Kamel Park Hotel
A custom Laravel web application with online booking, M-Pesa and PayPal payments, POS system, and social media management that transformed a hilltop hotel in Kisii County into one of Western Kenya's most successful hospitality destinations.
Project Details
Project Overview
Kamel Park Hotel is a tranquil and elegant facility built on a magical hilltop along the Kisii-Kiligoris Road in Kisii County, Kenya. Established in 2015, the hotel has grown into one of Western Kenya's premier hospitality destinations, offering over 60 rooms across 7 categories — from Executive Singles to Family Cottages. Beyond accommodation, Kamel Park provides conference facilities, restaurants, a swimming pool, leisure activities including zip lining, mobile kitchen and outside catering, Masai Mara safari tours, and event hosting. The property even features a helipad, underscoring its commitment to luxury and convenience.
Despite being described by guests as "a truly 5 star hotel" and "a beautiful hidden gem in the heart of Kisii land," Kamel Park was operating entirely on phone-based reservations and walk-in bookings. With no online booking system, no digital payment options, and no way for guests to browse rooms or check availability online, the hotel was losing an estimated 55% of potential bookings to competitors who offered online convenience. Their social media presence on Facebook and Instagram existed but lacked strategic management to drive real business results.
The Kamel Park team approached Quest to build a complete digital hospitality platform: a custom Laravel web application with a real-time booking engine supporting M-Pesa and PayPal payments, an on-property POS system for restaurant and services billing, Google optimization to dominate search results for "hotel in Kisii," and professional management of their Facebook and Instagram channels to attract guests from across Kenya and beyond.
Luxury Without a Digital Front Door
A 60+ room hilltop hotel with 5-star guest reviews — but no way for guests to book, pay, or even browse rooms online.
Phone-Only Reservations
Every booking came through a single phone number (+254 714 386594) or walk-ins. Guests couldn't check room availability, view pricing, or compare room types before calling. An estimated 55% of potential guests — especially those searching from Nairobi or internationally — abandoned the booking process before ever making contact.
No Digital Payments
In a market where 80% of Kenyans use M-Pesa daily, Kamel Park had no way to accept online payments or deposits. Guests who wanted to secure a room had to physically visit or send money through informal channels. The hotel was also missing out on international travelers who expected PayPal or card payment options.
Invisible on Google
Searching "hotel in Kisii" or "best hotel Kisii County" returned competitors despite Kamel Park's superior facilities and guest ratings. With 70% of hotel bookings in Kenya starting with a Google search, the hotel was invisible to the majority of potential guests looking for accommodation in Western Kenya.
The Bottom Line
An estimated 55% of potential bookings were lost to competitors who offered online booking and digital payment options — despite Kamel Park's superior hilltop location and 5-star guest reviews.
How We Built It
A full-stack Laravel hospitality platform — real-time booking engine, M-Pesa and PayPal payments, POS system, and integrated social media management.
Discovery & System Architecture
Weeks 1-3We visited Kamel Park Hotel on the hilltop in Kisii to understand every aspect of their operations — from front desk check-in flows to restaurant billing, conference bookings to safari tour coordination. We mapped 7 room categories across 60+ rooms, documented pricing tiers for residents and non-residents, and interviewed staff about pain points in their manual reservation process. This informed a comprehensive system architecture covering booking, payments, POS, and content management.
UI/UX Design & Prototyping
Weeks 4-6Designed a luxury hospitality interface featuring an immersive hero carousel showcasing the hilltop property, zip lining, conference facilities, and Masai Mara safaris. Created an interactive room browser with availability calendar, guest and room selectors, and a seamless multi-step booking flow. Prototyped the admin dashboard for reservation management and the POS interface for restaurant and services billing — testing with 8 staff members across front desk, restaurant, and management roles.
Laravel Development & Payment Integration
Weeks 7-13Built the complete platform on Laravel with a real-time booking engine supporting check-in/out date selection, guest counts, and room allocation across all 7 room types. Integrated M-Pesa STK Push for instant mobile payments and PayPal for international guests. Developed the POS module for on-property restaurant orders, swimming pool access, and leisure activity billing. Built dedicated pages for all 8 service areas — accommodation, conference facilities, leisure activities, mobile kitchen, restaurants, swimming, tour services, and events — plus a blog system for content marketing.
SEO, Social Media & Launch
Weeks 14-16Comprehensive Google optimization targeting "hotel in Kisii", "best hotel Kisii County", "conference venue Kisii", and 25+ long-tail keywords. Set up Google Business Profile with professional photography and reviews integration. Took over management of the Facebook (@kamelparkhotel) and Instagram (@kamelparkofficial) channels with a content strategy featuring property highlights, guest experiences, event promotions, and Masai Mara safari packages. Trained the hotel team on the admin dashboard, POS system, and content management.
Measurable Impact
Within six months of launch, Kamel Park Hotel transformed from phone-only bookings to a digitally-driven hospitality business dominating search results across Western Kenya.
Before Quest
- All bookings through one phone number or walk-ins
- Cash-only payments, no digital payment options
- Not appearing on Google for hotel keywords in Kisii
- Unmanaged social media with minimal engagement
After Quest
- 420% more bookings via real-time online reservation system
- 85% of payments processed digitally via M-Pesa & PayPal
- Page 1 Google ranking for "hotel in Kisii" and related terms
- 6x social media reach with managed Facebook & Instagram
"Quest didn't just build us a website — they built the entire digital backbone of our hotel. The booking system with M-Pesa payments changed everything. Guests now book and pay online from Nairobi, Mombasa, even internationally. The 420% increase in bookings speaks for itself. Our hilltop hotel in Kisii is now fully booked most weekends, and Quest's social media work keeps new guests discovering us every day."
Frank Mumanyi Kamau
Son to Owner, Kamel Park Ltd
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