Guestbook is a SaaS product designed for professional property managers to manage properties and reservations aggregated through several property management solutions on the market. The product provides several touch points of communication to aid in the management of reservations as well.
The Problem:
GuestBook was an angel-funded venture with a fully-featured mobile and web application that integrated data from several property management systems. The concept was to make it easier for property managers to manage all of their inventory from one location. Additionally, GuestBook provided a revenue stream for their property managers by incorporating the sales of tickets for attractions and events at rental destinations. Property managers would earn a commission on the receipts of sales.
After launching to a small set of customers, GuestBook met with Grata to do the following:
- Audit the application for scalability
- Guide GuestBook in future enhancements of the product
- Manage resources to reduce operational expenses moving forward
Throughout several weeks, the Grata team familiarized themselves with the application, audited the code and architecture of the and reviewed months of conversations, notes, etc. between GuestBook and the various development teams. Our assessment revealed the application was in a deficient state for the amount of time and financial effort spent on the application. The development process and product roadmap were ad-hoc with no true roadmap to full feature delivery. Lastly, the GuestBook leadership received complaints about technical and performance issues in production.
The Solution:
Guestbook partnered with Grata Software to use as a technical consultant, along with many other reasons. They wanted to improve the application architecture while acquiring the right development team to meet the goals of the organization. This included Grata replacing the development firm for a combination of on-shore and off-shore firms with strengths in various areas of software engineering. We were able to help Guestbook move forward by identifying which code was the better foundation and starting point. From there, we guided the client through the process of developing a Minimum Viable Product and assisted them through the due diligence process as GuestBook was acquired by Bluetent.
Grata continues to support, manage and assist in the development and architecture of the MyGuestBook product under the Bluetent brand. Today, MyGuestBook is managing thousands of properties and reservations, while Grata performs R&D exceeding expectations for new product initiatives.
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