Vehicle rental platform

Context

A rental agency manages a finite fleet, overlapping durations, prices that vary by season and length, and contractual documents required every time a vehicle leaves. As long as all of that lives in a spreadsheet and a binder, the agency spends more time checking than renting.

The problem

The difficulty is availability, and it is subtler than it looks.

• Two customers can book the same vehicle at the same instant
• A late return shifts every subsequent booking for that vehicle
• Price depends on duration, season and options, and the customer wants to see it before confirming
• The contract and condition report have to be produced without re-keying

The solution

A platform where availability is computed on demand and locked at the moment of booking.

• Search by location and date range, with filters on vehicle category
• Availability calendar per vehicle, fed by existing bookings
• Live price calculation while the customer adjusts dates and options
• Online payment, with the booking locked on confirmation
• Automatic generation of the contract and condition report
• Fleet dashboard for the agency: departures, returns, vehicles off the road

My role

Data model for the fleet and bookings, availability and pricing rules, API, booking interface and agency back office, payment integration and document generation.

Constraints

• No double booking possible, including on simultaneous clicks
• Price calculation identical on client and server, with the server authoritative
• Compliant contractual documents, archived
• Late returns and extensions handled without breaking the schedule
• Online payment and deposit pre-authorisation

Outcome

The agency runs its fleet from one screen, and the customer books without a preliminary phone call.

• The availability shown is the availability that will be honoured
• Contract and condition report come out of the booking, with no re-keying
• Vehicles off the road and delays are visible immediately on the schedule