NyumbaZatu

A multi-tenant hospitality operations platform managing organizations, properties, users, bookings, and operations — with public property discovery across Zambia. Currently in staging.

Problem

Hospitality and property operators in Zambia run on fragmented, manual tools, and renters/buyers have no trusted place to discover listings. NyumbaZatu unifies operational management (organizations, properties, bookings) with a public discovery layer.

My Role

Technical Lead — multi-tenant architecture, backend services, web application, database design, APIs, and authentication.

Outcomes

Designed a scalable multi-tenant application architecture spanning organizations, properties, users, and bookings.

Built the frontend with Next.js/React and backend services with Laravel/PHP.

Designed relational database structures in PostgreSQL, plus APIs, authentication, and business workflows.

Architecture Decisions

Modeled the platform around organizations and multi-tenancy from day one so many operators can run on shared infrastructure.

Kept public property pages SEO-friendly with Next.js so listings can rank and be shared.

Explored AI-powered automation to improve operational efficiency and customer engagement.

Architecture

System design

NyumbaZatu runs on the shared Depar platform core. Web and mobile clients talk to one versioned Laravel API; domain services own listings, bookings, and inquiries; and everything is scoped to an organization so many operators can run on the same infrastructure. Public discovery pages are server-rendered with Next.js so listings stay shareable and search-friendly.

Modules

What the platform is made of

Organizations & Tenancy

Each operator (agency, lodge, boarding house) is an organization; all data is scoped to it.

Properties & Listings

Properties hold units/listings with media, pricing, location, and availability.

Discovery & Search

Public, SEO-friendly browse and search across listings by location and type.

Bookings & Operations

Booking requests, status tracking, and day-to-day operational management.

Inquiries & Messaging

Structured inquiries connecting seekers to operators without leaking contacts prematurely.

Identity & Roles

Shared auth: users, memberships, and role-based permissions per organization.

Data Model

How the data is shaped

The model is organization-first: an Organization owns Properties, each Property has Units/Listings, and Bookings and Inquiries reference a Listing and a User. Media attaches to Properties. This keeps tenant isolation simple (scope by organization) while letting discovery read across public listings.