Less manual owner support thanks to BlueApart's self-service portal

As the number of managed properties grew, so did the number of repetitive owner requests. Questions about revenue, occupancy, bookings, the details of monthly settlements or booking an apartment for their own stay all required contacting an account manager.

Our aim was to build a portal that:

• gives owners access to up-to-date results for their apartments,
• presents revenue, occupancy and bookings in a clear way,
• lets owners check settlements and deductions on their own,
• lets owners block dates for their own stay,
• provides access to data on both desktop and mobile,
• uses BlueApart's existing backend instead of creating yet another separate system.

One of the key challenges was connecting owner self-service with the guest booking system. An owner booking has to affect an apartment's availability in exactly the same way as a standard booking, so both interfaces needed to work from a shared data source.

We designed and built a dedicated owner portal that gives access to the most important information about the properties BlueApart manages. The owner portal is a separate interface, but it uses the same backend as the booking platform and the BlueApart quote panel. As a result, all three products share data on apartments, bookings and availability, even though they serve different users.

Frontend

- The portal was built with Next.js and adapted for use on both desktop and mobile devices.

Shared backend

- The owner portal uses data already available in the BlueApart ecosystem. Owner bookings and guest bookings share a single availability calendar, with no need to sync two separate systems.

UX/UI

• We designed the interface around owners' most common needs: quickly checking an apartment's results, occupancy, bookings, settlements and free dates.
• The mobile views are adapted to smaller screens - data shown in tables on desktop takes the form of easier-to-read cards on a phone.

• Owner dashboard - a summary of revenue, upcoming stays and the results of each apartment.
• My apartments - a list of the owner's properties with detailed information on revenue, occupancy and bookings.
• Statistics - data on revenue, number of bookings and occupancy, with the option to compare results over time.
• Booking history - a list of bookings with stay dates, number of nights, net amount, source and status.
• Availability calendar - a view of free and booked dates, distinguishing guest bookings from owner bookings, among others.
• Owner bookings - owners can choose an apartment and a free date, create a stay and cancel it later on their own.
• Monthly settlements - net revenue, deductions and the final payout amount, with the option to check every item that makes up the settlement.
• Referral program - a form for recommending BlueApart to other property owners, which also brings order to acquiring new properties through referrals.
• Contact - quick access to contact for booking and finance matters and to the owner's dedicated account manager.
• User account - login, password recovery and portal access management.

• Basic owner support moved to a self-service portal - information on revenue, occupancy, bookings and settlements is available after logging in, with no need to contact an account manager every time.
• Simpler owner bookings, as owners can block available dates on their own.
• More transparent settlements, with itemized deductions and payout amounts.
• Consistent booking and availability data thanks to the shared BlueApart platform backend.
• A more organized process for referring new owners, now handled through a dedicated form in the portal.

The owner portal extends the BlueApart ecosystem with a tool for the other side of the short-term rental market. The booking platform lets guests find and book a stay, while the owner portal gives owners access to information about their property's results, bookings, availability and settlements. Both solutions use a shared backend and work on the same data.

As a result, owners can keep track of the most important information about their property and handle basic tasks on their own without contacting the BlueApart team, and the company can grow its portfolio without a proportional increase in manual work.

The owner portal is one of several products we have delivered for BlueApart. Our collaboration covers solutions tied directly to the company's core business - the booking platform, the owner portal and the quote panel - as well as projects for brands the client is developing, such as the SZPAS restaurant website. Because we know the business, the existing infrastructure and how the team works, new projects don't start from scratch. We can build on earlier experience and make product decisions in the context of the entire BlueApart ecosystem.