and middleware systems should be scalable to handle growing booking requirements.

 

Popular payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal are essential for any travel booking site. 

 

User accounts may contain sensitive user data, and booking web apps can be vulnerable. Secure authentication, authorization, data safety, and session management should be addressed early. Specialists should scan the source code regularly to spot vulnerabilities.

 

Penetration tests help diagnose how secure the servers are and check network weaknesses. Specialists should use containerization and encrypt database and virtual private network (VPN) and transport layer security (TLS) connections.

 

Best Practices for Travel Booking Website Design

 

1. Online booking services use specific design patterns to which users got used over many years. For instance, they expect to see the search bar and some filters at once on the landing page, the ability to view accommodations on a map, and so on.

 

Designers shouldn’t invent the wheel, or they may confuse visitors otherwise. Instead, a traditional user flow and layouts will help users feel confident and find what they want quickly.

 

Learn more: How to Design a Travel Booking Platform

 

2. Clarity, consistency, and simplicity enhance the usability of the travel booking application's back- and front-office interfaces.

 

3. The essential features must be arranged to make the booking process as straightforward, intuitive, and smooth as possible. Here you can see how Onix’s design team crafted a welcoming, visually appealing, and user-friendly interface for TravelTail ensuring enjoyable browsing and seamless booking experience.

 

4. Vibrant imagery and vivid copy are a must. However, visual elements must be selected not only for their aesthetic appeal but also for their intuitive communication ability. For example, three gradients in TravelBid were designed to help users quickly understand that the site offers three services: lodgings booking, car rentals, and transfers.

 

5. Each element of your booking website or mobile app must communicate your brand’s story and values through color, shape, and other design elements. For instance, TravelBid’s main gradient includes orange hues associated with the sun, beach cocktails, and fruit, and thus vacations and fun. 

 

6. Your service’s interfaces must be well-adapted to phones, phablets, and tablets.

Onix’s designers know how to make hotel booking websites responsive

 

After the booking website launch, you should analyze and interpret users’ behavior to measure design efficiency and implement solutions that improve customer experiences and drive revenue and business growth. You should keep up with industry trends but always prioritize customer satisfaction and your business goals.

 

 

Must-Have Travel Booking Website Tech Stack

The technology stack is a set of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, software tools, integrations, database, and the server necessary for travel booking website development. The choice of technology depends on your business goals and the required functionalities.

 

Companies have several options for a ready-made booking system integration. The choice depends mainly on a website’s content management system (CMS) and budget.

 

For example, WordPress may be recommended for those who start a travel booking website for their business with a minimum budget. The popular open-source CMS system facilitates the creation of professional and functional websites without extensive coding knowledge.

 

Many free plugins and themes can ensure a beautiful overall appearance of your website. WordPress offers complete control over creating and customizing your web pages, files, and resources. Moreover, the CMS is free.

 

Those who want a unique product tailored to their company’s and customers’ specific needs may choose to create a travel booking website from scratch. 

 

It’s possible to build travel booking websites using a variety of technologies:

 

• Front-end programming languages: JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, TypeScript

 

• Front-end frameworks: Angular, React.js, Vue, Apollo, NextJS, JSF, Rebass, Jest, Kendo

 

• Back-end programming languages: PHP, Node.js, Java, Ruby, Python, C#

 

• Back-end frameworks: Ruby on Rails, Spring, ActiveAdmin, Hibernate, Laravel, CakePHP, Django, Node.js, Meteor.js, Flask, Express.js, .NET, ASP.NET, Micronaut, gRPC, RxJava, CloudCMS

 

• Cloud storage: Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Storage

 

• Cloud hosting: Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Heroku

 

• Automation frameworks: RSpec, Capybara, PhantomJS, Selenium

 

• SQL data storage: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, SQL server

 

• Key-value/data storage: Redis, Memcached

 

• Web server: Nginx, Apache

 

• Cloud-native platforms: MongoDB, AWS DynamoDB

 

• Global payment s: PayPal, Braintree, Stripe, Adyen

 

• CMS: Drupal, Joomla, Magento, Shopify, Webflow, WordPress 

 

• Messaging and communication: Twilio, Vero, MailChimp, SendGrid, Intercom

 

• Other integrations: New Relic, Sentry.io, Skylight

 

For instance, TravelBid’s tech stack included:

 

• Vue.js and Node.js for the platform's front-end and back-end applications, respectively;
• some JavaScript libraries were integrated into Vue.js to build a mobile-friendly front-end;
• the client's AWS account to set up the server infrastructure on;
• socket.io for real-time messaging;
• Stripe and PayPal for online payments.

 

If you intend to enrich your customer experience with native mobile apps, you will need to hire Kotlin and Swift programmers. A cross-platform mobile app can be made using Flutter or React Native.

 

The Cost of Travel Booking Website Development

You can estimate the cost of travel booking site development by multiplying the time required to deliver the features listed above by the man/hour cost.

 

However, even these variables depend on multiple factors:

 

• the technical complexity of your travel booking website features
• app architecture solutions
• tech stack
• integration of licensed APIs and third-party services
• the number of specialists on the development team
• their salaries or hourly rates
• their location and qualification 
• the type of contract with the developers…

 

…and more.

 

Here’s a breakdown of a mid-range travel booking website development, based on TravelBid.

 

 

If you need a mobile version of your travel booking service, the development time may grow by 50-60%.

 

The salaries of specialists who build travel booking websites are another major factor. The gap between fees charged by IT professionals worldwide often enables entrepreneurs to save half of their planned budget without compromising quality.

Source: Accelerance

 

However, choosing a dev team based solely on the lowest pricing or budget estimation would be a mistake. You need a partner who knows exactly how to build a hotel booking website or another system your business requires.

 

For instance, Onix’s average software developer’s rate of $35/hour leaves you with the minimum price tag of $30,000 for a website like TravelBid. This is an approximate number, so it’s best to contact our representatives to discuss your project specifics and get a more accurate quote.

 

You also need to know how to make online hotel booking website profitable.

 

Travel Booking Platform Monetization Strategies

Most travel booking websites use agency, merchant, or advertising models.

 

Agency

Onix’s partner misterb&b is an example of an agency business model. The platform is a middleman between hospitality service providers and consumers and takes a commission on every transaction.

 

 

This model can be risky for a new booking application. It may be better to start with a lower commission, gain the trust of travel businesses and consumers, and only then consider charging up to 25% as a commission.

 

Read also: Features and Costs for Your Travel Web Platform Development

 

Merchant

The company buys flights, hotel rooms, or other services in bulk at a wholesale rate and sells them with a retail margin on its platform. The bookings are made on the website or in the mobile app. 

 

Expedia operates on the merchant business model.

 

OTAs often combine the merchant and agency models for broader market coverage. 

 

It may be a good idea to offer paying users extra functionalities, special offers, discounts, and lower prices. A travel website may also charge users a fixed fee for booking services or other service providers for some of the platform’s extra features. Free premium access for the first few months will attract users and gain their trust and loyalty.

 

Advertising

Booking apps can charge fees for placing banner ads about special offers, ongoing events, discounts, etc., or for redirecting visitors to partner airlines, hotel websites, and other service providers and OTAs. This model can be suitable for an aggregator or a new travel application.

 

For instance, TripAdvisor displays advertisements and is paid per click on the link leading to the advertiser’s website. 

 

There are other possible ways to monetize your travel application. For example, a booking web app can enter affiliate programs with major search engines and OTAs by integrating their APIs. This expands their services and brings in additional income via commissions on the sales. 

 

Wrapping Up

For a travel and hospitality business, travel booking systems ensure the accessibility of real-time information to a company’s employees and customers.

 

When a traveler books a hotel room or airplane ticket directly from the company’s website, OTA, aggregator site, on the phone, or in the company’s office, the data will be instantly updated in the booking engine and all distribution channels.

 

This essentially eliminates the risk of overbooking and information loss. Booking process automation reduces the workload, errors, time, and costs associated with manual data entry.

 

Modern tourism booking systems enable travelers to find desired services and compare various options quickly. A convenient booking process reduces a customer’s path to their purchase. Since more leads can simultaneously interact with the system than with a human agent and do so 24/7, more reservations can be made, increasing sales.

 

Online reservation systems also collect immense volumes of customer data, analyzing which companies can create more effective marketing strategies and tailored offers. Smoother personalized customer experiences will drive repeat business.

 

Tech entrepreneurs who create travel booking websites as a service can reap the benefits of an online marketplace. An online hotel booking system can bring together a tremendous variety of consumers and service providers and unlock rich revenue streams for tech entrepreneurs, such as fees, commissions, subscriptions, affiliate programs, app as a platform model, and ads. 

 

Regardless of your service type and the number of your ticket, tour, or hotel booking website features, both the back-office software and customer interface should be intuitive and user-friendly. The visual design should entice visitors to book while inspiring confidence and trust. 

 

As a hospitality software development company, we have a deep experience in developing such solutions. If you need help with implementing your idea or are wondering how to create a travel booking website for your unique business — please feel free to ask Onix!

 

FAQ

 

How to create a hotel booking website or a similar system?

The steps to building an online travel booking software are as follows: 

 

1. Conduct market, consumer, and competitor research.

2. Figure out your monetization strategy.

3. Prioritize the travel booking platform features and formulate the software product requirements.

4. Design, build, and test your travel booking website.

 

To avoid problems and save time and money, we recommend contacting experienced travel and hospitality software developers as early as possible in the project.

 

Is there a difference in the development of a travel booking website and a mobile app?

The technologies and tools used in the development of solutions for different platforms will differ, but the steps to the software development process are the same.

 

How long does it take to build an online booking system for a travel business?

You will need 3 to 6 months to create a functioning version of a travel booking website.

 

What you should know before starting building a booking system?

 

1. Market conditions
2. Competition
3. Target audience
4. Type and key functionalities of the travel booking system
5. Applicable legal requirements and security-related regulations
6. Revenue generation strategy for the booking website
7. Approximate cost of building a travel booking platform

 

Should I create my own booking system or outsource it to a software development company?

The choice depends on your budget, time constraints, technical experience, and product requirements. In-house development requires a significant investment of time, money, and resources.

 

Your project team must possess the technical skills, experience, and understanding of the technical requirements and industry standards for travel booking website development and design.

 

Outsourcing the job to a software development company can be more convenient and cost-efficient, especially if you lack the necessary expertise in-house.

 

A reputable agency can provide a team of experienced designers and developers who know how to create travel booking websites, build a custom reservation system to your specifications, and provide ongoing support and maintenance afterward to ensure your service remains up-to-date and functioning correctly.