From frustrated honeymooners to the most successful online accommodation bookings platform in South Africa – the story of NightsBridge

When Theresa & Neil Emerick were looking to book last-minute accommodation for their honeymoon in South Africa, they were frustrated waiting for responses by email and via phone.

Having just returned from a trip to the USA a few weeks prior, they knew that there was a more efficient and quicker way for the South African hospitality sector to manage their bookings online.

From their spare bedroom in Hout Bay, they embarked on a journey that would revolutionize the way that South Africans could book their holiday accommodation and hospitality owners could track the number of beds they had available.

They designed an online system that integrates bookings, payments, and automation seamlessly into clients’ front desks, which they called NightsBridge.

As a travel writer, I had heard about NightsBridge from numerous smaller hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses, but always assumed that it was a large international company, never thinking that it was a homegrown South African company.

From their humble beginning in 2004, with five clients, twenty years later their booking system is used by over 10,500 small to medium-sized businesses across South Africa and is in 44 countries.

In 2024, they will book over 3 million bed nights through their system.

Celebrating their twenty year anniversary, I had an exclusive interview with owner Theresa Emmet.

Why did you specifically choose to work with SMMEs and not larger hotel groups?

Theresa Emerick: “We specifically wanted to design a system for the independent accommodation providers at the heart of South African tourism.

Small to medium sized enterprises (SMMEs) needed a cost-effective but world-class solution to streamline their operations.

The larger chains and hotel groups already had access to international solutions that could deliver the complex systems they required, but for small operators, those costs were prohibitive”.

What were your challenges introducing an online booking system to smaller hotels and guest houses?

Theresa Emerick: “It was difficult. Twenty years ago, this was a new idea. We had to find an accommodation website willing to try out the real-time booking concept and, at the same time, try to convince guesthouse owners to leave their paper booking calendar for an online one.

There was no other solution when we launched. Neil initially built a cell phone application, which showed those owners a new way of booking and working. It did take a little convincing, but that early technology meant that NightsBridge became a bridge that took those clients into the future of online booking”.

Tell us about the “availability problem” and its context in the industry.

Theresa Emerick: ” In 2004 South African small to medium-sized hospitality businesses faced a challenge, as everyone was moving to the digital landscape and it was expensive to keep up with this.

The smaller establishments could simply not keep track of the number of beds being booked through online platforms, from their own websites and phone bookings, resulting in double bookings”.

How has NightsBridge’s integration helped your clients manage tracking their bed availability with real-time booking platforms like Booking.com and AirBnB?

Theresa Emerick: “After solving the real-time booking issue for clients, access to the market was our next challenge.

During the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the larger online travel agencies like Booking.com and Expedia wanted to establish a stronger presence in the South African market.

We developed a system that allows our booking system to seamlessly integrate with their platforms. AirBnB, TravelGround, Lekkeslaap and Booking.com have become partners for NightsBridge clients, opening up international markets”.

Born from the frustrations of one couple not being able to book a honeymoon, their solution has become the dominant software program for independent hoteliers in the South African market, whose growth has been organic, from word-of-mouth referrals from partners and clients.

IOL Travel