The search functionality is the first product feature that the customers will see. If the experience is not good, an immediate impact will be seen on the business. As described, the top key requirements of search are performance and personalization. Another requirement is to ensure that we don't incur high costs from the sellers, considering the look-to-book ratio. Let's look at how we can engineer the same.
In general, for the search, the inputs are going to be places and dates. Specifically for flights, the search inputs will be as follows:
- The onward date. The return date would be optional (only for return flights).
- The source and destination places (airports).
Whereas, for hotels the search parameters would include the following:
- The check-in and check-out date
- The city/country/hotel name where the room is desired
Generally, travel websites take the number...