Design a Hotel Booking System over Third-Party Hotel APIs

Also reported as Expedia-like Hotel Booking

System DesignRipplingLast reported August 2026Medium Frequency
Reported
6× across candidate reports
First seen
December 2025
Last reported
August 2026
Reported outcome
mixed

Problem Overview

Design a hotel booking system like Expedia, built on Rippling's platform: import hotels and their rooms, let users search, and make reservations. Hotel data comes from third parties through hotel APIs: large chains and small hotels. You do not own a source-of-truth database for it. What candidates report being asked:…

  • 5 candidate-reported follow-ups — the exact probes interviewers asked, with the trigger for each
  • The rest of the problem statement — full requirements, constraints, and edge cases
  • Approach and trade-offs — what passing candidates did, and the mistakes that sink people
Unlock the full Rippling catalog
Full problem statements, candidate-reported follow-ups, and walkthroughs — for every Rippling question.
Unlock with Pro
Already a member? Sign in
Verified Source
Every question is reconstructed from multiple independent candidate reports. Verbatim follow-ups, not invented ones.
Codex Fact-Checked
Technical claims, formulas, and scale numbers are reviewed against primary sources.
Interviewer Follow-ups
The exact follow-ups reported by candidates, with the trigger that prompts each one — plus the mistakes that sink people.
Is this helpful?