/ Hosty

Rental management platform for small hospitality businesses

Travel & hospitality

Services:

Product strategy

Product discovery

Product design

MVP development

Full-stack development

The team

Backend developers

Frontend developers

QA engineers

UI/UX designers

Project manager

DevOps engineer

Technologies

React.js

PWA

Node.js

Timeline: 1 year

For this product, we didn't start with a specific client asking for our help. Instead, we spotted a gap in the Ukrainian rental market and decided to fill it. Our research revealed an interesting finding: small property owners were using Instagram and TikTok as their main communication and booking channels and relied on platforms like Booking.com and Airbnb for stable sales.

This setup made it nearly impossible to scale or keep track of everything properly. We interviewed dozens of small property owners across Ukraine and found that they all wanted the same thing — stable sales without losing significant revenue to commissions, and a simple tool to manage everything in one place and on the go.

Creating short-term vacation rental property management software for small Ukrainian businesses turned out to be trickier than we expected. We had the right target audience from the start, but misunderstood what they needed. After 3 months of development, user interviews with 12+ small property owners revealed we were solving the wrong problems.

‍We assumed their biggest pain point was keeping all bookings organized in one place and not forgetting any reservations, since popular property management systems were either expensive or outdated. However, discovery research revealed a different priority structure:

Maintaining stable sales. Property owners depended on Booking.com and Airbnb for consistent bookings, but these platforms took large commissions (15-20%). They were building their own brand presence on social media to capture direct bookings, but had no way to automate the booking process without paying for yet another expensive system.
Managing bookings on the go. They needed mobile access to handle reservations anytime, anywhere, not just when sitting at a laptop or tablet.
Coordinating staff operations at their properties. This included managing communication standards with guests, task completion, cleanliness protocols, and upselling additional services like hot tubs, pools, or massage treatments.

The root of these problems couldn't be solved by just organizing bookings better. Our target customers didn't want complex desktop software or another app with overwhelming functionality. They needed a simple, mobile-first solution that addressed their real business challenge: capturing commission-free bookings from their social media presence. Research showed that 78% of our target users received their bookings entirely through Instagram and TikTok messages. We had to start over and figure out how to build a booking system that felt natural to people already running their business through social media, while helping them reduce dependency on expensive booking platforms.

After realizing our initial approach was off track, we started fresh in early 2022 with proper research and market analysis. The development process took about eight months from rediscovery to MVP. We chose a PWA that worked across iOS and Android.
‍
The COAX team started with core MVP features — a simple booking widget that owners could drop into their Instagram bio or TikTok profile, real-time availability checking, and multiple payment options. Owners add their property, set pricing and capacity, then get a custom widget link to share anywhere. The booking process is just 4 simple steps, completing in under 60 seconds.

As the project evolved, the solution provided dynamic booking calendars, guest profile management, and seasonal pricing controls. Later, we added a desktop version and multi-property management with a unified calendar view. Everything was designed with a mobile-first approach, because that's what Ukrainian rental property owners were looking for.

User roles

Property owner role
Property owners are the main users who list their vacation rentals on the platform. They create property listings, manage bookings on the dynamic vacation rental calendar, set seasonal pricing, maximum capacity, and custom rules, and also handle guest communications. The system supports them in everything from initial setup to financial tracking and guest profiles creation, with tools for managing multiple properties from a single dashboard. After receiving the reservation, the owner receives an email to confirm or decline it.
Guest role
Guests discover properties through social media links or direct widgets, check availability, and complete bookings. They can view all booking details and choose additional services from their personal booking dashboard. Once the booking is confirmed or declined, the guest receives a notification.
Admin role
Admins oversee the platform operations, manage user accounts, and ensure system functionality. They handle technical support, monitor platform usage, and maintain the infrastructure that keeps the booking process smooth.

Key features

Booking widget
Property owners get a custom booking link for their Instagram bio, TikTok profile, or website. Guests can click the link, check real-time availability, and book instantly. The widget loads in under 1 second and completes bookings in under 60 seconds.
Dynamic booking calendar
The vacation rental booking calendar displays all reservations in a clean, organized grid, featuring dates, guest names, and booking statuses. Owners can see everything at a glance and manage multiple properties from a single dashboard.
Guest management
The built-in CRM maintains detailed guest profiles that include contact information, booking history, and social media links.
Additional services
Guests can easily add extra services like breakfast, spa treatments, or pet fees directly to bookings. Each service has its own pricing and can be toggled on or off depending on what guests need. Owners can configure 20+ different additional services per property.
Seasonal pricing
There is an ability to set different rates based on dates, guest numbers, and seasonal demand. The travel booking management system automatically adjusts pricing, so owners maximize revenue during peak times without manual updates.
Multi-property management
Rental owners manage unlimited properties with a unified calendar view. It only requires switching between locations (or choosing to see everything together) — good for owners scaling their property rental management system beyond just one or two places. The dashboard consolidates bookings across all properties, processing updates in real-time within 5 seconds.

Business outcomes

We're currently expanding our user base and gathering feedback. Even in this early stage, our property rental management system helps growing businesses manage multiple properties without getting overwhelmed by administrative tasks or losing the personal touch.

Hosty solves real problems for property owners — they can finally scale their business without relying on spreadsheets or commission fees from large OTAs and booking solutions. Users can manage up to 2 properties for free. Since we don't take any commissions, owners keep 100% of their revenue and can reinvest everything back into their local communities.

Why partner with COAX?

Flexibility & adaptability
Our team understands the importance of flexibility in the construction industry, which is why we work around your schedule to provide services at a time that's convenient for you.
Skilled and dedicated team
The COAX team consists of pioneering industry experts and experienced professionals who meet high proficiency standards. We stick to our ethos and are dedicated to delivering high-quality solutions that can lead the future of digital solutions.
Ongoing support
We're committed to providing excellent support throughout the entire project lifecycle. That's why we don't just focus on our technical specialists but also pay close attention to the professional skills of our project managers to ensure seamless cooperation.
Security and confidentiality
At COAX Software, we take data privacy and security very seriously. We sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and guarantee to keep all project information safe and establish trust.
Growth-focused approach
In the construction industry, businesses need to constantly adapt and grow. That's why we don't just develop custom software solutions, we implement cutting-edge tools that help your business and technology scale for long-term success.
Agile methodology
At COAX Software, we value transparency and efficiency. That's why we follow a truly agile approach when providing IT services for construction companies. We aim to remain flexible and responsive to your needs at all times to ensure project success.