ARK Hotels
Hotel booking website for a 23-room boutique property in Ranchi with WhatsApp booking and multi-platform ratings
Bookings that don't scale
ARK Hotels in Ranchi had strong word-of-mouth and solid ratings on MakeMyTrip — but no way to capture travelers searching Google. Phone bookings required staff availability around the clock. The goal: give travelers a way to see rooms, check availability, and initiate a booking in under 60 seconds on a mobile phone.
Context
- Most traffic is mobile, often after 9pm when staff may be unavailable
- Guests already trust MakeMyTrip — needed to capture both channels
- Photography was limited — design had to compensate
- WhatsApp is how Indian travelers prefer to communicate with hotels
Our approach
Key decisions
WhatsApp as the booking channel
A "Book via WhatsApp" CTA pre-fills a message with room type and preferred dates. Staff respond during business hours — no custom reservation system, no PMS integration, no backend.
MakeMyTrip link for guaranteed availability
Guests who want OTA protection click through to MakeMyTrip. Both trust levels are captured without building a custom availability calendar.
Google Maps as the primary navigation tool
Hotel guests in a new city open Maps, not the hotel website. Embedded directions with a deep-link to Google Maps became the most-used feature.
Mobile-first, sticky WhatsApp button
Full-bleed room imagery, one-thumb navigation, and a persistent WhatsApp CTA visible on every scroll position. 80%+ of visitors are on mobile.
Results
What we achieved
To first WhatsApp booking
Mobile traffic accounted for
Platforms: Web, Maps, MakeMyTrip
Design to live
Stack used
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