Tag: online distribution

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BTL 2012


I attended BTL earlier this month. This was the 24th edition of the event and it witnessed close to 800 exhibitors and over 80,000 visitors.

Various hotels participated in the event and most of them were concerned with the economic situation. The hotel industry in Portugal is currently experiencing falling occupancy and RevPAR. Many revenue managers and proprietors we spoke to were interested in understanding how to boost revenues.

Awareness about online distribution is rising which has led to many local players now offering channel management solutions. The Portuguese market is surely maturing and understands the benefits they can derive from a good channel management product.

RateTiger has been attending BTL for five years now and there is no denying the fact that it is a business platform of reference to both professionals and for the general public. It provides a chance for all interested to meet in one place and is one of the largest and most comprehensive tourism events in Portugal.

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

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ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012

I was at the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) last month. It was the first time I attended the event which was a good experience.

ATF is a cooperative regional effort to promote the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region as one tourist destination. This annual event involves all the tourism industry sectors of the 10 member nations of ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Each year ATF is rotated among the member countries. ATF 2012 marked the 31st anniversary since its inauguration in Malaysia in 1981. Indonesia hosted ATF 2012 and I had the pleasure of meeting up with over 300 hoteliers who attended the event along with others from the tourism industry.

The event was dominated by hoteliers from Indonesia; and it was great to meet with them. Topics of conversation revolved around new hotel openings in the region, growth of online distribution as well as new technologies catering to it. The next edition will take place in Laos and we look forward to being there next year.

Michael Atienza is Sales Manager for APAC at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. He can be reached at michaela@ratetiger.com

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FITUR 2012

The thirty-second edition of FITUR was inaugurated by Prince Philip and Princess Letizia of Spain. The official opening by the Royal Family once again shows its unconditional support for the tradeshow and, in general, the Spanish tourism sector.

I attended the event along with my colleague Cristina Hernandez. We found that the exhibition this year was comparatively smaller due to the ongoing recession and various country representations were missing. However, FITUR made their commitment clear to the online sector, web 2.0, technology, social networking and video marketing among others during FITURTECH conferences.

The discussions at the event revolved around topics like new revenue trends such as Flash sales (Groupon), Social Media booking engines, online distribution, direct xml connectivity, online reputation management and affect of the recession on Southern European domestic travel scenarios, etc.

We had a stand which kept us constantly busy. Overall it was a good show with lot of networking opportunities. Look forward to the next edition.

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

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ÖHV-Hotelierkongress 2012

I attended the ÖHV-Hotelierkongress 2012 in Schladming last month and was pleasantly surprised in my first week taking over the region by the warmth and friendliness of Austrians. It turned out to be a well organized event with over 600 attendees comprising hoteliers, representatives from tourism boards, business and economy.

The focus for this year’s congress was to gauge current changes in society resulting from the recession and political shifts and its impact on the hospitality & tourism. The conference covered topics like impact of crisis and austerity on tourism, dealing within a changing world, the role of tourism in integration, the Family Hotel 2020 and the change in e-tourism.

For me, it was a great opportunity to meet with local hoteliers and discuss channel management and the potential it offers. The hospitality scenario in Austria is dominated by family run leisure hotels and small establishments. The awareness about online distribution has started to seep through though it will take some time to gain momentum. The event provided a good networking platform and it was a valuable learning experience for all present.

I look forward to the next edition and other such events in the region.

Cristina Hernandez is Sales Manager for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Eastern Spain at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She can be reached at cristinas@ratetiger.com

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HOSPACE 2011 Conference

HOSPACE is the annual conference and exhibition hosted by HOSPA (formerly BAHA) – the UK’s leading educational organisation for hospitality professionals. The event took place on 24th November 2011 in UK and saw approximately 400 delegates attending it. 

The event opened with an overview of the industry and the upcoming Olympics, post which it moved on to a panel discussion on key issues, trends and developments facing Finance, Revenue Management and IT professionals followed by the Hospitality IT Debate and a Revenue Management Session.

There were some educational workshops lined-up as well. My colleague Casey Davy did a presentation on Online Distribution and Channel Management which was very well attended.


Overall it was a very successful show as the turnout was great. It was a good mix of suppliers including hotel technology and the buyers which comprised of large hotel groups as well as standalone properties which made it more interesting.

Not only did the event receive excellent feedback from all exhibitors, but the delegates too shared positive reviews and found it a worthwhile platform for business.

Sunaina Jagtiani is Sales Manager – UK at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She is based out of London, UK and can be reached at sunainaj@ratetiger.com

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RateTiger News

Global Hotel Exchange Utilizes RateTiger Effect

On Tuesday, a new, independent OTA announced a strategical alignment with RateTiger. Global Hotel Exchange, a cost free distrubution channel for hotels to launch in January, will leverage the power of global hospitality technology provider Rate Tager and eRevMax. Set to go live in January of 2012, Global Hotel Exchange (GHX) was founded by Tom Magnuson, CEO of Magnuson Hotels, the largest independent hotel group in the world. As part of the strategic move, GHX gains access to over 20% of the UK hotel market, not including the strength of Magnuson’s other 2,000 hotels in the US and across the UK.
http://www.argophilia.com/news/ratetiger-effect/24140/

WTM: 2011 Money Generation Machine

Travel Daily News reported this morning, the start of this week’s World Travel Market in London, the leading worldwide travel industry event, welcomed some 183 new exhibitors for 2011. From national tourism boards, destination management companies, to technology entities and beyond, ExCeL, London is the place to be November 7 through 10.
http://www.argophilia.com/news/money-generation-machine/24135/

WTM Travel and Online Technology region prepares for more visitors and buyers

World Travel Market, the leading event for the global travel industry, reveals that the number of pre-registered visitors interested in technology and online travel for WTM 2011 is already 13% up on the previous year.With a week to go until the event launches on Monday 7 November, the improvement on last year is likely to increase further.
http://www.incentivetravel.co.uk/shows/4013-wtm-travel-and-online-technology-region-prepares-for-more-visitors-and-buyers

JacTravel embraces hotel channel management

Travel wholesaler JacTravel has launched a new channel management service for its hotel partners to address what it says it has identified as an important growing market. Commercial manager James Blackmore has been appointed to head up the service and partners already signed up include RateTiger, TravelClick, Figaro, and A&O Hotels and Hostels. Channel management has taken off in recent years with some firms reporting double digit growth in sales and triple digit growth in usage, according to JacTravel. Sascha Hausmann,  chief executive of eRevMax, which owns RateTiger, said: “Channel management is becoming an essential technology to more efficiently and accurately manage the multiple sales channel landscape of the internet. Over the past two years we have seen an increase of over 150% of channel updates processed per month.”
http://www.travolution.co.uk/articles/2011/10/14/5103/jactravel-embraces-hotel-channel-management.html


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LodgeGate implements RateTiger for seamless online booking connectivity


Dutch-based company Hotels Online, provider of LodgeGate Hotel Management System (PMS), has selected RTConnect, the premium XML interface, for electronic rate and inventory distribution as well as reservations delivery.

RateTiger recently completed the 2-way XML connection integration with LodgeGate and its 150+ hoteliers are currently adopting the technology to better manage sales. Over 30 properties will soon be using the enhanced service and benefit from a two-way connection to their electronic distribution network. Customers of the PMS will be able to automatically maximize their online presence while avoiding over-booking through an easy-to-use interface.

LodgeGate’s customers can now easily manage and update multiple sales channels including the Global Distribution Systems (GDS), various Online Travel Agents (OTA), e-commerce and social media. Rate and availability data already present in their PMS can now be shared automatically with RateTiger’s channelmanager. This will save time and provide opportunity to make additional money.

As part of the interface, hotels will also receive booking confirmations directly into their property management system, therefore sparing the effort of manual data entry.


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eRevMax Expands its Global Footprint in America, Africa & Asia


eRevMax International, a global software and services house, has announced further expansion of its brands RateTiger and SimpleDistribution. The company has opened sales offices and representations in Australia, South Africa, South America and China.

The new offices will strengthen eRevMax International’s global market leadership in the hospitality and travel industries while enabling the company to enter new markets in Asia Pacific and South America. This will help keeping up with the growing demand of its products as well as its commitment to customers to provide local presence and support.

The two lead product brands, RateTiger and SimpleDistribution, have positioned eRevMax International as a thought leader of online distribution and revenue management. The solutions offer channel management technology and services to enhance hotel’s sales capabilities that have been recognized with the European Seal of e-Excellence for the Marketing of Innovation for the last three years (2009, 2010 & 2011).

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/erevmax-buy-two-more-hospitality-tech-firms-738

http://orientalhospitality.com/erevmax-expands-its-global-footprint-in-asia-america-africa

http://www.htrends.com/article57011ERevMax_Expands_Its_Global_Footprint_in_Asia__America___Africa.html