CUSTOM ENGINEERING FOR TRAVEL BUSINESSES IN THE GCC

Build what
doesn't exist yet.

Custom engineering for travel businesses in the GCC that have outgrown generic software or are creating something genuinely new: web and mobile products, backend services, APIs and integrations, built by a team that already understands travel.

Book a demo →Talk to us

See how it fits: Travel agencies · TMCs · OTAs · Startups

250+ integrations across the travel ecosystem

  • Amadeus
  • Expedia
  • Hotelbeds
  • TravelgateX
  • WebBeds
  • RateHawk
  • TBO
  • flydubai
THE DISCOVERY TAX

General software teams often spend the first months learning why travel is complicated.

Travel has rules of its own at every step, and a new team has to learn them before the real work can start. That learning is the discovery tax. Here is what it covers:

  • Availability and supplyAvailability, supplier APIs and mapping.
  • Pricing and bookingsPricing, bookings, cancellations and ticketing.
  • Credit and operationsCredit, finance, traveller data and the operational workflows around them.
WHAT WE BUILD

What we build.

Build new products, extend Blackrock modules or integrate systems that were never designed to work together.

Web applications

High-performance web products for customers, agents, corporate users and operational teams.

  • Booking applications
  • Dashboards
  • Operational tools
  • Customer portals
  • Supplier portals
  • Internal systems

Mobile

iOS and Android experiences on the architecture that fits the product.

  • Native or cross-platform
  • Booking flows
  • Customer accounts
  • Notifications
  • Loyalty
  • On-trip experiences
  • Support

Backend & APIs

Scalable services and APIs around complex travel workflows.

  • Service architecture
  • API design
  • Data processing
  • Observability

Integration engineering

Connect travel suppliers, GDS, LCCs, payment gateways, accounting systems, CRM, ERP and client-specific platforms.

  • Suppliers and GDS
  • LCCs
  • Payment gateways
  • Accounting
  • CRM and ERP

Modernisation

Improve systems that already have users and revenue, without pretending the only answer is a rewrite.

  • Architecture
  • Performance
  • Reliability
  • UX
  • Operations

Use what exists. Build what matters.

We reuse proven platform capabilities where they make sense and invest custom engineering in the areas that create competitive advantage or solve unique operational requirements.

Talk to us ↗

Reused from the platform

  • Blackrock Connect
  • Blackrock B2B
  • WebAdmin
  • Blackrock Finance

Built for you

  • Customer app
  • Supplier portal
  • Loyalty
  • Your workflows
BACKEND AND APIS

Services and APIs around complex travel workflows.

Build scalable services and APIs around the workflows that make travel software hard: suppliers, cancellations, credit and finance.

  • Service architecture
  • API design
  • Supplier integration
  • Data processing
  • Queues and caching
  • Authentication
  • Rate limiting
  • Observability
Explore API distribution 
// booking service, one of the services around a booking
{
  "service": "booking",
  "authentication": "per client",
  "rateLimiting": "per client and route",
  "suppliers": ["Amadeus", "Hotelbeds", "flydubai"],
  "queues": ["ticketing", "supplier-confirmation"],
  "cache": ["availability", "fare-rules"],
  "observability": ["logs", "traces", "alerts"]
}
// POST /bookings/BK-46912/cancel
{
  "reason": "traveller request",
  "refundTo": "client credit"
}

// Response: cancellation policy, refund and credit position
{
  "status": "cancelled",
  "supplierPolicy": "free cancellation before check-in",
  "refund": { "amount": 1240, "currency": "AED" },
  "creditAvailable": 185740
}

Illustrative example, not a live endpoint.

Outgrown generic software, or building something new?

Talk to the team. Blackrock already understands travel, so the conversation starts with your business.

Book a demo →Talk to us
BUILD FROM SCRATCH, OR WITH BLACKROCK

What changes when the team already knows travel.

Three places the difference shows up: the first months, the integrations and a system that already has users and revenue.

  • Building from scratchThe first months go on learning why travel is complicated

    Building with BlackrockThe team already understands the domain, so the first conversations are about your business

  • Building from scratchSuppliers, GDS and LCCs are integrated one by one

    Building with BlackrockIntegrations build on Blackrock's 200+ supplier connections

  • Building from scratchAn ageing system looks like it needs a rewrite

    Building with BlackrockArchitecture, performance, reliability, UX and operational bottlenecks are assessed first, then changes are prioritised by business risk and impact

HOW WE WORK

Product teams, not ticket factories.

Engineering works alongside product and design, so decisions are made around the complete user and business workflow.

  • Product, design and engineering decide together
  • Every decision tested against the complete user and business workflow
  • Proven platform capabilities reused where they make sense
  • Custom engineering where it creates advantage or solves a unique operational requirement
  • Ownership and commercial terms defined explicitly in the project agreement
DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE

Travel software without the
discovery tax.

Blackrock already understands the domain, so custom engineering goes into what makes your business different.

Book a demo →Explore connectivity
Colleagues reviewing printed pages around a wooden table
  • Suppliers, GDS and LCCsAvailability, supplier APIs and mapping, with 200+ supplier connections behind them.
  • Credit and financeCredit, finance and traveller data, with the operational workflows around them.
  • Ticketing and cancellationsPricing, bookings, cancellations and ticketing are workflows we already know.
HOW AN ENGAGEMENT WORKS

From first call to launch.

Start from a platform that already understands travel, and spend custom engineering where it matters.

  1. 01

    Scope

    Tell us what you are building, or what you have outgrown. We already understand the domain, so the first conversations are about your business.

  2. 02

    Assess and choose

    For an existing system we assess architecture, performance, reliability, UX and operational bottlenecks. For a new product we decide what to reuse and what to build.

  3. 03

    Build together

    Engineering works alongside product and design, around the complete user and business workflow.

  4. 04

    Launch and extend

    Go live, then keep extending as your business grows.

Timelines vary with scope, suppliers and custom work.

Book a demo →
QUESTIONS

Questions about custom engineering

Still deciding? Book a demo

How is this different from hiring a general software team?

General software teams often spend the first months learning why travel is complicated. Blackrock already understands the domain: availability, supplier APIs, pricing, bookings, cancellations, credit, finance, ticketing, mapping, traveller data and the operational workflows around them. Our engineers and product teams do not begin every project by relearning the basics of travel distribution.

Do we have to build everything custom?

No. We reuse proven platform capabilities where they make sense and invest custom engineering in the areas that create competitive advantage or solve unique operational requirements.

Can you work on a system we already run?

Yes. Modernisation is for systems that already have users and revenue. We assess architecture, performance, reliability, UX and operational bottlenecks, then prioritise changes around business risk and impact, without assuming the only answer is a rewrite.

What can you integrate with?

Travel suppliers, GDS, LCCs, payment gateways, accounting systems, CRM, ERP and client-specific platforms. Blackrock has 200+ supplier connections, and is an Amadeus Certified Commercial Application Partner, an Expedia EPS certified technology partner and a TRAACS certified integration partner for integrated travel accounting.

Who owns what we build?

Commercial and ownership structures are defined explicitly in the project agreement, so they fit your engagement.

How long does it take, and what support do we get?

Timelines vary with scope, suppliers and custom work, and we scope a custom build with you at the start. If the Blackrock platform is part of the project, delivery is hybrid: you configure it yourself while our engineers handle everything specific to your business, and the platform can be live in 2–6 weeks. Support is 24/7 and local.

KEEP EXPLORING

Where to go next