Introduction
When it comes to developing hotel apps, success is not only determined by what features are included, but also by the creation of scalable, adaptive, and dependable software. Each hotel property will have different usage and traffic volumes over the years from guests, and adding mobile capabilities will require a solid foundation in both the backend architecture and the data model.
At Appricotsoft, we have successfully provided clients in the hospitality industry with the support they need to navigate these challenges through the combination of sound architecture and practical implementation of hotel apps. The following article will discuss each primary technical decision you must make throughout the entire development process of your hotel’s guest experience application – from guest identity management to multi-property management – and how we approach each in order to minimize the risks associated with them while duplicating the reliability of them.
Importance of Architecture for Hospitality
When developing a guest experience application for a hotel, the end-user may never experience your backend; however, the end-user will experience the consequences of architectural decisions made early in the development lifecycle such as slower response times, misalignment between reservation information, or failed requests made by the user.
Good architecture enables:
- Seamless in booking & check-in process
- To assist in managing multiple properties without duplicating information in the backend
- To manage guest identities and preferences throughout multiple stays in a hotel
- To ensure proper service request tracking has occurred, therefore allowing for accurate billing
- To ensure accountability by providing service request history, security, idempotency, and audit trails in compliance with relevant legislation
To begin, let us discuss the foundations of good hotel app architecture.
Monolith, Microservices, or Modular Monolith: Which One Should You Use for Your Backend?
There are many different backend architectures out there, so how do we decide which is best?
The following list outlines our thoughts about these three options:
- Monolith
Typically, a monolithic architecture is the easiest to develop; it’s perfect for smaller, simpler hotels, and MVPs (minimum viable products). However, once properties start to grow at scale, and the logic behind each area starts to become intermingled, it gets much more complicated to scale.
- Microservices
Microservices are great if you’re developing larger hotel brands or platforms. If you’re using multiple teams – for example, one team is responsible for the booking, another team is responsible for the guest experience, and a third team is responsible for payments – this option is ideal. However, you must have robust DevOps and observability processes in place.
- Modular Monolith
We consider the modular monolith as a good strategy from the very start. You have clear lines of separation between the different modules (reservation, guest, service) giving you the ability to create a single deployable unit with clear boundaries for maintenance.
We’re often asked what reference architecture we would recommend, and we suggest a modular monolith to start with at Appricotsoft using our Unison delivery method where quality and predictability are part of all layers from the very beginning of the development process.
Creating Systems for Multiple Properties
A hotel system that is designed for one or two hotels will typically have basic assumptions about the property (location), the type of inventory, and the operations of that property. Once you are managing multiple hotels, or multiple franchise properties, your assumptions quickly become more complicated.
Best Practice / Design Principles:
- Explicitly model hotel entities (hotel properties, hotel brands, hotel regions, etc.)
- Scoped configuration (tax, room-type, service availability)
- Isolate inventory by hotel property, but allow for shared guest/user profiles across properties.
- Define Roles and Permissions at the hotel property level.
This design will allow for growth or franchise expansion, whether that be to 2 hotels or 200 hotels.
Creating Guest Identities and Guest Profiles
Guest identity is more than just an email and name; guest identity is the foundational component to personalization, loyalty programs, and consistent service.
Data Model elements:
- Primary ID (email address, phone number, federated identity (Google, Apple))
- Visit history (booking history, feedback history, preference history)
- (Preference history for guest) Room type, Language, Allergies, Pillow type
- Linked account (corporate billing, family members, etc.)
Always design your guest data model with guest privacy and security as a priority. Use data minimization and encrypt sensitive information. Bonus points for SSO integration with your PMS or other CRM systems.
The Lifecycle of a Reservation
Reservations are a cornerstone of hotel operations, and therefore, one of the most important aspects of a hotel application
The most critical states to maintain in a reservation system are:
- Pending → Confirmed → Checked-In → Checked-Out → Canceled
- Payment Status: Pending, Partially Paid, Fully Paid, Refunded
- Room Assignment: Pre-assigned or Dynamic Assignment
- Linked Services: Transfer, Spa, and Dining etc.
Reservations must be idempotent. In other words, if a mobile request is attempted more than once (due to connectivity problems or other issues), it should not create a duplicate booking (double booking) or charge the guest more than twice.
Use Tokens, Timestamps, or Unique Client Request IDs to eliminate duplicates caused by mobile and/or backend retries from occurring.
The Lifecycle of a Request (Towel to Taxi)
Room Service, Extra Towels, and Transfers are all examples of Requests that can impact a guest’s experience and all require tracking, visibility, and accountability throughout the lifecycle of that request by both the guest and hotel staff.
Consider the following when designing a Request Associate:
- Request Status: Requested, Accepted, In Progress, Completed, Canceled
- Timestamp & Employee handling the request at the time of each status change.
- Ability for Guest to Provide Feedback after the request has been completed.
- Ability for Hotel Staff to Receive Real-Time Notifications via Integrations or Dashboard.
In designing this flow, we usually incorporate Audit Trails into the system so that both hotel employees and guests can see what has occurred and the date/time when it occurred, thus creating measurable data for Service Quality.
Importance of Idempotency and Audit Trails
In hotel technology, there are situations where the same button might get pressed multiple times due to poor Wi-Fi connection, during a rush at check-in, or simply because a Customer is confused. Thus, while idempotency could be considered a bonus in some systems, we view it as a requirement.
ID the following must happen for any API action which makes an entry into your database:
- Accepts a unique idempotent key.
- Is safe to be retried without side effects.
- Returns deterministic responses.
Similarly, audit trails are critical; in fact, we maintain these characteristics as well.
- Who made the change?
- When did it happen?
- What changed from before to after?
- From what device or system?
Audit trails are helpful for different purposes, from debugging issues to complying with regulations to assisting Guests with support requests.
How We Deliver on This at Appricotsoft
At Appricotsoft, we utilise our custom-built Unison Framework so that everything we do is clear, predictable and scalable from the beginning. From the beginning of your project, we work in cooperation with our Client’s Project Team to build consensus on key decisions and conduct weekly demos that our Client’s can feel. Each Project will have:
- A project brief and an accurate backlog.
- Clearly defined acceptance criteria for all features.
- A risk register to track any architectural or integration risks.
- A live demo cadence so that we can re-evaluate our progress regularly.
- Quality gates: code review, testing, quality assurance, documentation, and deploy readiness.
Want to see how this looks in practice? Check out our post on Hotel App UX Patterns or how we manage MVP to Rollout in Hotel Platforms.
Concluding Thoughts
Your hotel’s application’s structure and data model can enable growth or hinder it. Selecting a scalable framework, properly defining your core objects in your application, and incorporating best practices, such as idempotency and audit logging, are all critical to creating an expandable platform for your app to hold real and lasting customers.
Will You Partner with Us to Fast-track Your Hotel App Development?
👉 Start building today! Request an estimate for developing a hotel application, and let’s design a solid architecture today!