Contoso Hotels

A comprehensive hotel booking web application built with ASP.NET Core MVC and Entity Framework Core, featuring a 2019-era tech stack with modern DevContainer support.

🏨 Project Overview

Contoso Hotels is a full-featured hotel management and booking system that allows customers to search for available rooms, make reservations, and manage their bookings. The application includes comprehensive data seeding with 5 years of realistic hotel data.

🛠️ Technology Stack

• Backend: ASP.NET Core 3.1 MVC
• Database: SQL Server with Entity Framework Core 3.1.32
• Frontend: Bootstrap 4, jQuery, HTML5, CSS3
• Development: DevContainer support with Docker
• Database Providers: SQL Server in Docker for development/DevContainers, LocalDB for local Windows development

🏗️ Architecture

Domain Models

• Customer: Stores customer information and contact details
• Room: Hotel room details including type, price, and amenities
• Booking: Reservation information linking customers to rooms with dates and pricing

Key Features

• Room Search: Find available rooms by date range, type, and price
• Room Images: Visual showcase of all room types with high-quality images
• Customer Registration: Create and manage customer profiles
• Booking Management: Complete booking workflow from search to confirmation
• Visual Booking Process: Room images displayed throughout booking journey
• Data Seeding: Pre-populated with 5 years of test data
  • 200 customers with realistic profiles
  • 200 rooms across 10 floors with various types (Standard, Deluxe, Suite, Penthouse, Family, Business)
  • 1000+ bookings spanning past and future dates

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• .NET Core 3.1 SDK
• SQL Server or SQL Server LocalDB
• Visual Studio Code (recommended) or Visual Studio

Using DevContainer (Recommended)

1. Clone the repository
2. Copy the .devcontainer/.env.example file to .devcontainer/.env and set a secure password
3. Open in Visual Studio Code
4. Install the "Dev Containers" extension
5. Press Ctrl+Shift+P and select "Dev Containers: Reopen in Container"
6. Wait for the container to build and initialize
7. The application will be ready to run

Using Docker for SQL Server (Windows Development)

1. Clone the repository
2. Open the project in your preferred editor
3. Set the SQL_PASSWORD environment variable or modify the script:

   $env:SQL_PASSWORD="your_secure_password"
   .\docker-start.ps1

4. Copy appsettings.Development.json.example to appsettings.Development.json and update the password
5. Update the database and run the application:

   dotnet ef database update
   dotnet run

Manual Setup with LocalDB (Windows Only)

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd ContosoHotels

2. Restore dependencies:

   dotnet restore

3. Update the database:

   dotnet ef database update

4. Run the application:

   dotnet run --urls http://localhost:5050

5. Open your browser to http://localhost:5050

🔒 Security

The Contoso Hotels project follows best practices for security:

• Sensitive credentials are stored in environment variables, not in code
• Database passwords are not committed to source control
• Connection strings use placeholders replaced at runtime
• HTTPS is enforced for all communications

For detailed security guidelines, see SECURITY.md.

📊 Database Schema

Tables

• Customers: Customer information and contact details
• Rooms: Room inventory with types, pricing, and amenities
• Bookings: Reservation data with status tracking

Key Relationships

• One Customer can have many Bookings
• One Room can have many Bookings
• Each Booking belongs to one Customer and one Room

🎯 Core Functionality

Room Search

• Search by check-in/check-out dates
• Filter by room type (Standard, Deluxe, Suite, Penthouse, Family, Business)
• Filter by maximum price
• Real-time availability checking

Booking Process

1. Search: Find available rooms for desired dates
2. Select: Choose room from search results
3. Details: Enter guest information and special requests
4. Confirm: Review and confirm booking
5. Confirmation: Receive booking confirmation with details

Room Types & Pricing

• Standard: $99/night - Basic amenities
• Deluxe: $149/night - Premium amenities and furnishings
• Suite: $249/night - Separate living area and enhanced services
• Family: $179/night - Extra space and child-friendly features
• Business: $189/night - Work area and business amenities
• Penthouse: $499/night - Ultimate luxury with panoramic views

🎨 UI/UX Features

• Responsive Design: Bootstrap 4 responsive layout
• Modern Styling: Custom CSS with hotel-themed color scheme
• Interactive Elements: jQuery-enhanced user interactions
• Form Validation: Client and server-side validation
• Visual Feedback: Loading states, hover effects, and animations

🔧 Development

Project Structure

ContosoHotels/
├── Controllers/          # MVC Controllers
├── Data/                # DbContext and database configuration
├── Migrations/          # Entity Framework migrations
├── Models/              # Domain models
├── Services/            # Business logic and data seeding
├── ViewModels/          # View-specific models
├── Views/               # Razor views and templates
├── wwwroot/             # Static files (CSS, JS, images)
└── .devcontainer/       # DevContainer configuration

Available Tasks

• build-contoso-hotels: Build the project
• run-contoso-hotels: Run the application (background)

Database Migrations

# Create new migration
dotnet ef migrations add MigrationName

# Update database
dotnet ef database update

# Remove last migration
dotnet ef migrations remove

🌟 Features Implemented

✅ Completed Features

• ASP.NET Core 3.1 MVC application structure
• Entity Framework Core data layer with SQL Server
• Complete domain models (Customer, Room, Booking)
• Data seeding service with 5 years of test data
• Room search functionality with availability checking
• Complete booking workflow
• Responsive UI with Bootstrap 4
• DevContainer configuration for development
• Database migrations and schema
• Custom styling and branding

🔮 Future Enhancements

• User authentication and authorization
• Admin panel for hotel management
• Email notifications for bookings
• Payment integration
• Booking cancellation and modification
• Room photos and gallery
• Reviews and ratings system
• Mobile app development

🏢 Business Logic

Room Availability

The system checks room availability by ensuring no overlapping bookings exist for the requested date range. The availability algorithm considers:

• Check-in and check-out dates
• Existing confirmed bookings
• Room status (active/inactive)

Pricing Logic

• Base prices defined per room type
• Ocean view rooms have a 30% premium
• Higher floors more likely to have ocean views
• Dynamic pricing based on amenities

Booking Status Workflow

1. Pending: Initial booking state
2. Confirmed: Payment processed and booking confirmed
3. CheckedIn: Guest has arrived and checked in
4. CheckedOut: Guest has completed stay
5. Cancelled: Booking was cancelled

🤝 Contributing

This project follows the Contoso Hotels coding standards:

• camelCase for variables and functions
• PascalCase for classes and interfaces
• kebab-case for file names
• Comprehensive error handling
• Unit testing
• Clear documentation

📄 License

This project is for educational and demonstration purposes.

📞 Support

For questions or support regarding this application, please refer to the project documentation or contact the development team.

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Built with ❤️ using ASP.NET Core and Entity Framework