B2B Booking Platform for a Destination Management Company: Case Study

Tech Stack

JavaScript, Vue.js, Java, MySQL, Nginx, Spring

Start Date

June 2024 (ongoing project)

Client Background

Our client in this project was Tay Istanbul, a best-in-class Destination Management Company (DMC) headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. The client had accumulated deep expertise in arranging tailored wedding ceremonies for travelers from India and wanted to expand its business with Goxxho, a highly sophisticated online platform. According to the client’s vision, Goxxho was to become a top portal for promoting and selling tourism services in Turkey, with the main focus on tapping into the expansive Indian market. Such ambitions required a solid and scalable booking engine, and the client ultimately chose GP Travel Enterprise to fuel its digital transformation.

Project Goals & Challenges

The major challenge for Tay Istanbul was to transition to scalable, automated operations that would provide the company with more space for high-level tasks and marketing. To achieve this, the company was looking for a full-fledged B2B software solution that would automate its core business processes and activate online sales functionality. They were in search of an established technology partner who could put them ahead of the game and deliver an innovation-friendly system covering:

A secure B2B portal for travel agents;
A solid back-office system for managing bookings, inventory, and content;
A dedicated extranet for service suppliers;
Smooth API connectivity to various global travel service suppliers.

At the evaluation stage, Tay Istanbul was particularly impressed with the live demonstration of GP Travel Enterprise. The platform’s high performance, speed, and rich feature set perfectly aligned with the client’s vision of a dynamically evolving travel tech product. The core functionalities of GPTE — including B2B online sales, dynamic business rule management, and the ability to handle both direct contracts and third-party integrations — were a perfect match for Tay Istanbul’s strategic goals. On top of that, the client highlighted our advanced modules such as Scheduler of Transfers & Activities and Discounts & Promotions.

Key Project Goals

The project’s primary mission was to adapt the functionality of GP Travel Enterprise to the client’s needs. Additionally, the project scope covered several specific operational deliverables:

Integration with the Garanti Bank payment gateway to simplify secure online payments;
Custom enhancements to voucher printing and generation;
Expansion of the system’s data directories to include new hotel classifications and meal types;
Development of more flexible and thorough price list formats.

Project & Its Development

The primary goal of the project was to set up the GP Travel Enterprise platform for a market-ready state. Most development efforts targeted the adjustment of our platform to meet Tay Istanbul’s needs while providing the key customizations they ordered. Among others, this included successfully connecting with Garanti Bank and creating a new “Price per Allocation” list that worked better with their business model.

Price per Allocation Functionality

Key Milestones

The project progression was divided into several distinct phases to ensure the most effective and transparent delivery.

Analysis Phase: During this initial phase, we conducted a thorough analysis of Tay Istanbul’s business requirements. Our teams cooperated to devise a detailed Vision & Scope document containing the core business needs, solution vision, and system functional requirements. This document clearly defined a roadmap for phased implementation.
Phase 1. Implementation and Customization: At this stage, we took care of the core setup of GP Travel Enterprise. Key outcomes included the complete integration of the Garanti Bank payment gateway and the delivery of the requested adjustments for vouchers (B2B and B2C client voucher print control) and price lists. This provided our client with an operational platform tuned for their immediate business needs.
Phase 2. Ongoing Enhancement: The project is now in its second phase, with the focus on adding even more advanced features. This includes upgrading the travel product search tool and creating advanced user notifications for when a product is out of stock or when there are booking restrictions.

New Hotel Types

The division of the project workflow into stages provided Tay Istanbul with ample room for custom adjustments, finding the perfect balance between the standardized nature of the core of GP Travel Enterprise and individual operational needs, which can be addressed by customizing this core functionality.

Results & Business Impact

GP Solutions has successfully delivered a fully configured version of GP Travel Enterprise, extended with the critical customizations necessary for the client to operate in the target market. The system is now in the final pre-launch stage, and the client is getting ready to go live and start selling travel products online.

New Meal Types

The project is under a wide support agreement, which provides Tay Istanbul with a guarantee of stability and reliability as the client prepares for its official launch. At the same time, GP Solutions is working on the development of the additional features stated in Phase 2, making sure that GP Travel Enterprise not only meets the demands of today but is also ready for future expansion of the client’s business. By choosing our platform as a technological foundation, Tay Istanbul has a versatile, scalable solution that is designed to make the company a digital leader in Turkey’s tourism sector.

Pricing Depending on the Number of Guests

Business-Transforming B2B Booking Platform for a DMC from Turkey