Home / Case studies / Custom Sports Facilities Booking System for the Saudi Market

Case study

Custom Sports Facilities Booking System for the Saudi Market

How we helped a local startup go from concept to scalable sports venue booking software with real-time bookings and full seller control.

Industry

E-Commerce, Leisure

Location

Saudi Arabia

Project duration

12+ months (Ongoing)

Services provided

MVP Development, Product Development

Client

Our client is a Saudi-based startup focused on simplifying how people reserve sports venues and leisure facilities online—from tennis courts to yoga studios. Their goal was to create an easy-to-use, mobile-first system that could serve both casual users and facility owners. This was our second project together, and they came to us wanting to launch fast and scale later. They trusted us to build something custom from scratch—no templates, no shortcuts.

Key Achievements

Fully custom MVP built from concept to code in 5 months
Seller control panel with advanced scheduling logic
Integration with Moyasar for local online payments
Adaptive interface: mobile-first for buyers, tablet-first for sellers

Challenge

Context & Background

The client wanted a platform that would let users book sports venues directly—no calls, no paperwork. Think of it like “Airbnb for sports.” At the time, no tool in the Saudi market offered a user-friendly, localized experience built specifically for this niche.

Pain Points

No centralized sports venue booking platform for real-time booking
Most local sellers managed bookings manually
Off-the-shelf tools were rigid and hard to localize
No online payment flow or mobile booking experience

Business Impact

Without a streamlined booking flow, sellers were missing revenue opportunities. Customers often had to make phone calls or send WhatsApp messages just to check availability. The solution stood between these two sides—bringing structure and ease to both. The client saw an opportunity to make life simpler for everyone involved. They needed to test product-market fit fast—but also wanted something that could scale.

Solution

Team

1 Project Manager / BA
1 UI/UX Designer
2 Frontend Engineers
1 Backend Engineer
1 QA Engineer

Approach

We started lean: first building a public venue catalog to test demand. Once validated, we moved to a fully custom MVP that included booking logic, user accounts, and a basic admin layer via Django Admin. From there, the platform evolved in waves.

Functionality

For Buyers:

Browse sports venues with filters (sport type, indoor/outdoor, gender, etc.)
See real-time availability
Select multiple timeslots across days
Book and pay via Moyasar (Apple Pay, card, etc.)
Pay later if preferred—order gets created regardless of payment success
View and manage orders

For Sellers:

Create venues, courts, and services (e.g. yoga, football, squash)
Configure availability schedules and exceptions (e.g. holidays, Ramadan)
Adjust pricing dynamically by time, day, or occasion
Add service time (cleaning buffers between bookings)
Preview listings and publish only when ready
Manage orders, see customer details

Admin Layer:

Early stages used Django Admin
Later waves introduced a fully custom admin interface

Payment Integration:

Moyasar used for all online payments
System allows for flexible online + offline payment mix
Handles order creation separately from payment to avoid drop-offs

Team Involvement

We worked directly with the client’s core team—primarily one product stakeholder. Weekly syncs were held via WhatsApp and video calls. We led the technical direction, proposed UX decisions, and adjusted based on real feedback.

Technologies

AWS
React
TypeScript
Django
Celery
WebSockets
Docker
PostgreSQL
SendGrid ESP

Insights From Our Team

“Dawri was a meaningful step forward for the client and for the Saudi market as a whole. The platform helped bridge the gap between facility owners and everyday users, creating a smoother, more accessible booking experience on both ends. It’s a pleasure to keep working with this client on more than one product. I really appreciate their trust in us. That kind of partnership means a lot.”

– Yevhenii Tretiak, Project Manager/BA