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The promise rests on what isn't there: no front desk, no corridors, nobody else. The absence is the product.
- 1Arrival, departure, done
The date search is on the first screen, not hidden behind a “Book” button.
Palcos de Apalta
Boutique hotel · Colchagua
Guests know what their stay costs before talking to anyone, and the WhatsApp chat starts with everything settled instead of starting from scratch.


What was the problem?
“The same four questions every day: which dates are free, how much it costs, how many nights, what's included.”
The path was Instagram → Linktree → website. The form only asked for dates, nobody knew the price until they asked, the rooms had no names, and the WhatsApp chat started from scratch. Spanish only.
What kept breaking
What was decided?
Everything else hangs off that. The calendar is there for that. The total with and without VAT is there for that. The minimum-nights notice is there so the guest doesn't find out the rule only when the manager explains it. And the ready-made WhatsApp message is there so the form does the work a person does today by repeating the same questions.
What I ruled out, and why
At the hotel, every booking is confirmed by a person, and there's no front desk. Charging before that brings risks, like selling the same night twice or giving refunds, and it doesn't fix the real problem: people weren't even getting as far as asking.
What was built?

01
The promise rests on what isn't there: no front desk, no corridors, nobody else. The absence is the product.
The date search is on the first screen, not hidden behind a “Book” button.

02
Every photo says what you're looking at. “The suite open to the valley, with the lounger on the deck”: that's what guests ask when the photo alone isn't enough.

03
The price builds up as you tap the calendar and stays fixed at the bottom. Guests know what it costs before they type a single word.
One tap on arrival, another on departure, and the stretch is filled in. No need for two date boxes.
$369,376 for two nights, VAT included. Not “ask for rates”: the actual number.

04
Nobody types their name before knowing whether there's space and what it costs. That's why this is the second step and not the first.
Phone and email are marked “optional”. Every extra required box is one booking fewer.

05
The stay is wrapped up with everything settled and in plain sight. The manager stops repeating the same four questions.
Arrival on the 25th, departure on the 27th, two nights, a 35 m² suite for two, two adults. None of it was typed by hand.
$11,424 less. And the suite is held for three hours while the guest makes the transfer.

Picking dates from drop-down lists on a phone. There was no way to do it by touch.
The “how much is it?” question, which was the main reason to leave the hotel's own site and go compare on Booking.
The guest finding out the rule only when the manager explains it.
The nameless room that gives no reason to pick one over another.
The barrier for visitors from abroad. The WhatsApp message also comes out in English, so the hotel knows the guest is from abroad before replying.
What happens on its own
What changed?
The project is built but the client hasn't approved it yet, so there's nothing running to measure.
What is still missing
The screenshots are from 25 August 2026. The nightly price shown is that day's price, and it changes with the season.



This case is also written in Spanish. Leer el caso en español →
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