Event and guest management that works when the Wi-Fi doesn't.
Morphlix designed and built Guestly to manage an event from invitation to entry — combining guest management, multi-channel invitations, RSVP tracking, QR check-in, and event operations in one platform. The architecture was designed around the reality of live events: unpredictable traffic, temporary staff, burst workloads, and venues where connectivity cannot always be trusted.
- Timeline
- Venture build
- Team
- Studio team
- Industry
- Events · Hospitality
- Engagement
- Studio build
Results
18
AWS services across one architecture
Guestly combines managed compute, networking, databases, caching, messaging, security, observability, and content delivery into one AWS-native architecture.
0.00 ACU
Measured database capacity during idle
Aurora Serverless v2 recorded 0.00 ACU during measured idle periods, allowing database capacity to scale down between periods of event activity.
12 hours
Scoped crew access
Temporary event staff receive passwordless access scoped to a single event, with sessions configured for a twelve-hour operating window.
The challenge
The door is the worst place to discover a problem.
Event software can work perfectly in an office and still fail when it matters. The real test comes when hundreds of guests arrive at once, temporary staff are operating the entrance, and the venue's network becomes unreliable.
Guest information is fragmented
Guest lists are often maintained across spreadsheets and shared between organisers, making it difficult to know which version is current when the event begins.
Invitations disappear
Without a central invitation workflow, hosts have limited visibility into delivery, responses, and the status of individual guests.
Temporary staff create operational overhead
Door staff may work for a single event. Creating permanent accounts, managing passwords, and granting broad platform access creates unnecessary overhead.
Connectivity cannot be assumed
A venue's network can become unreliable precisely when the check-in queue is at its longest. A scanner that depends entirely on a live connection can turn a technical failure into a physical queue.
Event workloads are bursty
An event platform may have little activity for weeks and then experience its highest workload within a few hours. Infrastructure needs to accommodate that pattern without requiring a permanently provisioned application stack.
Morphlix built Guestly around the hardest part of the experience first: getting guests through the door when the connection isn't reliable.
The solution
One platform, from the guest list to the gate.
Morphlix developed Guestly as an end-to-end event and guest management platform connecting event preparation with what happens at the venue. Hosts manage the event from one workspace. Guests receive a single invitation experience. Event staff get focused access to the tools they need without requiring access to the rest of the platform.
Guest management
Create and manage guest lists with bulk import and de-duplication.
Invitation management
Design invitations and preview the guest experience before sending.
Multi-channel delivery
Send invitations through email and WhatsApp while tracking delivery and response activity.
RSVP management
Collect responses, enforce deadlines, and manage waitlists.
QR check-in
Generate unique QR codes and validate guests at the door.
Offline-first scanning
Continue recording check-ins when connectivity is unavailable and synchronize activity when the connection returns.
Passwordless crew access
Give temporary event staff scoped access without requiring a permanent account and password.
Live attendance
Monitor arrivals and maintain a live view of event attendance.
Reporting
Export attendance information and event data for post-event analysis.
Multi-tenant workspaces
Support multiple organisations and event workspaces within the platform.
Guestly connects the operational lifecycle of an event — from invitation to attendance — while treating the venue environment as an unreliable system rather than an assumption.
Architecture
Designed for burst traffic, isolated workloads, and resilient event operations.
Guestly runs on an AWS architecture spanning multiple Availability Zones inside a dedicated VPC.
Traffic enters through Amazon Route 53 and AWS WAF before reaching Amazon CloudFront and the application layer. The API is exposed through Amazon API Gateway, while Lambda workloads operate inside private subnets.
The application layer is separated into API and worker workloads, allowing asynchronous processing through Amazon SQS and Amazon EventBridge rather than forcing every operation through a synchronous request.
The data layer uses Amazon Aurora with writer and reader capacity, Amazon RDS Proxy for connection management, and Amazon ElastiCache for Redis for fast-access application data.
Amazon S3 provides object storage while Amazon Cognito handles authentication. CloudWatch and X-Ray provide operational visibility across the platform.
Multi-AZ deployment
Application and database workloads are distributed across Availability Zones to reduce dependence on a single failure domain.
Private application workloads
Lambda workloads and database resources operate inside private subnets rather than being directly exposed to the public internet.
Asynchronous processing
SQS and EventBridge separate background work from user-facing requests, helping the platform handle event-driven workloads without blocking the primary request path.
Connection management
RDS Proxy sits between Lambda workloads and Aurora to manage database connections efficiently for highly concurrent, burst-oriented workloads.
Caching
ElastiCache for Redis provides a fast-access data layer for workloads that benefit from caching.
Observability
CloudWatch and X-Ray provide monitoring and request-level tracing across the application.
The door
Built for the ten minutes that matter most.
Everything else in an event platform is preparation.
The door is where the platform meets reality: a queue of guests, temporary staff, QR codes, and a network that may or may not cooperate.
Offline-first check-in
The scanner does not treat connectivity as a prerequisite for admitting a guest. When the network is unavailable, check-in activity can be recorded locally and synchronized when connectivity returns, allowing staff to keep moving through the queue.
Passwordless crew access
Temporary staff receive a secure access link that takes them directly into the event scanner. Access is scoped to the event and configured for a limited session window, removing the need to create and manage another permanent account.
Traceable attendance
Each check-in is attributable to the scanning operation, providing an operational record of who was admitted and when.
Background processing
Event activity that does not need to block the user experience can be processed asynchronously through the platform's messaging and event infrastructure, so the check-in experience stays focused on the guest.
Technology stack
Eighteen AWS services, one architecture.
Edge & delivery
- Amazon Route 53
- AWS WAF
- Amazon CloudFront
- AWS Amplify
- Amazon API Gateway
Compute & networking
- AWS Lambda
- Amazon VPC
- NAT Gateway
Data & caching
- Amazon Aurora
- Amazon RDS Proxy
- Amazon ElastiCache for Redis
- Amazon S3
Messaging & integration
- Amazon SQS
- Amazon EventBridge
- AWS AppSync
Security & observability
- Amazon Cognito
- Amazon CloudWatch
- AWS X-Ray
Outcome
Infrastructure that follows the shape of the event.
Guestly runs on AWS with an architecture designed around the bursty nature of event operations.
Rather than treating event traffic as a constant workload, the platform separates synchronous user interactions from background processing, uses managed services across the application stack, and distributes critical workloads across Availability Zones.
Aurora Serverless v2 recorded 0.00 ACU during measured idle periods, allowing database capacity to scale down between periods of active workload.
The result is an infrastructure foundation designed to remain quiet when the platform is quiet and respond when the event starts moving.
But the most important result isn't infrastructure. It is operational resilience.
When hundreds of guests arrive, the system has to keep working in the exact environment where event software is most likely to be tested: a busy entrance, temporary staff, burst traffic, and unreliable connectivity.
Guestly was built for the hard case first — the door, offline, with a queue.
Guestly was built for the hard case first — the door, offline, with a queue.
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