Web platformBooking & travelOriginal by Expedia Group
Hotels.com is a hotel booking site focused purely on accommodation and known for retaining users through its loyalty programme. A structure that rewards guests with a free night or points after a certain number of stays brings back even users who compare prices. A wide choice of hotels, member-only prices and a simple booking flow are the model's other strengths.
Building something similar rests on hotel inventory and rate integrations plus a booking engine, with a loyalty system that calculates rewards and points on top. A guest website and mobile app, hotel content management, segment rules for member prices, a customer service panel and a reconciliation system with suppliers are part of the scope too.
How Hotels.com works: the core user flow
How many apps and dashboards do you need?
Guest website and mobile app
The interfaces where guests search hotels, book and track their loyalty points.
Hotel and content panel
The panel for managing hotel information, photos and special rates.
Customer service and loyalty panel
The panel for managing booking changes, points adjustments and campaigns.
Critical features of a product like Hotels.com
Reward nights and points system
Accumulates points based on nights stayed or spend and applies them as a discount on the next booking.
Member-only prices
Shows special discounted rate plans to logged-in members and mobile app users.
Hotel inventory integration
Combines availability and rates from bed banks and direct hotel connections.
Book now, pay later
Flexible payment options where payment is taken at the hotel or after the cancellation window ends.
Price match guarantee
A claim and refund-the-difference process if a cheaper price is found.
Location and theme filters
Search by theme and location, such as hotels with a pool, pet-friendly or family hotels.
What goes into the first version, what comes later
First version (MVP)
- Hotel search, filtering and detail pages
- Integration with one or two bed banks
- Booking, online payment and confirmation document
- Membership and basic points accrual
- Customer service and reconciliation panel
Later releases
- Reward night rules and membership tiers
- Mobile app-only prices
- Direct hotel extranet
- Price match guarantee process
Modules and how the budget is calculated
The budget is calculated with 360 SOFT’s pricing model from the modules below, about 30 screens and the project’s complexity: roughly 195 person-days for the full scope and 127 person-days for the first version. Every module you drop lowers the budget directly.
| Module | Phase |
|---|---|
| Sign-up, login, social login | First version |
| User profile and settings | First version |
| Roles and permissions | First version |
| Admin dashboard | First version |
| Booking / reservations | First version |
| Advanced search and filters | First version |
| Maps, location, routing | First version |
| Online payments (Stripe / PSP) | First version |
| Ratings and reviews | First version |
| Email / SMS notifications | First version |
| Multi-language | First version |
| Reporting and analytics | Later release |
| Third-party API integration | First version |
Hosting, SMS, map APIs, app store accounts and payment-provider fees are separate items. Maintenance and improvements (optional): €650 / month. We send a fixed written price within 24 hours after a free discovery call.
The hard parts
Cost of the loyalty programme
If the financial burden of reward nights and points is not modelled correctly, it eats into margins; the rules must be designed carefully.
Rate parity
Member prices and campaigns must not conflict with the pricing rules in supplier contracts.
Inventory freshness
If availability data from bed banks goes stale, bookings will not be confirmed; pre-booking checks are required.
Business model
The main revenue is the commission on hotel bookings or the margin on rooms bought wholesale. The loyalty programme generates indirect revenue by lowering customer acquisition costs and increasing repeat bookings. Cross-sales such as travel insurance, transfers and activities, and visibility packages offered to hotels, are additional revenue items.
Get a free quote for your project
Let us scope it together and send a fixed written quote within 24 hours. NDA on request; you own the source code.
Choosing a company to build an app like Hotels.com
Most people searching “website like hotels.com” are really looking for a reliable app development company. When comparing quotes, check four things:
- Can you try similar products they have shipped, in the stores or live?
- Are the source code, design files, servers and store accounts transferred to you by contract?
- Do they show a working demo every two weeks, with written scope and acceptance criteria?
- Are maintenance, scaling and GDPR/security costs written into the quote?
Copyright and trademarks
A business model and features are generally not protected on their own, but the Hotels.com name, logo, interface design, content and source code are. That is why we build a product with similar functionality but your own brand, design and code. This is not legal advice; we recommend a trademark search before launch.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build a website like Hotels.com?
A hotel booking site integrated with bed banks can be ready in a few months. Detailed loyalty programme rules and a mobile app can be added in later phases.
Should the loyalty programme be in the first version?
A simple points system can be added to the first version; reward nights and tier rules should be switched on only after their cost has been calculated with real booking data.
Are there copyright or trademark issues?
The hotel booking and loyalty model is free to use; the Hotels.com name, logo, design and content may not be copied. This information is not legal advice.
Where do I find hotel inventory?
Bed banks and wholesale suppliers give quick access to a large pool of hotels. For regional strength, direct contracts with hotels and an extranet are needed.
