Case study
Zulu Spin — International Travel Marketplace
Strategic focus · Neutral B2B + B2C travel marketplace breaking regional monopolies
B2B + B2C marketplace for Armenia, Egypt, and UAE — six service domains, four admin platforms, 100+ screens, and 14 months from discovery through active development.
Role
Lead PM · UX Lead · Domain Researcher · Dev Manager
Duration
14 months
Phase
Discovery → Design → Active development
Team
Variable (changed per stakeholder demand)
Markets
Armenia · Egypt · UAE
Scope
6 domains · 4 platforms · 100+ screens
6
Service Domains
4
Admin Platforms
100+
Screens Designed
14 mo
Full Lifecycle
Note on scope
What you see here represents approximately 2% of the total work delivered on this project. Zulu Spin is one of the most complex products in this portfolio — a 14-month end-to-end engagement spanning 6 service domains, 4 admin platforms, 100+ screens, full PRD documentation, system architecture, logic flows, API research, design system, and active development management. Significant portions remain proprietary to the client; the Figma file linked in this case study provides the deepest available view into the design and product thinking behind the platform.
Problem Statement
The Core Problem
Tour agencies, airlines, hotels, transfer providers, and excursion operators all operated in silos — disconnected systems, manual processes, no collaboration. Large players controlled pricing, locking smaller agencies out. The vision: a neutral marketplace where all players join one ecosystem, breaking the monopoly.
Before Zulu Spin
- Tour agencies managing 5–10 separate platforms manually
- No cross-agency inventory sharing
- Airlines and hotels couldn't reach smaller agencies efficiently
- No single source for flights, hotels, packages, transfers, rentals, excursions
- Monopoly players controlled pricing and access
- No standardized B2B commission or contract model
- Packages built manually — no automation
After Zulu Spin
- One platform aggregating all operators under one ecosystem
- B2B permission model: Buyer / Seller / Full Access
- Anti-monopoly: operators can only sell in their registered country
- Dynamic package engine: flight + hotel + transfer auto-combined
- Shared link: any result shareable with full booking context
- Three-way transaction records: buyer + seller + platform commission
- Visa, insurance, excursions integrated as ancillary services
Discovery
Research & Discovery
Six service domain deep-dives, GDS integration research, and competitor analysis — before any screens were designed.
6 Service Domains
SRV-01
Flight Tickets
GDS integration (Amadeus), multi-leg search, fare classes, seat selection, baggage rules, alliance filtering
SRV-02
Hotel Bookings
Star ratings, room types, meal plans (BB/HB/FB/All-inclusive), map view, popularity scoring, attraction proximity
SRV-03
Transfer Services
Route-based pricing, vehicle class tiers, child seat regulations, border crossing policies, B2B connection flows
SRV-04
Car Rentals
Fleet categories (Economy to Bus), transmission types, fuel policies, mileage limits, insurance logic
SRV-05
Excursions
Group vs private, program structure, guide assignment, photo gallery, date/traveler selection, free cancellation
SRV-06
Dynamic Packages
Auto-combined flight + hotel + transfer with correct pricing, restriction layers, reseller support
Delivery
Execution & Artifacts
View Full Figma File4 Platforms in One Ecosystem
PLATFORM 01
Zulu Master Admin
Central control — partner approval, permission management, commission policies, anti-monopoly enforcement, analytics
PLATFORM 02
Tour Operator Admin
Manage inventory across all 6 domains, view statistics, manage B2B partners, set pricing and restrictions
PLATFORM 03
Tour Agency Admin
Browse and book inventory from multiple operators, manage clients, billing, sales and bonuses, apply for Seller status
PLATFORM 04
B2C Web Portal
End consumer booking across all 6 service categories with shareable booking links and personal account
Flights
Flights
The most technically complex domain. I personally researched GDS standards (Amadeus NDC), fare class logic, connection rules, baggage taxonomies, and seat map structures before defining a single feature. The result: a flight search system matching international OTA standards. Research covered: Amadeus NDC API, fare classes, connection logic, baggage rules, seat map structures, alliance systems, refund/exchange policies, and visa-aware routing warnings.
Flight result card
Airline, route, connection points, duration, fare class, price per person + total, sort toggle
Flight detail expanded
Full leg-by-leg breakdown, layover durations, aircraft type, visa/baggage warnings
Advanced filters
Stops, airlines, alliances, airports, fee assistant, flexible options, time sliders, cabin class, layover airports, aircraft type, refund/exchange policy — 20+ filter dimensions matching international OTA standards
Seat selection
Per-passenger interactive cabin map, Business/Economy class, real-time availability, window seat pricing, multi-passenger assignment, total price confirmation
Hotels
Hotels
Hotel search required mastering a complex taxonomy: star ratings, room types, meal plan codes (BB/HB/FB/All-inclusive), popularity scoring (studied RateHawk model), and proximity-to-attraction data structures — all before design began.
Hotel map view
Pinned properties at different price points + detail panel: hotel name, star rating, score, room type, price, top attractions with distances
Hotel list card
Photo, name, score, distance from city center, nearby transport, bed type, meal plan, price, cancellation badge
Hotel detail
Photo gallery, score, address, price/night, tabbed navigation (About/Rooms/Reviews), amenities, room selection with dates and guests
Packages
Dynamic Package Engine
The hardest problem in the platform: automatically combine services from different suppliers — flight from one operator, hotel from another, transfer from a third — into one correctly-priced package, while respecting business rules from each party.
Auto Package Creation — Rules Engine I Designed
- System detects available flight + hotel + transfer combinations for a given origin/destination/date
- Each component sourced independently — flight from Operator A, hotel from Operator B, transfer from Operator C
- Pricing engine: base price + each operator margin + platform commission — no double-counting
- Restriction hierarchy: tour operator rules override agent rules; direct provider rules applied last
- Reseller support: agencies add their own margin on top, within platform-defined limits
- Anti-overlap logic: system prevents same service appearing twice (e.g. two hotels for same night)
- Visa-aware: if destination requires visa, system flags and routes additional flows
Dynamic package card
Combined flight (outbound + return) + hotel — room type, meal plan, price per person, free cancellation, package type icons
Car rentals
Car rentals
Car category cards
Economy, Compact, Business, Premium, VIP, SUV with passenger and luggage capacity and per-day pricing
Car list results
Economy, Compact, Business with per-day pricing, capacity, luggage, free WiFi, free cancellation, Reserve CTA
Flows
B2B registration & transfer logic
I mapped how operators and agencies join the platform — JOIN through admin access with role assignment and per-service permissions. Transfer logic covers provider vehicle setup, pricing, approval, marketplace visibility, and B2B hotel/airline connection flows.
Registration & partner management
JOIN → Request to Zulu → Accept/Reject → email → password → Admin Panel. Zulu Admin: search, filter by status, assign roles (Full Access/Buyer/Seller), per-service document automation
Transfer add & B2B connection
ADD: vehicle details, fleet type, pricing (Fixed or Per km), origin/destination, approval → Web/Admin/Zulu. CONNECTION: hotel + airline filters → accept/reject → B2B connection live
Design System
Design System
Before screens, I directed creation of a complete custom design system covering interactive components, date pickers, range sliders, alert states, list patterns, tab systems, and button variants — light and dark mode.
Custom UI Kit (excerpt)
Range sliders, dual-month date pickers, alert states (error/warning/success), list components, tab system, button variants, group selection modal
My role
What I owned vs what I delegated
My Ownership
- Deep domain research across all 6 verticals
- Product vision, strategy, and full PRD authoring
- System architecture — 4-platform structure, B2B permission model, anti-monopoly logic
- All logic flows — registration, transfer connection, package creation, three-way transactions
- Feature specification — screen-level detail for 100+ screens
- UI/UX direction — design system specification and component library direction
- Design management — screen-by-screen review and iteration
- Development management — technical tasks to developers across active sprints
- Stakeholder management — client meetings, investor presentations (Egypt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi)
- B2B partnership negotiations with regional operators and investors
Team Execution
- Designer(s) — visual execution from my UX direction (team changed during project)
- Developer(s) — implementation from my technical specifications
- Team composition changed per stakeholder demand throughout 14-month project
Outcomes
Impact & Metrics
Approach
- Researched all six travel verticals (GDS, hotel taxonomies, transfers, packages, visa, insurance) before any design.
- Architected four-platform ecosystem with B2B Buyer/Seller permissions and anti-monopoly country rules.
- Authored full PRD, logic flows, and 100+ screen-level specifications for development.
- Directed custom design system and managed design/dev delivery across a variable team.
- Presented to investors and partners in Armenia, Egypt, and UAE.
Outcomes
- One ecosystem aggregating flights, hotels, packages, transfers, car rental, excursions, visa, and insurance.
- Dynamic package engine combining flight + hotel + transfer with layered pricing and restrictions.
- B2B connection flows, three-way transaction records, and shareable booking links.
- Four admin environments — Master, Tour Operator, Tour Agency, and B2C portal.
- Custom UI kit and international OTA-grade flight search and filtering.
Skills demonstrated
PM competencies proven in this project
Domain Research
Self-researched 6 travel verticals — GDS, hotels, transfers, insurance, visa
Complex System Design
4-platform architecture, B2B permissions, anti-monopoly, package engine
Product Roadmap
14-month lifecycle — discovery → PRD → design → active development
Stakeholder Management
Armenia, Egypt, UAE — investors and B2B partners
Technical Documentation
Full PRD, BCFR, logic flows, API specs, data models
B2B Product Design
Buyer/Seller model, commissions, three-way transactions
Prioritization
Flights and package engine sequenced as highest complexity first
Platform Capabilities