Yaves

Project overview

Yaves is a yacht and boat-trip booking service in Sochi. Previously, renting usually involved calls and messages to check availability, agree with the owner and arrange payment. Owners struggled to gather bookings in advance and manage schedules.

We built a web service connecting the catalogue, calendar and payments. Renters choose a trip online; owners receive a booking with the date, time and rental details.

The brief

The product needed to serve renters, yacht owners and agents, with search, booking, accounts, automated scheduling and online payments.

A mobile app was considered initially. After researching seasonality and usage, we chose a responsive website: customers should not have to install an app for one trip and only use it again on their next holiday.

What we did

01 / Designing for both sides

We researched the audience and competitors. Renters need clear choices and available dates; owners need bookings and yacht availability. These findings shaped two account types with different features.

We built the admin panel in Laravel and the frontend with React and Next.js. The design follows the client’s existing identity: turquoise and white, informative icons and photos of real yachts. The client organised the catalogue photography.

02 / A custom booking calendar

The calendar shows available dates and times; owners see the renter, trip duration and selected options. They receive booking notifications. We later added Google Calendar sync to put bookings in their usual planner.

Before launch, we found that the calendar’s complex data structure slowed loading. We reorganised it using normalisation and denormalisation. YooKassa handles payments, including authorisation holds and refunds for cancellations.

03 / Fewer steps to book

After launch, we analysed visitor behaviour. Mandatory registration and a long checkout were preventing bookings. We reduced the journey from seven steps to three: date and time, trip selection and payment.

Registration is now offered after booking so customers can view their order. Trip details arrive by email. For expensive yachts, we introduced split payments because full prepayment concerned first-time customers.

04 / Helping people choose a trip

Not every visitor knows which yacht they need. We added trips for specific occasions: dates, gatherings and parties. Customers choose the occasion and time, and the service suggests suitable options.

We reworked the mobile catalogue, added anchor links and moved long descriptions into tabs. Discounts, promo codes, personal links and photo stories help promote trips and lead to booking.

Results

Figures at the time the case study was published

Customers can choose a yacht or trip, check availability and pay on a phone or computer. No app installation is required.

Booking was reduced from seven steps to three, with no mandatory registration before payment.

Owners gained schedules, notifications and structured bookings. Google Calendar sync lets them follow reservations outside their Yaves account.