Mati-based team launches Koobo travel booking platform after four years of development

A small Filipino team with an office in Mati City has launched Koobo, an online platform for booking accommodation, vehicle rentals and activities from local businesses, according to a first-person account by a team member published in Mindanao Times. The piece is the team's own description of the project, not independent reporting.

The writer says work began in July 2022 and the platform officially launched in Siargao in July 2026. It has since gone live in Mati and Siquijor, and the team is preparing to enter La Union. The writer, who calls Mati City their hometown, says bringing Mati onto the platform is meant to help visitors find nearby places and give local businesses a better way to reach them.

According to the account, the idea came from friends' repeated questions about where to stay, eat and go, and from reports of travelers being scammed by fake business pages on social media. The team first built on WordPress but found it too limited. It then developed its own technology, with engineering led by Chief Technology Officer John Madrigal and development lead Ramil Kaharian.

The writer says one of the main challenges was that rooms, tours and vehicles each need a different booking process. The team also built a host dashboard where business owners can manage listings, availability, reservations, guest messages and payments.

Under the model described, businesses pay no setup or monthly fees. Koobo instead charges a commission on each booking, and businesses may keep selling on other platforms. A partnership with Bakuun helps accommodation providers sync availability across booking channels. Travelers pay in Philippine pesos through payment partner Xendit, using cards or GCash, with no extra traveler booking fees, the writer says.

The account also mentions a collaboration with Sunlight Air to connect passengers with experiences at their destinations. A separate initiative with Lokal Lab aims to direct part of eligible booking proceeds to local community projects.