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Overview
Hostbox is a self-hosted booking engine for short-term rentals.
Run your own direct booking website. No marketplace fees. Full control.
Features
Direct payments allow guided onboarding through Stripe Connect. Funds are transferred directly to the host’s account.
Reservation management provides a unified interface for creating, updating, and cancelling reservations.
Dynamic views allow the frontend to automatically adapt between single or multi-property modes based on the number of properties.
Automated emails are sent automatically when a transaction occurs (e.g. booking confirmations, cancellations, notifications).
Calendar integration periodically pulls remote calendars and exposes its own feeds in iCal format.
Architecture
The system is monolithic and single-tenant. It runs in a Docker container including the Next.js application and a file-based SQLite database.
Low complexity, simple backups, horizontal scaling.
Frontend
A public-facing property booking interface is paired with a secure admin dashboard for user-friendly management of listings, reservations, pricing, and more.
The UI dynamically switches between single- and multi-property modes depending on the number of listings.
Backend
Server-side logic and API routes are used to handle:
- Booking lifecycle management
- Payment orchestration (via Stripe)
- Calendar synchronisation jobs
- Property setup (image uploads, pricing, taxes, rules, etc.)
- Automated emails to both guests and hosts
Security
Authentication is handled via HTTP-only cookies for admin sessions, with token generation and validation. Payment operations are delegated to Stripe to minimise PCI scope.
Storage
Each container requires a dedicated SQLite database stored as a file on disk.
File storage (e.g. images) is handled in a specific directory, attached to the container’s persistent volume.
Images are automatically compressed before being stored.
Containers & Deployment
The entire application comes in a single Docker container. An Nginx service can be used as a front to one or multiple containers, terminatign SSL and distributing traffic based on host header. SSl certificates can be generated with Let’s Encrypt.
Summary
Hostbox is not a marketplace replacement, but a complementary system that provides a direct booking channel.