Online booking service tool to expand customer base

Abstract

Today, small and medium-sized businesses in the leisure sector face significant challenges caused by war, economic instability, and the loss of customers. Many of them are unable to maintain the technical side of their operations  particularly their websites due to the high costs of time and money. This, in turn, deprives them of visibility and competitiveness in the market. This work focuses on developing an online booking system aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses engaged in housing and leisure rentals, while also facilitating future cooperation with potential partners. The main idea is to simplify the process of presenting a rental property: the owner only needs to upload photos, add a description, and set a price through a user-friendly interface. This approach minimizes both financial and time expenditures. The monetization model is based on receiving a percentage from each booking. Such an approach benefits small and medium-sized landlords, as it does not require substantial initial investments. The system architecture includes the following main components: User interface, which enables interaction between property owners and customers; Server side, where business logic is implemented and all computations are performed; API routes, which handle data exchange, optimizing speed and synchronization. Additional functionality is provided by security modules and payment gateways, ensuring data protection and the efficiency of financial transactions. All information about customers, property owners, and reservations is stored in a database, guaranteeing reliable and fast access to data.