NubiSoft x Campstar
Project overview
Brief
Our cooperation with Campstar, which offers camper rental services, began in 2018, when the company was in the stage of creating an MVP and testing its value proposition. After three years of collaboration, it took shape in 2021 as a full collaboration, with the NubiSoft team comprising 100% of the company’s technical department. We are responsible for keeping the platform on the latest technology stack and developing it with business needs and user experience in mind.
About the client
Campstar is a platform available in 25 countries offering RV (Recreational Vehicle) rental services from trusted brands. The company’s goal is to simplify the RV rental experience for camping enthusiasts by offering a wide variety of RV options, transparent pricing and customer service. Aspiring to be a comprehensive one-stop-shop, their platform allows campers to seamlessly book campgrounds as well.
Meanwhile, we have become experts in the field of camper rental 🚐
Key challenge
Campstar, a startup, launched its idea of a platform for booking campsites. As with most startups, the priority was to quickly implement new features and test the product in the market.
Campstar was looking for a subcontractor to help them complete the MVP of their campground reservation platform and work with their internal team to develop new features for the platform related to camper rentals.
The primary obstacle at this stage was the looming deadline and the intense focus on the solution’s effectiveness. Another difficulty was the technological task of aligning the reservation and rental standards of different countries. Depending on the provider, this was particularly noticeable in payment methods and the varying requirements for describing vehicles or campsites.
Task
As the project went on, the scope of our tasks changed. Here are a few that stand out:
- Take over a partially working project and bring it to full functionality
- Further develop the platform by taking into account business goals and user needs
- Integration of multi-vendor APIs in a short time
- Providing tools for company employees to operate the platform on an ongoing basis.
- SEO optimization
Priorities for the customer were:
- Timeliness
- Flexibility
- Scalability
- Security
How did this collaboration evolve?
Our journey together has had three distinct stages. Each one has brought something different to our partnership, and the latest chapter is still going strong!
Stage I – Launching and testing 🔎
In 2018, we started working with Campstar. The first stage was to bring the platform to the functionality level to test the business assumptions in the market. At that time, the basis of the offer was the ability to book a place on a campsite. After the first stage’s success and the platform’s construction, the company’s development accelerated rapidly.
Stage II – Dynamic growth 🚀
After reaching the MVP version, the company decided to develop new features based on user feedback. To keep the pace of development high, Campstar created an internal development team responsible for the camper rental part of the platform, in addition to working with NubiSoft. The NubiSoft team, in turn, was tasked with developing the other part of the product, the campground and campground booking.
Stage III – Pivot and enhance cooperation 💫
In 2021, following the pandemic, as tourism began to revive, Campstar chose to primarily concentrate on enhancing its camper rental service. This shift altered the dynamics of our collaboration. The NubiSoft team assumed complete control of the project’s technical aspects, effectively becoming the company’s entire technical backbone. The client team contributes by supplying API documentation and task prioritization.
This partnership, with NubiSoft spearheading design, comprehensive development, database administration, and DevOps, continues to this day.
Enhancements to the platform that we take great pride in 🏅
Throughout our partnership, we’ve made a bunch of amazing improvements that we’re really proud of. You could see the effects mostly on the business side and from the user’s perspective.
Subscribing to the first result (a reactive approach to search)
Initially, the search engine operated conventionally: when a user posed a question, it would gather responses from the APIs of various vendors and display a set of outcomes. The waiting period for the outcome was approximately 10 seconds, depending on the query. As the number of vendors grew dynamically, the waiting time for search engine results increased proportionally. These long waiting times hurt conversion rates and user satisfaction.
To address this issue, our team implemented reactive programming.
This approach enables us to develop solutions that are more efficient, responsive, and scalable, while also simplifying troubleshooting and maintenance of intricate systems.
Right now, our search engine functions by promptly delivering the first available result and subsequently providing subsequent results progressively. This approach has significantly reduced the waiting time for search results, increasing conversions and enhancing customer experience.
Payment module
The NubiSoft team undertook the complicated task of developing a payment module for Campstar, a platform that operates across 25 countries. The complexity of this task was amplified by the diverse and ever-changing legislative landscapes of these countries, necessitating continuous oversight and updates to the module.
In addition to this, we introduced a split payment feature.
This feature allows users to secure a camper booking by paying a portion of the total cost upfront, with the remainder charged at a later date. This approach offers several benefits.
- For the user, it reduces the financial burden by not tying up a large sum in a single transaction, while still assuring a confirmed booking.
- It also offers the flexibility to cancel the reservation if needed.
- From a business standpoint, this feature lowers the entry barrier for using the service, potentially attracting a wider user base.
This strategic implementation aligns with our commitment to enhancing user experience while maintaining business efficacy.
SEO optimization
Our team was also tasked with optimizing the platform for SEO. To achieve this, we developed dedicated web pages for all major cities worldwide where camper rentals are available.
This resulted in the creation of several thousand unique pages.
Each page is designed to display search results specific to the user’s location query. Additionally, these pages provide weather forecasts and SEO-friendly links. This strategic approach has significantly boosted the platform’s SEO performance.
Testimonial
Carsten Greiner
CO-CEO & FOUNDER @CampstarThere’s a huge amount of trust we have in their ability to deliver good-quality and reliable code. When talking about value, they are in a league of their own.
Numbers
8
Flexible number of dedicated team members
25
Number of countries where Campstar is available
6
Number of years since the cooperation has lasted