VPUT

Client:

VPUT

VPUT is an aggregator for apartment rentals in Bulgaria. Over a dozen people worked on this project, with an overall investment of 300,000 euros. This rental property database currently features 2,200 units.

The client's goal

The idea for the project originated at Webdelo. We had the idea to create an accommodation booking service in Bulgaria with the potential to scale to other countries.

The goal is to provide the highest quality service by focusing efforts on just one country. The unique aspect of this project is that most property owners do not reside in Bulgaria, so they need assistance with check-ins, check-outs, and apartment cleaning. Website users have access to a wide range of properties, and the service earns a percentage from each successful booking.

Solution

The solution was the development of a service for booking apartments and rooms in Bulgaria. The service connects property owners and guests, providing the following functionalities:

Communication with property owners through the website
Calendar and booking of available dates
Ability to set prices for different seasonal periods, block specific dates in the calendar
Management of multiple properties by a single owner
Online payment with full or partial payment. For partial payments, the client completes the remaining balance upon check-in.
Refund system for standard (short-term rental) and long-term conditions (6 months or more)
Integration with social networks
Moderation of new listings
Messaging with apartment owners through the website, similar to Airbnb. Additional contact details are provided after booking payment.
Three user interfaces: for property owners, guests, and administrators.
The admin interface includes a built-in call center.

Design

The website design extends beyond just a few types of pages visible to visitors. We meticulously crafted the design of personal accounts for both guests and property owners.

The mobile and desktop versions are developed based on UX audit data. The entire booking process can be navigated independently by the user. For instance, the search page displays each apartment on the site map and features convenient filtering options based on 20 parameters. On the apartment page, we introduced a user-friendly booking form, infographics to illustrate apartment characteristics, and a display of reviews.

During development, we incorporated two user journey scenarios:

Through searching for available dates with the option to filter results.
Through curated selections of apartments - based on locations, budget, and living space (especially relevant as we curated selections based on our experience).

Web development

We utilized a custom PHP framework that encompasses all the necessary tools for the core system, ensuring stability and high performance. The use of Angular enabled us to create an interactive user interface, providing a pleasant user experience on the website. To optimize and cache data, we implemented Memcached and also leveraged the Laravel framework as an API service to ensure reliable integration with external systems. This technology stack guarantees reliability, performance, and facilitates our clients in conveniently leasing and renting properties.

Notification Center

Push notification

Allows you to receive notifications on all types of devices
Reduces response time to system events
Eliminates the need to create a separate web application

SMS notification

Multilingual SMS notifications are sent according to the primary language of the account
Various engines can be used to send SMS
SMS can be sent using various services depending on the location of the recipient; saving you money.

E-mail notification

Multilingual email templates based on the language of the account
HTML template layout
Templates adapted to different devices

Affiliate Program

Simple registration of a partner and receiving an affiliate code to connect referrals
Ability to use the affiliate code in the form of a link, widget or code in a way most convenient to the partner
Referral makes the booking after registration
The referral receives a discount, the partner receives a part of the service profit on the first booking

Online Payment

Single-stage for quick payments:

Many individuals with limited mobility navigate online using accessibility technologies or keyboards.

Two-stage payment:

Authorization of funds on the client's card.
Confirmation of the transaction by the owner.
Deferred withdrawal or unlocking in case of rejectio

Multilingualism

Domain-based Multilingualism

It allows the promotion of the website in different languages based on the domain.

Session-based Multilingualism

Users can switch languages and have their choice remembered within any domain.

Account-bound Multilingualism

The selected language is saved in the user's account, enabling notifications and mailings in the user's preferred language.

One-Click Registration via Social Networks

Automated Account Data Population

Including profile photo, phone number, full name, etc.

Automatic Posting to User Accounts

Ability to post promotional content in the feeds of partners.

Reviews from Friends

Reviews from Friends Verification of social connections of clients for the ability to leave reviews about the property owner.

Support for 3 Social Networks

Facebook, Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki.

Site Activity Report

All site actions are accessible in the moderation section. The site moderator can assist in refining apartment listings or expediting responses from property owners.

Examples of informational messages:

Addition of a new property
Update of a property
Reservation processing
Payment for a reservation

SEO

To promote our newly started project, we employed SEO optimization and marketing technologies.

Multiregional Promotion

Since we offered apartments in all resort cities in Bulgaria, we created a landing page for each, such as Sunny Beach.

Each city page has its metadata, description, and assortment, being promoted in organic search.

Foreign Language

Targeting For multilingual promotion to other pages, we used separate domains. For Ukraine - UA, for Europe - EU, for Russian - ru.

Quality Content

Content moderation to:

Manually set Meta-Title and Meta-Description, adding geo-tags.
Refine the layout of the listing.
Specify alt and title for each image in the gallery.
Remove unwanted content.

In 20% of cases, we additionally contacted property owners to obtain additional photos.

Marketing

Print Advertising

Street Banners

Placement of banners in high-traffic areas and on balconies of our apartments

Distribution of brochures

Distributed over a million brochures in major cities in Moldova and Ukraine.

Brochures prepared for property owners and potential guests in three languages: Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Russian.

Advertising Integrations - Bloggers

Collaboration with popular bloggers, organizing tours for TV stars.

SERM (Search Engine Reputation Management)

Working with reviews

Conducting contests to motivate video reviews. Calling guests after their stay to get text reviews for apartments.

Organization of Additional Services

Implemented additional services to expand the catalog and improve service quality.

Full management of apartments under contract

Сheck-in and check-out, cleaning, bedding change, customer search, and advertisement photos.

Partial management

A subset of services from the first list.

Airport transfer organization.

Transportation Organization to Bulgaria

Collaboration with all passenger transport companies in Moldova.

Ticket search through the administration of passenger companies. Helped guests from Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia to find cheaper tickets to Bulgaria.

Achievements

Organic Traffic

Long-term results, the best traffic channel.

One of the recent peaks: 7,000 visitors per month from Google search, and up to 8,000 monthly during the years of intensive effort. SEO promotion in search provides long-term results.

Bookings

Around 1,500 successful reservations for the season.