Emily Chang - eHub Interviews

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eHub Interviews Paguna

Thanks to Joerg Bienert of Paguna for this email interview posted March 23, 2006.

eHub: What is your web application/service about?

Paguna: It’s an AJAX-based hotel booking system implemented on one single page..

eHub: Why did you start this project?

Paguna: We wanted to demonstrate how AJAX can improve usability.

eHub: How much time do you devote to its growth?  Do you have a day job?

Paguna: We are an web consultancy, dedicated to AJAX and Web 2.0 projects. Paguna.com is one of our projects and we have one programmer dedicated to it.

eHub: How large is your team and what are your backgrounds?

Paguna: The company was founded by myself and Stefan Kellner. Stefan Kellner is also the co-founder of plazes.com and is currently focusing on that project.  We employ 5 developers. Niklas Bulitta did the major work on the Paguna.com development.  See eHub Interviews Plazes for more.

eHub: What is your design philosophy?

Paguna: Our philosophy is to set up the whole search, selection, and booking process within one web page. The user doesn’t have to switch from one internet page to another. After spending a little bit of time with Paguna.com and then going back to an “old-fashioned” booking site, you really notice the difference. As far as I know, Paguna is the first application of it’s kind.

eHub: What technologies are you currently using?

Paguna: Paguna.com is based on Lamp. We are using pear-, smarty, and xajax libraries.

eHub: If your project is live, what are the most requested features from your users/community?

Paguna: We have to optimize safari compatibility, we are integrating hotels from the US and going to support Spanish and additional languages.

eHub: Does your user base reside in a primary geographic location or is it distributed?

Paguna: Paguna.com hotels can be booked worldwide.

eHub: Where do you see the project heading in the next 6 months?  The next 2 years?

Paguna: The next release will support geographical information. For the future, we are thinking about integration of additional services.

eHub: What is the greatest challenge to your success?

Paguna: Marketing and promotion. Once a user knows our site, he understands the advantages.

eHub: What is the one thing you need to get to the next phase of the project?

Paguna: We have to evaluate geocoding services.

eHub: Do you have a business model?  If so, what is it?

Paguna: As we are a web consultancy, our main purpose is to sell our experience in running AJAX projects to customers. Secondarily we expect some revenue coming out of the hotel bookings.

eHub: If you’re able to disclose this information, how much traffic or usage do you see on an average day?

Paguna: Paguna.com is live since the beginning of 2006. It is growing fast from a low level, as we haven’t done any promotion so far.

eHub: What is the one thing you’re most proud of about the project?

Paguna: When we were brainstorming about this approach, we sometimes had doubts that it would be possible to do it all in one single page. But we achieved this goal.

eHub: How would you describe the shift that’s occurring with the web right now to future generations?

Paguna: I am convinced, that in 3-4 years, most of the online-shops, booking systems and other interactive websites will have shifted to a higher level of usability based on AJAX.

eHub: What site(s) do you visit everyday other than your own?

Paguna: ehub, Ajaxian, AJAX developer, and many other shops and booking systems to get inspiration.

eHub: How many hours of sleep do you get a night?

Paguna: It varies from 3 to 7 hours.

Thanks to Joerg Bienert of Paguna for this email interview posted March 23, 2006.

Visit Paguna
Originally added to eHub on Feb 02, 06

» More eHub Interviews

eHub Interviews is a series with the creators of Web 2.0 applications and services by Emily Chang, author of eHub, designer, and co-founder and principal of Ideacodes, a strategic web consultancy in San Francisco that she co-founded with Max Kiesler.

Also see eHub Interviews in Japanese at CNET Japan