Groups.swiss, a group booking platform in Europe

Groups.swiss is a leading provider of reliable group accommodation rentals in Switzerland. Established in 1978, the platform has over 40 years of experience in the industry. Reservations are made through an online portal, with over 17,000 enquiries each year to more than 800 group accommodation providers—amounting to one-third of all group accommodation bookings in Switzerland.

As one of the customers recently commented, “What booking.com is for individual guests, www.groups.swiss is for groups.” 

What sets this platform apart from many other accommodation reservation services, like Airbnb or Booking.com, is its exclusive focus on group bookings—specifically for groups needing more than 10 beds. Groups.swiss is tailored to both private gatherings, like friends or family, and business groups, such as schools, companies, and various organizations, making it ideal for both personal and professional group stays.

The solution’s creation involved unique challenges, which we successfully addressed with a strategic and effective approach.

Extending the Service to Other European Countries & VAT Validation Functionality

First, we focused on implementing the functionality that enabled creation of rental units by the European Union hosts too. We accomplished this by adjusting the registration form and extending the country list to the European ones.

Second, in tune with the Groups.swiss need to swiftly and effortlessly check the TAX ID validity, we proceeded to integrate the Groups web portal with the VIES (VAT Information and Exchange System). This allowed for checking if the correct TAX ID of the host was used.

Adding Stripe Capabilities

Groups.swiss needed to be 100% sure that their new prospective European hosts have a modern and secure payment gateway for basket transactions. Previously, the primary payment method was paper invoices with QR codes—an approach that remains very popular in Switzerland. However, this method is far less common across the European Union, especially in an era dominated by modern payment gateways. Thanks to the Stripe implementation, the users of the Groups web portal can now use credit cards, Klarna, SEPA, iDEAL, Google Pay, and Apple Pay for smooth payments.

On top of that, there’s a built-in mechanism to calculate VAT rates during the Stripe checkout. Thus, users can be sure that VAT calculations are correct, regardless of their country of origin.

Interestingly, Stripe also has a built-in invoice generation tool, which offered the users additional convenience.

Implementing the Mini-Groups Reservation Functionality

Groups realized the need to allow guests to reserve accommodations with fewer than 10 beds. We went further than that and provided them with the option to reserve single classic two-bed rooms.

With an additional query letting the renter specify their preferred accommodation model, we helped our client achieve these goals. We implemented the following 2 modules:

1. Mini-Groups module: accommodations with fewer than 10 beds.
2. Standard Groups module: accommodations with 10 beds or more for large groups.

The project successfully completed, we can say with confidence that the Groups portal has reached new heights. It has already benefited greatly from:

New Revenue Opportunities

With the successful implementation of the Mini-Groups module, users can now book individual double beds. This upgrade provides our client with access to new guest profiles and additional revenue streams.

Smooth Payment Transactions:

With Stripe integration, a globally recognized solution accepted across the EU, Groups gained an intuitive and secure payment process. This not only strengthened user trust but also minimized the risk of losing potential clients due to unsupported payment methods.

TAX IDs validation:

Thanks to the VIES integration, instant verification of prospective hosts’ TAX IDs became a reality. This prevents fraudulent renters from publishing their rental units on the Groups portal, ensuring greater security and trust for the groups renting through the platform.

As a result of project, we provided our client with:

• • A separate transaction flow for the newly added European countries, while preserving the original Swiss transaction business logic for Groups.swiss.
  • Retention of all original transaction flows and related rental unit publishing processes, achieved by implementing new, separate code for the European countries.
  • A properly configured and fully functional additional Stripe payment gateway, integrated without disrupting the traditional paper invoice payment method.
  • Synchronization of Stripe checkout results with the transaction status overview, providing users with easy access to accurate data in the user portal.
  • The Mini-Groups module, enabling users to make individual double-bed reservations.
  • VIES was integrated with the Groups web portal, ensuring smooth tax processing for renters.