This project addressed the design and development of an automated hostel management platform, using Hannah Hostel as a case study. Many private hostels in Uganda still manage bookings, room allocation, tenant records, and payments manually, leading to double-booking, lost records, delayed payment reconciliation, and poor communication with residents. The main objective was to design, develop, and evaluate a web-based hostel management platform that automates booking, room allocation, billing, and tenant management. The study used a mixed-methods requirements investigation with 78 respondents (residents and staff) and adopted an iterative, prototype-based system development methodology. Data on existing challenges were gathered through questionnaires, interviews, and document review, then translated into functional and non-functional requirements.
The system was built using a three-tier architecture with a relational database. Evaluation with users showed high acceptance: 88% rated the booking module easy to use, and task-completion time for room allocation fell from an average of 14 minutes manually to under 2 minutes on the platform. The study concluded that automation significantly improves accuracy, speed, and record integrity, and recommended mobile-money integration and a mobile application for wider access.