Launching a platform to streamline workforce travel
How thoughtbot helped Team Housing Solutions modernize manual hotel bookings with a scalable, client-friendly app
"We realized that there was a lot of inefficiency going along with building our own tools or relying on do-it-yourself systems. We needed something that was really specific to Team Housing."
– Michael St. Mars, VP of Business Solutions, Team Housing Solutions
Services
- Product Management
- UX, UI, & Product Design
- Web development
- Design systems
- Node.js, React, JavaScript/TypeScript, PostgreSQL
Client Overview
Team Housing Solutions specializes in workforce housing and mission support services for large traveling teams. They coordinate lodging for government, military, and corporate clients, managing everything from short-term hotel stays to long-term base camp operations with ongoing services. With nearly 30 years in business, Team Housing had built a reputation for handling complex, large-scale housing logistics. But internally, they relied on manual workflows and disconnected systems that slowed them down.
The Challenge
Outgrowing manual workflows in a high-volume, high-stakes environment
Team Housing’s booking team managed thousands of hotel reservations through a patchwork of spreadsheets, SharePoint documents, and email. This approach was time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to scale. Clients were also asking for a more modern experience: the ability to view and manage bookings online, track team members on the road, and keep costs within specific rate thresholds.
Recognizing the need to modernize and to stay competitive with larger vendors, Team Housing set out to build a custom platform. They needed a partner who could translate a complex business model into a scalable product, collaborate closely with their internal experts, and deliver results quickly to meet client demand.
The Solution
A purpose-built platform for internal efficiency and client control
thoughtbot kicked off the engagement with a discovery sprint, aligning stakeholders, researching user needs, and evaluating technical feasibility. Together, we mapped out a two-phase plan: an internal operations tool for Team Housing’s back-office specialists, and a self-service portal for clients to manage travel.
A phased approach
Phase one
Phase one focused on internal tooling. We designed and developed a streamlined interface that allowed reservation specialists to handle high volumes of bookings efficiently.
This included:
- Live roster tracking, showing where every traveler is staying in real time
- Admin tools to manage booking changes, approvals, and extensions
- Structured guest intake that eliminated duplicate or incorrect data
- Integrations with Amadeus for hotel data and NetSuite for financial systems
Phase two
With core functionality in place, we moved into phase two: building a client-facing portal. Inspired by the usability of consumer travel apps but tailored to business needs, the portal allows clients to:
- Book and manage reservations at scale
- Track travel spend by location and rate brackets
- View current and historical bookings by team member
- Manage access and permissions across departments
To support fast-paced delivery, we worked in agile design and development sprints, holding daily syncs and frequent demos. Visual artifacts, recorded walkthroughs, and clear documentation helped keep internal stakeholders aligned. The collaboration between Team Housing’s subject matter experts and the thoughtbot team allowed for quick decisions and iterative improvements.
“If someone said, 'I need to build a really unique piece of software. Nothing off the shelf works for me,' I'd tell them: check out thoughtbot. I guarantee they can get you off the ground.”
VP of Business Solutions, Team Housing Solutions
The outcome
Driving adoption, unlocking growth, and securing the future
Since launch, the platform has processed over 7,000 reservations across 8,500 guests and 800 hotels. Hundreds of new bookings are made each week. Built-in checks prevent errors before they happen, identifying issues with 300 future bookings that were corrected before check-in. This has reduced manual work, improved customer satisfaction, and allowed Team Housing to reallocate resources.
Most importantly, the platform is positioning the company for growth. Clients now expect digital tools, and the new system enables Team Housing to compete for larger contracts, including Fortune 1000 companies.
