Challenge

Thomas Cook & Neckermann partnered with LBi around Xmas 2007 and asked LBi to help them to create a 2.0 concept for a highly competitive market (Red Ocean) and become the outspoken marketleader for Short Breaks with a Blue Ocean Business model before August 2008. So we got 2 months for concept & benchmarking, 2 months for backoffice architecture which left us with less than 2 months development time & 1 month finetuning.

Solutions

Minibreaks offers its customers a variety of thematic breaks in an area of ± 350 km around Brussels. Looking for a romantic getaway, in need for a refreshing wellness cure, off with friends for some outdoor action, spoiling your partner & kids, ...? You will for sure find it at Minibreaks! Besides a nice, clear and handy Web 2.0 approach, the site is revolutionary because of its 2.0 business model: thanks to a powerful back office application behind Minibreaks.be, the hoteliers can upload last minutes & promotions instantly.

Traditional travel sites have to accept an administrative workflow which causes a delay of 3 to 5 days before last minutes are finally visible to the public. Not so at Minibreaks where the customers can find the best deals until the very last minute. On top of the great themes and best deals, Minibreaks is powered by Neckermann and offers its customers a high quality & price guarantee without any reservation fee or extra costs. Minibreaks.be will for sure become top of mind for everybody in need for a short nearby break! Welcome to a new journey in your travel experience! Welcome to Minibreaks.be!

Responsibilities LBi

LBi managed the project from A to Z as prime contractor for Thomas Cook in an iterative and participative approach.

LBi consultants and delivery teams were responsible of delivering conceptual, strategic & ergonomic consultancy, functional & technical analysis, creative design, development, full integration with the I-Vector back office from Intuitive Systems and of course final deployment.

In particular, LBi worked closely with the Thomas Cook Minibreaks team to manage the specifications, development and implementation of this revolutionary project.

Technologies

• Java
• Spring Framework
• Adobe Flash
• Web Services
• I-Vector
• MS SQL

Result