Exoft worked with a travel technology provider to update and expand a B2B accommodation booking platform for workforce and business travel. With this solution, companies can book employee accommodation, manage travel policies, approve bookings, access negotiated rates, and create detailed reports for different teams, locations, and projects. We handled platform development, supplier and payment integrations, data engineering, and step-by-step updates from the .NET Framework to newer versions such as .NET 8. This made the platform easier to scale, maintain, and expand into new markets.

Client

Our client is a travel technology company offering a B2B accommodation booking platform for corporate and workforce travel. The platform is primarily used in the UK, Ireland, and across Europe and has recently expanded into the US market.

This platform is built specifically for business needs, not for consumers. Companies can set up dedicated booking spaces, register employees, set travel policies, manage budgets, approve bookings, track expenses, and view detailed reports all in one place.

The Challenge

The client’s booking platform was well-established, but some parts of its system became difficult to scale and maintain. The system had a large legacy core, older .NET Framework tech, complex supplier integrations, and heavily used data components.

As more customers joined and the client got ready to enter the US market, these issues became more noticeable. The client needed to keep the platform stable while adding new features, boosting performance, and updating older parts of the system. A full rewrite was too risky, so modernization had to happen gradually without disrupting active bookings or daily operations.

Our Cooperation

Exoft joined the project at the end of 2020. Our engineers worked alongside the client’s teams, helping with backend development, adding new features, supporting the platform, improving performance, and updating the existing system step by step. We focused on three main service areas:

  • Platform Development: Exoft developed and updated backend features for booking, approvals, booking changes, reporting, company settings, and supplier-based accommodation searches.
  • Data Engineering: Exoft worked on high-volume supplier and pricing data processing. The platform receives large rate files every 20 minutes, with smaller files containing 400K+ rows. Our team converted this data into the platform’s format, matched supplier rates with hotel records, supported dynamic pricing, removed expired records, improved database use, and used caching to keep searches and pricing fast.
  • Legacy Modernization: Exoft updated older parts of the platform step by step, making sure daily operations were not interrupted. Our engineers migrated smaller services from the .NET Framework to newer versions, such as .NET Core and .NET 8, whenever updates or new features were needed.

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Solution

The platform serves as a central hub for B2B accommodation bookings for workforce and corporate travel. It lets companies manage employee accommodation, set travel policies, approve bookings, access negotiated hotel rates, and track travel spending all in one place.

  • Accommodation Search and Booking: Users can search for accommodation by city, address, postcode, and other characteristics. Search results can be filtered by cancellation terms, meal options, parking, EV parking, truck parking, amenities, property type, etc.
  • Corporate Travel Policies: The platform supports booking rules tailored to each company. Businesses can decide which types of accommodation, rates, and options their users can book. This helps me control travel spending and keep bookings in line with company policies.
  • Approval Workflows: The system lets bookings go through internal approval before they are confirmed. Approvers can check if a booking meets budget limits, travel rules, and company policies before it is finalized.
  • Booking Amendments: Users can update their bookings directly on the platform, such as changing dates or guest names. The system then updates the relevant supplier or hotel with these changes.
  • Negotiated Rates and Dynamic Pricing: The platform supports corporate rates that are agreed directly with hotels or suppliers. It uses outside market rate data to calculate dynamic discounts and keep prices competitive for corporate customers.
  • Reporting and Visibility: Companies can track bookings, accommodation spending, savings, employee travel activity, and other travel data. These reports give managers a clear view of workforce travel and accommodation costs in one place.

Results & Impact

Exoft became a long-term technology partner for the client, helping to improve the platform and support daily operations and market growth. The cooperation helped the client achieve several important results:

  • Gradual modernization from .NET Framework to .NET 8
  • Improved scalability of legacy services and heavily used data components
  • Faster processing of large pricing files with 400K+ rows arriving every 20 minutes
  • More efficient supplier data mapping and rate processing
  • Stronger readiness for US market expansion