HILLCRAFT

What we would build for a hotel

Direct bookings that stick, on a site you own

A complete booking and payment system built from the ground up for your hotel: live room availability, a card or Apple Pay deposit taken at the moment of booking, and confirmations that go out by WhatsApp and email on their own. Reception sees tonight's arrivals on an iPhone, and every direct booking is commission-free.

Built and delivered remotely from Cheshire, UK · fixed price agreed up front

What goes wrong today

"Email us for availability"

A rates page with a £ sign in every cell and no prices, and a form that asks guests to check before they book their flight. British guests do not wait; they open Booking.com, and you pay the commission on a guest who wanted to book with you.

Deposits by bank transfer

"UK bank details will be given following your reservation" means a week of chasing, a guest holding a screenshot as proof, and refunds that somehow never come back. Every one of those is a review waiting to be written.

A booking engine in dollars

Rented engines show a UK guest USD or TRY, a template that is not your brand, and a fee on every booking. The guest is confused at the exact moment they were ready to pay.

"Confirmed within 2 hours" and cash only

Manual confirmations mean someone is on the phone at midnight, and "cash only" is the first tip on your Tripadvisor page. Neither is what a guest who has just paid £600 for flights expects.

What we build for you, from the ground up

  1. Rooms, seasons and rates that are real

    Every room type with its own seasons, minimum stays and prices in GBP, EUR and TRY. Availability is live and reservations happen inside a transaction, so two guests can never take the same room on the same night.

  2. Booking in under a minute, no account

    Dates, room, details, pay. The room is held while the guest types, then confirmed. No sign-up, no app to install, works on any phone in English or Turkish.

  3. Deposit at booking, balance your way

    Take a deposit by Apple Pay or card the moment they book, and the balance on arrival, a week before, or in full. Your cancellation window is a setting, and refunds inside it are automatic.

  4. Confirmations that send themselves

    WhatsApp and email in the guest's language with the booking reference, check-in time, what is included and the hotel pinned in Apple Maps. Reminders before arrival, a message after checkout asking for a review.

  5. Transfers, breakfast and late checkout as add-ons

    Priced extras chosen at booking or added later from the confirmation link, so the airport pickup is sold and paid before the flight lands.

  6. A native iPhone app for reception and the owner

    Tonight's arrivals, tomorrow's departures, who has paid what, and a tap to message a guest. Sign-in with Face ID, no passwords to share. The same shape as The Chair, the diary app we built for The Buxton Barber.

  7. Booking.com and Airbnb kept in step

    Calendar sync blocks dates both ways, so a direct booking closes the room on the marketplaces and the other way round. Direct stays commission-free; the marketplaces stay as a top-up.

  8. The owner's numbers

    Occupancy, takings, deposits held, no-shows and refunds on one screen, exportable as CSV for your accountant.

The Apple layer your guests actually notice

The stay on the lock screen

A Live Activity counts down to check-in on the guest's iPhone, then switches to the transfer and arrival details on the day. No app to open.

The booking in Apple Wallet

A branded pass with the reference, dates and room type that appears on the lock screen as they reach the hotel. Reception scans it; check-in takes seconds.

Directions and reminders that add themselves

The hotel opens in Apple Maps with one tap from the confirmation, and the check-in and transfer times land in the guest's reminders.

QR order-and-pay by the pool

A code on the sunbed or restaurant table opens an App Clip with your menu; the guest orders and pays, or charges it to the room, with nothing to download.

Widgets for the front desk

Tonight's arrivals and today's takings as a home-screen widget for the owner, and the next arrival in the Dynamic Island for whoever is on the desk.

Payments in Türkiye, done properly

Deposits and balances go straight into your own iyzico or PayTR account, or your bank's virtual POS, so nothing changes with your bank and Hillcraft never touches the money. UK and EU guests pay in GBP or EUR with Apple Pay or any card, and see the amount in their currency before they confirm. There is no booking-site commission on a direct booking, and a refund inside your cancellation window is issued automatically to the same card, with no IBAN to chase.

Built and running: the examples this comes from

Questions we get asked

How long does it take?

The booking site and payments come first so you can take direct bookings for the coming season; the iPhone apps and Apple features follow. After a video call we give you a dated plan for your hotel rather than a guess. The best time to build is the closed season, so the new tariff goes live with prices for the first time.

What does it cost?

Fixed price agreed up front, after one call where we scope exactly what your hotel needs. No monthly platform fee, no commission per booking, and you keep everything we build.

Do we need to change our bank?

No. Payments run through your own iyzico or PayTR account or your bank's virtual POS. We connect it; the money goes to you directly.

Can it work alongside Booking.com and Airbnb?

Yes. Calendar sync keeps dates blocked both ways, so you keep the marketplaces for the guests who only look there and take everyone else direct without commission.

Who owns it, and do you need to come to Türkiye?

You own it: the code, the data, the domain and the payment account are all in your name. Everything is built and delivered remotely from Cheshire over video calls and WhatsApp, in the same way we deliver for clients in the UK.

Tell us about your hotel

Send the rooms, the seasons and the problem you most want gone. One video call is enough to scope it, and you will have a written plan before you decide anything.

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