New Partnership: Custom Booking Platform for What About Tours
We're thrilled to announce our partnership with What About Tours, a Rome-based tour company, for whom we built a complete custom booking platform that replaced their limited WordPress solution.
About What About Tours
What About Tours is a professional tour company based in Rome, Italy, offering free walking tours and premium guided experiences across the Eternal City. They needed a website that could handle their unique booking requirements and give them complete control over their operations.
The Challenge
What About Tours came to us with a clear problem: their WordPress website was holding them back. While WordPress is great for many use cases, it simply couldn't provide the level of customization they needed for their specific booking workflow.
WordPress Limitations They Faced:
- ✗ No way to manage dynamic time slots with custom capacity controls
- ✗ Couldn't close specific time slots on demand (bad weather, holidays, etc.)
- ✗ Limited booking dashboard with poor visibility of customer data
- ✗ Plugins couldn't handle their multi-language tour requirements
- ✗ No seamless integration with GetYourGuide for premium tour referrals
- ✗ Manual processes eating up customer service time
Our Solution
We built a completely custom platform from the ground up, designed specifically for their business operations. No WordPress plugins, no limitations—just a solution that works exactly the way they need it to.
1. Advanced Booking System
The core of the platform is a sophisticated booking engine built specifically for free walking tours:
- ✓ Real-time availability - customers see only available slots
- ✓ Date, time, and language selection - flexible tour options
- ✓ Capacity management - automatic slot closure when full
- ✓ Automated email confirmations - via Microsoft SMTP
- ✓ Customer data collection - organized and accessible
2. Professional Admin Dashboard
A powerful control panel giving tour operators complete control over their business:
- ✓ Full CRUD operations - create, update, delete tours
- ✓ Dynamic scheduling - manage time slots and capacity
- ✓ Cancel or close slots - on-demand for any reason
- ✓ Real-time booking monitoring - see bookings as they happen
- ✓ Customer history tracking - complete booking records
- ✓ Photo management - using Cloudflare R2 cloud storage
3. GetYourGuide Integration
Seamless integration for premium tours through affiliate partnerships:
- ✓ Referral widget - smooth UI transitions to partner platform
- ✓ Revenue optimization - earn commissions on premium tours
- ✓ Clear differentiation - users understand free vs. premium options
4. Additional Features
Customer Experience
- • Private tour inquiry system
- • WhatsApp & email integration
- • TripAdvisor reviews display
- • Social media integration
- • Mobile-responsive design
Technical Features
- • SEO optimization for Rome tourism
- • Fast loading performance
- • Secure data handling
- • Cloud-based infrastructure
- • Scalable architecture
Technology Stack
We built this platform using modern, reliable technologies:
Frontend
- • Next.js
- • React
- • TypeScript
- • Tailwind CSS
Backend
- • Prisma ORM
- • PostgreSQL
- • Microsoft SMTP
- • Cloudflare R2
Deployment
- • Hetzner hosting
- • Coolify deployment
- • GetYourGuide API
The Results
Complete Operational Control
The admin panel gives What About Tours full control over their tours without needing any technical knowledge or support.
Eliminated Manual Processes
Automated email confirmations and real-time booking monitoring drastically reduced customer service workload.
Revenue Optimization
GetYourGuide integration opened up new revenue streams through premium tour referrals.
Scalable Platform
The architecture allows for easy addition of new features as the business grows.
"After struggling with WordPress limitations for a long time, this custom solution is exactly what we needed. We now have complete control over our booking system, and the admin panel makes managing tours incredibly efficient. The development team understood our requirements perfectly and delivered a platform that actually works the way our business operates."
— Operations Manager, What About Tours
Project Timeline & Investment
Development Time
3 weeks
From initial consultation to final deployment
Investment
€1,499
Complete custom platform with all features
Why Custom Over WordPress?
This project perfectly illustrates when a custom solution makes sense:
- → Specific workflow requirements that don't fit standard plugins
- → Need for complete control over functionality and data
- → Complex integrations with third-party services
- → Scalability concerns as the business grows
- → Performance optimization for user experience
Visit the Platform
The platform is live and handling bookings for What About Tours in Rome. Check it out to see the booking system in action:
See It Live
Experience the custom booking platform we built for What About Tours
Visit whatabouttours.comDo You Need a Custom Solution?
If you're struggling with platform limitations or need a solution built specifically for your business workflow, we can help. Custom development isn't always the answer, but when it is, it can transform your operations.
Let's talk about your specific needs and find the best solution for your business—whether that's custom development, extending an existing platform, or something in between.
