RateTiger Blog

Hotel Website Marketing Conference

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:25:00 +0000

The Hotel Website Marketing Conference took place in Amsterdam on March 25th, 2010. The conference was dedicated to providing hotel sales managers with the latest innovations in online marketing.

The main topics included 3rd Party Websites & Distribution Channels, designing and marketing your hotel website, managing your hotel website booking engine and effectively using social media.

I attended the event as a speaker on behalf of RateTiger and spoke on “Making the most of IDS to deliver your revenue management strategy". The idea was to outline the importance of distributing rates to third party booking websites using Internet Distribution Systems (IDS) while also examining the key tools needed to implement hotel online revenue management strategy.

With around 60 people in attendance including 35 hoteliers, the event concluded with meaningful discussions and networking. Other speakers represented companies like Expedia, Ideas, Meetingsbooker, Hoteliers.com, BeCurious and others.

The platform helped me reinforce RateTiger's brand name in the market and it was quite clear that RateTiger is perceived as a market leader by many hoteliers.

Casey Davy is Sales Manager - UK at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. He is based out of London and can be reached at caseyd@ratetiger.com

INTERNORGA 2010

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 07:46:00 +0000

As every year, March is the month during which the international hospitality industry meets in Hamburg for INTERNORGA. Europe’s biggest trade fair of its kind has a remarkable tradition – in 2010 the harbor city in Northern Germany saw its 84th INTERNORGA. Between 12 and 17 March, 1,105 exhibitors from 28 countries presented their products and services to more than 100,000 trade visitors from all over the world.

However, as in past years, RateTiger has not been amongst these exhibitors but focused its sales force on ITB, which took place partly parallel to INTERNORGA. The reason is plain: the trade show has a strong focus on gastronomy rather than hotel technology. Visitors are more likely to be concerned with choosing a new kitchen or some supplier for frozen food than with optimizing their online sales channels.

Yet there have been good reasons for me to spend two days at this vibrant event - the hospitality journalists. The journalists visit INTERNORGA en masse, to find out about new products to write on, catch new advertising clients, or new subscribers for their publications. It’s a great opportunity to have so many press contacts in one place, to update them about the various developments at eRevMax and RateTiger!

Being a Hamburger born, these two days have been a home match for me, and while I believe that INTERNORGA is not likely the best place to meet software buyers, I am convinced that it’s a perfect chance to intensify press relations. Last year we’ve had several articles published after INTERNOGA, particularly our case studies. This year I’ve met with the journalists of six publications plus the editor of an online news portal, and they’re all keen to write on channel management some time this year.

Everyone agreed that it’s necessary to educate hoteliers about the potential as well as the demands of the online market. Multiple channels require constant and strategic updating, which seems frightening and impossible for certain hoteliers, but at the same time the chance exists to increase occupancy and make money.

Like last year, INTERNORGA 2010 has been a success, with us managing to divert editors’ attention to channel management and online distribution. German editors have begun to associate channel management know-how explicitly with RateTiger, proving that eRevMax’s strategy to focus on education and training works out.

Jasmin Keller is the PR Representative – Germany at eRevMax and is responsible for all PR activities of RateTiger in the region. Jasmin is based out of Germany and can be reached at ratetiger@jasminkeller.com.

Pictures from ITB Berlin 2010

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 05:57:00 +0000

ITB Berlin 2010

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:03:00 +0000

ITB Berlin 2010 has kicked-off to an excellent start as our CEO completes a contract of partnership with Micros as RateTiger technologies further integrates with Micros Opera suite to provide channel management features. Our sales managers have also been bouncing around the very large exhibition centre meeting with hotels chains and property owners to display the wide-range of services RateTiger provides.

This year we are also providing support to manage Advertising campaigns with our special partner TravelScream; hoteliers seem to be lapping this up while trying to get their head around how we are integrating all their processes into one – their eyes often beam when we say that as they realise how much time they will save.

Our RTSchool is being received with great interest, the Distribution Days in May and June will help hoteliers understand and get a greater grasp of multi-channel sales through a programme exploring channel management in changing markets with Xotels.

This year we have installed a large and impressive touch-screen display on our stand in hall 8.1 which is currently running the RateTiger iPhone application. Those RateTiger team members with an iPhone are proudly and excitedly presenting it to all delegates visiting us.

There is a constant stream of attendees through the Technology Hall all of which are at least pausing by the RateTiger stand in interest. It seems this is the year of channel management – we are all really feeling it, suddenly hoteliers truly understand how these technologies work and the necessity for them.

Ryan Haynes is the Marketing Head at eRevMax and is responsible for driving all PR and Marketing activities of RateTiger and eRevMax brands globally. Ryan is based out of London and can be reached at ryanh@ratetiger.com

Collecting the European Seal of E-Excellence 2010

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:45:00 +0000

We were honored to achieve the accolade of European Seal of E-Excellence for a second year in the row.The award recognized our commitment to providing intuitive and innovative solutions for the hospitality industry. Following last year's success for RTStrategyEngine, this year it was time for RTSuite to take centre stage.

We applied for the European Seal of E-Excellence following the completion of our consolidation of hotel products (Shopper, Allocator and ChannelManager) into the single user-interface RTSuite. RTSuite was welcomed by our customers utilising two products, now making it quicker, faster and more efficient to manage multiple channels while remaining competitive.

The European Seal of E-Excellence was presented at the famous global technology show – CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. Here, companies have launched and unveiled new and life changing technologies from the Apple iPhone to Google Maps – I had the chance to get up close and personal with one of the Google Filming Cars – pretty meaty machines! So, with innovation being at the forefront of CeBIT it was only natural for the European Seal to be presented here.

The 60-minute ceremony acknowledged innovations and technologies from all across Europe followed by a social event for winners to discuss their award-winning tools. It became apparent that the theme was social media, from research to aggregation to dissemination – most of the winners worked across these new digital platforms providing solutions to help companies manage new business opportunities.

It was also interesting to learn that the recession hit the technology industry hard and CeBIT had fewer exhibitors than previous years, as noted by many delegates and witnessed by many bare spaces. However many are confident that it will pick up in the next 12months after a years lull. We at eRevMax look forward to RateTiger achieving more accolades this year and hope to return to the European Seal of e-Excellence in 2011.

Ryan Haynes is the Marketing Head at eRevMax and is responsible for driving all PR and Marketing activities of RateTiger and eRevMax brands globally. Ryan is based out of London and can be reached at ryanh@ratetiger.com

RateTiger visits Italian hospitality events

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:03:00 +0000

With various hospitality focused events taking place around the globe, we try our best to find out the best ones to attend. Recently I visited a couple of events – TFP in Milan and Revenue Day in Rome. Both were completely different events and though TFP Milan had a good turn-out, I really enjoyed the much smaller Revenue Day session which was very interesting and focused.

TFP was massive in scale with over 2500 people present but since the focus was focused on hospitality recruitment, I found the event to be a bit boring. On the other hand Revenue Day had around 50 hoteliers and the main speaker was the famous Italian Revenue Manager Franco Grasso who did an interesting training type session on revenue strategies.

I also got an opportunity to do a short presentation explaining how to apply Revenue Management through technology products like RTSuite and RTStrategyEngine. I was also invited to share inputs on channel management opportunities present to hoteliers today. Other discussion topics included Web 2.0, Brand Reputation, etc.

I feel such training sessions and Revenue Day organized by different associations are very helpful , not only for us as technology providers but also for hoteliers as they get exposed to various upcoming and useful tools that can be of immense help in their day to day operations.

I look forward to researching and attending various other such events in Italy.

Enzo Aita is Sales Manager - Italy at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. Enzo is based out of Italy and can be reached at enzoa@ratetiger.com

Florida Huddle 2010

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:17:00 +0000

Organized at St. Petersburg/Clearwater from January 24 through to January 26, 2010, Florida Huddle turned out to be a great event for me.

The event focuses completely on buyer-supplier meetings and is a good platform to meet prospective buyers and close deals. A new segment called the Travel Service Provider has now been incorporated as well. However they need to clearly define the requisites to qualify as supplier and /or travel service provider.

The discussions at the event revolved around the current economic scenario, similar to the OHV agenda. Hoteliers in Florida too are driving occupancy and not ADR. More than 165 hoteliers were present in the total gathering of 200 plus visitors and all were eager to find out the best way to take prices up again.

From the business perspective, presence at Florida Huddle is always lucrative as it allows decision makers from the buyer and supplier sides to meet directly and cut deals. RateTiger too signed many new contracts at the event and it was a very successful event for all involved.

Siobhain McArdle is Sales Manager for south eastern states of USA at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She is based out of Florida and can be reached at siobhainm@ratetiger.com

Hotelier ÖHV Congress 2010

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:06:00 +0000

The Austrian Hotel Association (ÖHV) recently organized the hotel industry’s annual congress from 18 – 20 January 2010 in Zell am See, Salzburg. The event focused primarily on the economic situation of hotels in Austria.

I was representing RateTiger there and was not amazed to see that Austrian hoteliers too like their counterparts across the world have resorted to the mantra of ‘Putting heads in beds’. In the process they have gone into the discount mode to increase bookings. This has led to erosion in hotel rates which has hugely impacted their economic situation and hence the main agenda at ÖHV was to find ways to deal with the current scenario.

More than 250 hoteliers attended the event which was a good thing. It proved that Austrian hoteliers are eager to find out what they can do to conquer the situation. It was a good experience for me to meet with them and gain awareness about the market. On the other hand, it presented me with an opportunity to tell them about RateTiger which can help them in effective distribution of rates and inventory online to reach a wider audience. Overall it was a nice opportunity to explore a new market.

Ulf Guldi is Sales Manager - Germany at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. Ulf is based out of Germany and can be reached at ulfg@ratetiger.com

MATKA 2010

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:32:00 +0000

Matka 2010 held recently from 21st - 24th January 2010 at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre turned out to be a very modern and well organized fair. The event was focused on the Finnish hospitality market but also included exhibitors and visitors from Scandinavia, Baltics, Poland, Russia, Iceland and Greenland.

Inspite of the temperature hovering around -20 degrees Celsius, more than 80,000 people attended the convention & fair, of which over 18000 were travel trade executives. There were quite a few hoteliers, including groups like Radisson Blu, IHG, Best Western, Omena and Reval Hotels. To my pleasant surprise, there were a large number of independent hotels as well and infact were representing properties from far and across including Vietnam, Korea, China, Panama, Seychelles, USA, Russia, Baltic countries and of course Finland.

The event had various sessions and the main topics included 'How to be different in hard times as a supplier?' and 'How to deliver quality and meet price expectations for your clientele?'

Attending MATKA helped me evaluate the online distribution scenario in Finland. Many hoteliers now understand the opportunities that online distribution & channel management offers. Surprisingly however a substantial number of hoteliers are still using pen and paper methods and manually updating 3^rd party websites. Hence the need to educate them on automated benchmarking and channel management practices is a must since Finland can become a fantastic gateway to unexplored territory in Northern Scandinavia and Russia.

Overall it was a great event and I was happy to hear “We know about RT, tell us more” from various hoteliers in the region. For me it was the key that unlocked many doors and created many opportunities.

Dan Jakobsen is Sales Manager, Europe at eRevMax and is responsible for sale of RateTiger products in the region. He can be reached at danj@ratetiger.com

FITUR 2010 (Feria Internacional de Turismo)

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:06:00 +0000

The 30th edition of the International Tourism Fair in Madrid, FITUR 2010, has left us enthusiastic as we experienced overtones of recovery in the sector. This edition won't be remembered as the brightest in terms of participation and spending, but has left a good taste in projects and good wishes from the exhibitors.

The data shared showed some light at the end of the tunnel: although the area covered by the fair has declined over the previous year, the number of participating countries, 170, still held FITUR between 2 or 3 main trade shows in the tourism industry.
In general, stands were smaller and somewhat simpler than in previous editions, but some have been very original considering the lack of budget with creative designs. The overall size has fallen from 12 to 10 halls.

RateTiger was present at this year's CEHAT booth (Spanish National Hotel Association) to strengthen our market presence and confidence in the Hotel sector.

During FITUR we announced the integration agreement with Tradyso - one of the major CRS in the Spanish market- the new integration will help Tradyso's 1000 customer hotels to completely automate and streamline online distribution and management through itsTradyso CRS.

FITUR has made clear commitment to the Online sector, Web 2.0, technology, social networking, video marketing among others during FITURTECH conferences.

Following this concept, the Director of Turespaña (Spanish Tourist offices), Antonio Bernabe, presented at Fitur the new campaign that will promote tourism in Spain through social networks under the slogan "Spain, a country to share." The concept of this new promotional campaign is based on Spaniards touring different Spanish cities and divulging the secrets and local attractions, sharing information and experiences in order to attract foreign tourists through networks like facebook, twitter and YouTube.

FITUR also offered solidarity to the recently destroyed island nation of Haiti and provided a complimentary stand at the trade show.

In summary, this 30th edition has shown us, above all, the enthusiasm for the recovery of a sector affected by the global crisis and the opening of new tourist destinations that focus on online distribution as an unbeatable engine to boost sales.

Pilar Sanchez Aita is Sales Manager for Spain & Portugal at eRevMax and is responsible for sale of RateTiger products in the region. She can be reached at pilara@ratetiger.com

INFOCOM 09-10: Creating business opportunities through social media marketing

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:32:00 +0000

INFOCOM 09-10, the largest congregation of ICT professionals, corporate leaders, academicians and policy makers in India is organized in Kolkata annually. The recently concluded event had quite a few parallel sessions on ICT focused topics. Creating business opportunities through social media marketing was one of the interesting sessions that I attended.

The session attracted around 50 - 60 people with a good mix of students, executives, as well as senior members from various business houses and corporates. The two main speakers Sriram from Iridium Interactive and Siddharth from Indusgeeks shared engrossing insights about social media marketing and virtual gaming marketing respectively. The session focused on the growing need for Indian businesses to look at social media marketing as an important aspect of their overall marketing plan.

Sriram shared quite a few Indian examples as to how corporates like ICICI, Reliance etc have handled rumors and criticisms and used the right crisis management measures to ensure consistent brand image. He also laid stress on the fact that content on various media is beyond a company's control. Hence one needs to be very proactive in their approach and respond to these conversations to clearly put forward their stand on the discussed context. Platforms like Facebook, twitter, blogs etc today are being effectively used as effective marketing and PR tools in the West and Indian businesses too need to start adopting it.

On the other hand, Siddharth brought in a new angle to the session by sharing videos on how virtual gaming like Second Life and other such forums are the future of marketing. He stressed on the need to target the growing population who now have a virtual Avatar (he referenced the recently released blockbuster Avatar) and link with them. Certain examples he shared - Advertising in Sports-focused-online-games is today one of an attractive ways to reach out to a huge fan base instantly. These are the new techniques that he is promoting and also the fact that its no more about Brand campaigns..infact we are in a transformational stage, today it is more about Brand Experience.

The key take aways from the session - One cannot just rely on the online impressions being generated by a brand anymore, there is an increasing need to provide visitors with a brand experience. This then needs to be measured by the amount of time they spend on your web pages, responses on you blog, tweet backs, discussions around your brand etc. Hence an effective digital & social media marketing strategy is a must for any brand today.

BTL 2010

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:19:00 +0000

The 22nd edition of BTL - Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa- 2010 which was held from 13 - 17 January 2010, showed mixed signs of caution in the Portuguese Hotel sector. Inaugurated by Minister of Economy, Innovation and Development, José Vieira da Silva, BTL witnessed more than 1,000 companies exhibiting from 45 countries.

Alongside the Portuguese Tourism Awards, which, for the 5th time is being hosted at BTL, Bernardo Trindade, Secretary of State for Tourism, emphasized the importance of perspective in 2010, in close coordination with national tourism industry. To reverse the downward trend in 2009, he called for the participation of all stakeholders in the sector and pledged to support and provide solidarity of the Government in this strategic economic sector.

However hoteliers had concerns of their own related to the economic downturn. Many of the revenue managers and proprietors I spoke to were interested in ways they can boost revenues. The industry in Portugal is experiencing falling occupancy, it reached less than 70% last year, and RevPar approximately to EUR 48,00 – below that of 2008.

Bernardo Trindade also encouraged investors and welcomed the role of BTL as reflecting the pulse of the industry and demonstrate the efforts of private investment.

I consider BTL to be quite productive, I had the opportunity to meet 26 hotels, Groups, Chains and local OTA's to show the benefits of channel management products, also I meet AHP (Portuguese Hotel Association) for our Membership agreement to strengthen our relationship with the Hoteliers in Portugal.

This is the 3rd year RateTiger attended BTL and that confirms our interest in the market and give us the recognition in the Hotel sector.

Pilar Sanchez Aita is Sales Manager for Spain & Portugal at eRevMax and is responsible for sale of RateTiger products in the region. She can be reached at pilara@ratetiger.com

Czech Hotel Association Event 2009

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:01:00 +0000

In the last week of November (25th – 27th November 2009) I attended an event organized by the Czech Hotel Association. As a RateTiger representative I was eager to see the kind of turnout the event would witness and I am glad to say that it was not a dismal show. With over 260 member hotels and companies present, it provided a good opportunity to meet many hoteliers.

The event included three full day conference with networking evening parties. Some of the discussion topics included recent developments in global economy and its impact on Czech Republic, tourism market in the region as well as scenario in Czech hotel industry compared to the EU states and rest of the world. The presentation hosted by STR Global turned out to be really interesting allowing hoteliers to see how others have remained resilient in tough economic conditions.

Hotel Managers from different cities in Czech Republic were present at the event with a good section of them representing Prague. I met with many of them and was glad to hear they considered RateTiger to be a leading channel management solution provider and wanted to know about our new products and features.

Overall it was a great experience with excellent networking, lots of new contacts and the opportunity to create further awareness about the products. It was good to know the importance of the Hotel Association’s event given that various senior members from many hotels were there. I look forward to attending the event next year.

Aldona Kaczmarczyk is Sales Manager – Eastern Europe at eRevMax and is responsible for sale of RateTiger products in the region. Aldona can be reached at aldonak@ratetiger.com

BTO 2009

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:36:00 +0000

The 2009 edition of Buy Tourism Online in Florence turned out to be better than expected. With various companies backing out from big international events, this travel tradeshow was quite well attended. Compared to last year, more people turned up for the event and the total count almost touched 1600.

With interesting sessions on online travel, evolution of internet, travel 2.0 and other current trends being discussed by leading authorities and specialists in the field, the visitors got their share of take-away and hence were happy to be there. Furthermore, focus on technology integration was a big draw for hoteliers who were inquisitive to find out benefits from such tie-ups.

Representing RateTiger at BTO was a great opportunity for me to meet up with many local Italian hoteliers. Not only is internet sales gaining prominence amongst them, they are also embracing technology to better manage online distribution. Hoteliers who knew about RateTiger products were keen to see a demo and some signed up immediately acknowledging the efficiency and simplicity of our products. Many others were interested and enrolled for our trial version to get a feel of the software.

With business prospects improving, hoteliers are more open to adopting technology solutions that will help them save time while maximizing revenues. I personally look forward to the next edition of BTO which I expect to be bigger and better.

Enzo Aita is Sales Manager - Italy at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. Enzo is based out of Italy and can be reached at enzoa@ratetiger.com

GÄSTE 2009

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:28:00 +0000

Gaste 2009 which took place from 8^th – 11^th November this year in Leipzig, Germany didn’t to draw much attention for online distribution. The event was low in attendance and the gathering consisted mostly of students from hospitality institutes.

With various competitions and sessions focused on catering, Gaste was a complete F&B forum with little focus on distribution and online channel management domains. Even then we were successful in creating entry level awareness about the concept amongst East German hoteliers.

One thing we learnt was the need to stick to established events like ITB Berlin if we are looking at promoting RateTiger and generating business in Germany. With the way internet is being widely used, I hope there will be more regional hospitality tradeshows which focuses on upcoming online distribution and channel management technologies.

Ulf Guldi is Sales Manager - Germany at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. Ulf is based out of Germany and can be reached at ulfg@ratetiger.com

RateTiger @ WTM

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:01:00 +0000

WTM 2009

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:27:00 +0000

World Travel Market has consistently performed as a fantastic tradeshow within the hospitality community over the years, and 2009 was no different. Despite the industry having high cloud coverage over the past 18 months, WTM'09 was an excellent exhibit of the bright light at the end of tunnel for bustling hoteliers.

Both new and veteran exhibitors alike will testify that this year’s event was well attended, and more importantly attended by the right parties. At RateTiger we definitely felt the presence of hoteliers and OTA’s visiting our stand with intent. Visitors have become shoppers! As a result, our expanded stand was constantly lively and packed with prospective hoteliers roaring with the desire to put a tiger in their hotel.

WTM has always been a dynamic event not only for generating new clients, and building on existing relationships but also for creating new partnerships and sharing great ideas. For me personally, the event was a great success, especially hearing the many stories from hoteliers’ on how RateTiger tools have already or will in the future save them time and help maximise revenue.

Without a doubt I look forward to WTM 2010. See you there next year.

Casey Davy is Sales Manager - UK at eRevMax. He is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in United Kingdom. Casey is based out of London and can be reached at caseyd@ratetiger.com

ITB Asia 2009

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:40:00 +0000

ITB Asia 2009 which took place at the Suntec Exhibition & Convention Centre, Singapore, was worth the value of time and resources we spent planning and exhibiting there. It was the perfect setting for an Asian travel tradeshow and I am glad the second edition of the three-day B2B show has maintained its growth despite recent economic challenges.

This was our first participation in an Asian tradeshow; Sascha, Keith and I were quite excited to see how it would turn out. I had a large number of appointments and many delegates dropped by. The interactions went really well and now back in Delhi I have already done quite a few product demos with the newly built contacts.

We were amazed and pleased to see the reaction we got from fellow exhibitors and visitors, mostly hoteliers. They were aware that RateTiger offered premium quality products and they wanted to get a first hand feel of the software. We obviously were geared up to show them the tools and how it can help them.

The event presented us with an opportunity to network with Asian hoteliers, online travel website owners as well as travel agents, all of whom form a crucial part of our prospective audience. ITB Asia managed to attract the right mix of people with nearly 43% from accommodation sector, tour operators and travel agencies made up 31%, while tourism organizations and associations accounted for 10% of the audience.

Infact to translate its success - the show had 679 exhibitor organizations, among them one was RateTiger. Along with that 553 vetted quality buyers from 50 countries were present and nearly 18,000 buyer-seller appointments took place.

I look forward to ITB Asia 2010 and I am sure it is going to be bigger and better.

Sudhir Ghildiyal is Sales Manager - APAC at eRevMax. He is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the Asia Pacific region. Sudhir is based out of Delhi, India and can be reached at sudhirg@erevmax.com

2009 NBTA International Convention & Exposition

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:37:00 +0000

San Diego recently witnessed the very successful NBTA International Convention & Exposition organized by National Business Travel Association (NBTA). It turned out to be a very busy event where I met many old friends from the industry, which is not a surprise given that over 5,600 travel professionals attended the 4-day event (August 23 -26, 2009) at the San Diego Convention Center.

The setting was spectacular as the convention center was situated right on the waterfront. The attendees were a blend of airlines, hotels, software providers, OTAs and travel company representatives.

The discussions mainly revolved around how to survive the current economic scenario. There were over 65 educational sessions where industry experts from the corporate travel community discussed business travel growth in today’s volatile economy and shifting corporate culture. It was a very intense and active convention with a blend of all the components of the travel experience.

With more than 400 exhibitors and 1240 travel buyers, it was a good milieu of people. A big advantage from RateTiger’s perspective was the opportunity to meet up with independent hotel groups face to face. The added access to the OTAs was a huge plus which helped develop rapport with them for future business relationship.

I would conclude by saying that the NBTA Convention is rightly known as the Business Travel Event of the Year. It has lived up to its reputation and is one of the few successful travel events in recent times.

Phil Stiles is the Vice President of Sales at RateTiger. He manages RateTiger’s sales and support operations in North, Central and South America regions and has facilitated the expansion of the RateTiger brand in the US market leading to increased business opportunities. Phil is based in RateTiger’s Florida office and travels to the European and Indian offices when work demands. Being a new business specialist, he attends various travel trade shows throughout the year to keep himself abreast of latest developments.

Venice hotel error is an eye opener for hotels

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:52:00 +0000

The €0.01 per room incident experienced by the Crowne Plaza is a pure example of how human errors can have a major impact on revenue. With the employment of a channel management system the revenue manager would have been able to ensure all rates were accurate across all channels before making the relevant updates.

Systems like ours allow hotels to set a minimum rate per hotel room to ensure typing errors are detected. As the online market place evolves, hoteliers are struggling to keep up, remain agile and control rates. This human error has occurred many times before and without utilising technology to simplify inventory and rate distribution, it is very likely to occur more frequently across the world as the number of channels that need attention increases.

Hoteliers really need to think sensibly during these times, to ensure revenues are optimized. Making mistakes like this will not only have an impact for the hotel itself but will also send the economy into further disarray.

Sascha Hausmann is the COO at RateTiger. He is a specialist in online distribution systems in Europe and the US and is looked upon as a trusted advisor. Sascha handles international operations and strategic alliances for RateTiger and speaks at various events. He is based in Germany, and also spends time across eRevMax’s international offices, mainly in America and the UK.

HTNG 2009 Asia-Pacific Members' Meeting & Conference

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:28:00 +0000

I recently went to Singapore to attend HTNG's Second Annual Asia-Pacific Members' Meeting & Conference. It took place from 13-15 July 2009 at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton - I was on the 22nd floor and enjoyed every minute of my stay, relishing the overwhelming view of the Marina Bay.

The HTNG member meetings are generally great and it was no different this year. It brought together key industry executives and eminent speakers who talked about thought leadership and HTNG workgroup progress reports.

It was an excellent platform to interact with like minded people ready to adapt to new technology. I met quite a few IT heads and GMs from various hotels and chains.

There was an interesting session on Hotel IT spending in the current scenario with panelists being CIOs of various hotels. It was good to get first-hand knowledge on what their priorities are currently.

The conference had an ideal mix of hoteliers and technology providers with around 150 people attending the event. As per the agenda, latest updates of the activities of various workgroups including In-room solution, Architecture and Property/Distribution Solutions, were shared with us.

The key take-away was the details of new technology and upcoming trends received from the core teams of different workgroups. Data security, green room technology and role of social media were the hot topics; other topics included technology updates on revenue management, online distribution and related areas.

I feel it was an event worth attending as it provided excellent rapport building opportunities and first-hand information on how the industry is faring. These kind of events give that realistic feel and allow you to compare between analysts forecasts and actual scenario, and accordingly decide your next move forward.

Udai Singh Solanki is the CIO at RateTiger where he steers the development team, oversees organizational process and IT strategy. He also looks into Information Security and Management. Udai is passionate about innovation and keeps himself abreast on latest happenings by attending events and tradeshows. He is based in eRevMax’s technical development centre in Kolkata, India.

HSMAI Revenue Manager’s Luncheon

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:54:00 +0000

The Central Florida chapter of HSMAI organizes quarterly Luncheons for its members to meet and discuss the latest happenings in the field of revenue management over a hearty meal. On June 19, 2009 they hosted the Revenue Manager’s Luncheon at the Regal Sun Resort in Orlando.

The topic for the luncheon was “Market Conditions, Strategies, and New Technologies in Challenging times”.

Phil Stiles, Vice President of Sales, RateTiger, Daryl Cronk, Director of Research, Orlando/Orange County Conventions & Visitor’s Bureau and Debbie Morris, Founder and owner, Web Resource Management were invited for a panel discussion on the subject.

Phil describes his experience of the event, “The event was very productive as it allowed focused discussion on the ground realities of the hotel and travel market, specifically in Orlando. It was well attended and the presence of over 55 members, including Expedia and Travelocity signifies how relevant these sessions are to the industry.”

“HSMAI’s luncheon events are popular due to the fact that it allows meaningful networking with focused group of people and all involved benefit out of the process. RateTiger sponsored this event and I have to say it was worth it,’ concludes Phil.

RateTiger US Sales Manager Siobhain McArdle did a brief presentation on RateTiger products which was very well received by the attendees. Various queries came in after the event indicating how hoteliers are looking at technology more than ever to tide over the current scenario.

BHA Annual Luncheon 2009

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:38:00 +0000

The famed BHA Annual Luncheon is getting bigger and better. This year’s gathering took place at Grosvenor House, London on June 24, 2009. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was invited as the guest of honor to share his views on tourism.

RateTiger’s Director of Sales Keith Povah and Sr. Sales Manager Sunaina Jagtiani attended the event with some prospective and current clients.

“The champagne reception provided great networking opportunities and an ideal platform for members to interact with some key industry people to understand their take on the current market scenario and get an insight on how they are mapping their road ahead,” said Keith Povah.

BHA Chief Executive Bob Cotton officially opened the event, attended by over 600 people, stressing the significant role that tourism and hospitality industry plays in the UK’s economy. He mentioned how the industry helps create jobs and brings revenue thereby assisting in the revival of the economy.

Before inviting Boris Johnson to address the audience, Bob stressed on the importance of the Government’s role in providing the right kind of environment and encouragement for the industry to operate successfully and grow.

Sunaina really enjoyed the Mayor’s speech and says, “Boris delivered a great speech focusing on current economic trends and its impact on tourism. He applauded the hospitality industry for the immense effort it has put in coping with the market and mentioned how despite the prevailing conditions, there are more hotels opening in London. He also touched upon the plans for 2012 London Olympics and urged greater investments in hospitality sector to ensure that London maximizes the benefits coming its way through this mega sporting event.”

Keith and Sunaina hosted some of the key hospitality members including Marketing magazine’s Travel & Tourism Specialist Alex Brownsell, Len Louis from Classic British, Paul Kay from Greene King Hotels, Stuart Bailey from Splendid Hotel Group, Ghislaine A. Oliver of Hotel Info Ltd., Colette Togus and Darren Kerr from Corus Hotels and Kieran Tobin from Destinations of the World (Europe) Ltd.

The audience represented a good mix of hotels, management companies and travel technology companies. The overall discussion was focused on the current economic trends, however hoteliers highlighted that the scenario was not as bad as they had expected.

HITEC 2009

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:08:00 +0000

Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference, HITEC, is today considered one of the world’s largest hospitality technology events. It took place from June 22-25, 2009 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California USA. RateTiger was represented by Sascha Hausmann, COO and Phil Stiles, VP of Sales.

As expected the attendance was lower than in previous years by around 35 to 45%. The main theme of the event was partnerships and product launches. Many travel technology companies announced partnerships and integrations to further help the industry offer seamless connectivity and better technologies.

At HITEC we announced our integration partnerships with Trust International and Micros as the travel industry moves towards automated online distribution. Seamless connectivity remains the priority for PMS / CRS companies and channel management is now used to supplement where XML seamless connectivity cannot be established technically or from a ROI perspective for existing key players.

A new addition to this year’s HITEC was the Roundtable session, one of which was hosted by RateTiger. Sascha led a discussion on - ‘Maximizing revenue during turbulent economic times: has seamless connectivity failed?’ He considers Roundtables to be a good concept which encouraged considerable knowledge exchange and he would like to see this becoming a regular feature at HITEC.

The Twitter discussion had the most successful roundtable attendance Digital and social media is what hotels are focusing on to get those ‘more-than-ever important’ travelers’ attention. So gear up people!

RateTiger also hosted a tutorial session on ‘Channel Management and the traditional reservation system’. Phil and Sascha had a good audience who understood the relevance of the topic and requested further information to make better buying decisions.

This year’s event turned out to be more of an exhibitor-meet-exhibitor show than a visitor-meet-exhibitor show. RateTiger did meet with some hoteliers and provided product demonstrations. Their feedback conveyed their trust in our brand and made us aware of the fact that RateTiger is identified as a company which innovates constantly and has relevant new tools to offer, which is what we continually aim for. HITEC rocks!

Web In Tourism, 2009

nehaginoria@gmail.com (Neha Ginoria) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:06:00 +0000

Italian magazine Job in Tourism organizes the Web in Tourism conference annually where leading experts from the industry are invited to discuss on the opportunities available in the e-space for the tourism industry. This year’s edition was held on 28May 2009 in Milan.

RateTiger’s CEO and co-founder Andrew Morsi, being a well known figure in the Italian hospitality circuit, was invited as one of the guest speakers for the conference. The event was attended by over 300 hoteliers including general managers, revenue and sales managers, hotel owners among others.

The principal discussion topics included future of online tourism, importance of digital marketing and communication, reputation management strategies, brand website optimization etc. Mr. Andrew Morsi presented on the topic – ‘The next big evolution in Online Distribution’ which was received well by the audience.

Andrew emphasized the importance of having an online presence, specifically for hotels, as more people are referring to the internet while planning their holidays. People are using the web for user reviews, researching and, best rates etc. Hotels need to be competitive when providing rates and availability across various distribution channels to generate relevant bookings and maximize opportunities.

The event was worth attending and we look forward to future editions of the same.

See photos from the event.