Introduction

In a strategic partnership with Expedia, Indie Ridge was engaged by Curately — an exciting new tech startup revolutionising the travel space — to create The Family Hotel Guide. This robust and intuitive global platform is expertly crafted to streamline the hotel selection process for families. Leveraging the power of a headless CMS, the website distinguishes itself through unmatched speed and an effortlessly navigable user experience

Challenge

The challenge was clear: to simplify the complex and time-consuming task of family trip planning into an enjoyable experience. Families needed a solution that was quick, accurate, and tailored to their unique needs, eliminating the friction typically associated with online hotel booking.

Solution

Innovative Scoring Algorithm

Central to the solution is a proprietary scoring algorithm devised by our team, which analyses and ranks hotels based on a family’s specific requirements. This algorithm considers factors such as family size, children's ages, and desired amenities to curate a list of hotels that best match the family’s profile. By simplifying decision-making and reducing search time, we've delivered a platform where convenience meets customisation.

AI Travel Concierge Development

Looking towards the future, we're excited to be in the development stages of an AI travel concierge. This advanced feature will elevate the personalised planning experience to new heights. Families will be able to create custom avatars that embody their unique preferences and characteristics. The AI Concierge will then harness these profiles to handpick hotels, crafting bespoke travel itineraries that feel personal and thoughtfully tailored, just like a trusted family advisor.

Technology 

We discarded the traditional website architecture in favour of a headless CMS approach, offering a seamless user experience. By employing a feature-driven design within a layered architecture, we ensured that each component—from UI to data access—worked in concert to optimise performance.

Upgraded Tech Stack

Our technical solution is both sophisticated and streamlined.

• The imminent adoption of the NextJS 14 app router for optimal loading and interaction.
• Vercel Pro plans top-tier hosting services.
• Prisma and MongoDB for a robust and agile database framework.
• Typescript is coupled with Zod for rigorous validation, ensuring reliability.
• React Query and Zustand for efficient state management.
• Mapbox integration to enhance location-based searches.
• Expedia API interfacing for real-time data on room availability and pricing.

Scalability

The platform manages a comprehensive database of over 104,000 hotel pages and 64,000 destination pages, supported by approximately 3 million images hosted via a custom CDN solution.

Results

Since the launch of The Family Hotel Guide, Curately has observed a significant reduction in the time families spend searching for suitable hotels. The proprietary scoring algorithm is a testament to the site's sophistication, offering personalised recommendations efficiently.

Conclusion

Indie Ridge has successfully delivered a cutting-edge solution for Curately, reaffirming their commitment to innovation in the start up sector. With an eye on future enhancements, including React Server Components and partial pre-rendering, The Family Hotel Guide is poised to redefine how families plan travel, setting a new benchmark in the industry.

Curately invites you to experience the future of family travel planning. Discover a world where choice, speed, and personalisation meet to make finding the perfect hotel as simple as a click. Visit The Family Hotel Guide and embark on a seamless journey to your next family adventure.