Design a Booking System

Create a reservation platform similar to Airbnb or OpenTable that handles availability, bookings, and prevents double-booking.

Functional Requirements

• Search available inventory by date, location, and criteria
• Book resources with instant confirmation
• Handle cancellations and modifications
• Prevent double-booking of the same resource
• Support for recurring availability patterns
• Waitlist for fully booked slots

Non-Functional Requirements

• Handle thousands of concurrent booking attempts
• Zero tolerance for double-bookings
• Fast availability searches
• Support for time zones and business hours

Questions to Consider

• How do you prevent race conditions in concurrent bookings?
• What data model handles complex availability patterns?
• How do you handle high-demand inventory fairly?