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Booking App Store
Improving access to third-party tools through a unified platform
The partnerside App Store gave accommodation partners a structured way to discover and access third-party tools integrated with Booking.com. Before this, partners had limited visibility into available solutions or how to connect them. A new API and single sign-on flow enabled partners to connect external tools using their Booking credentials, creating a consistent activation journey across providers.
Research foundations
User interviews and cross-team workshops revealed how partners currently discovered, assessed, and activated external solutions. The resulting journey map guided the redesign, highlighting confusion around categories, unclear value propositions, and inconsistent onboarding flows.
Journey map created with accommodation partners. Used by multiple teams to guide decisions around categories, entry points, and activation flows.
Key improvements
1. Structured marketplace experience
Partners struggled to understand which tools were relevant. The previous interface showed all tools in one undifferentiated list with no filtering or context.
Original App Store: all tools in one long list, limited context.
Solution: Clearer categorisation, featured use cases, and improved detail pages that helped partners assess value before connecting.
Improved tool detail pages with clearer value propositions and structured information.
2. Standardised SSO and onboarding
Third-party tools had different login and data-sharing flows, causing confusion during activation.
Solution: Designed a standard SSO flow allowing partners to connect using Booking.com credentials, reducing friction and creating predictable integration for providers.
Connection flow using standardised SSO: predictable permissions and clear steps.
Providers integrated through a consistent interface for generating the “Connect with Booking.com” button, reducing fragmentation and support overhead.
Provider-facing interface ensuring consistent authentication flows across third-party integrations.
Outcome
- Clear entry point to third-party tools, reducing time spent searching for relevant solutions
- Consistent connection experience supported by the new Booking SSO flow
- Shared design patterns and categorisation models used across teams integrating external tools
- Research artefacts became long-term references for cross-team integration strategy
- More predictable experience for partners regardless of which provider they chose