Ever watched users abandon your beautifully designed travel app because it loads like it's on a dial-up connection? That was our reality before implementing a strategic caching approach with React Query.
The Performance Puzzle
Travel booking applications face unique challenges: they must display large datasets (hotel listings, locations, prices) while maintaining responsive interfaces that users expect in 2025. Our NextJS 12 application integrated TravelGate's extensive API for bookings and Mapbox for location services – both data-heavy integrations that initially weighed down our performance.
The symptoms were clear: sluggish map interactions, delayed booking confirmations, and the dreaded "loading" spinner overstaying its welcome.
React Query: The Missing Piece
Implementing React Query transformed how our application managed server state. Instead of triggering new requests for frequently accessed data, we established intelligent caching strategies:
- Stale-While-Revalidate Pattern: Users see cached results immediately while fresh data loads in the background.
- Prefetching Popular Destinations: By analyzing user patterns, we preloaded data for trending locations.
- Optimistic Updates: Reflecting UI changes before server confirmation for a snappy feel.
Real-World Results
The numbers tell the story: page loads improved by 15%, and more importantly, user engagement increased by 25%. The application's mobile-like experience using bottom sheets and modal components felt truly responsive rather than just looking the part.
Our AWS infrastructure (EC2, RDS, S3) handled the optimized requests more efficiently, and our Playwright tests confirmed consistent performance improvements across different user scenarios.
Sometimes the most significant UX improvements come not from what users see, but from what they don't see – like waiting for data to load.
Summary
How React Query's caching strategies revolutionized our travel booking app performance, reducing load times and increasing user engagement.