Technology has obviously transformed the way hotels operate compared to the good old days of the 1990s. No more so than in distribution, which has arguably faced the most dramatic changes.
Hotel industry has seen several technology influence, that includes the wave of moving everything desktop-based to cloud-based, and the recent act of companies launching a platform for hotels to sell their last minute inventory.
Technology companies like Travelclick, RezNext, RateGain, eRevMax are seen as a one stop shop for hoteliers.
Tnooz interviewed Michael (Mike) Kistner, ex-CEO of Pegasus Solution and current board member of RezNext.
Q&A with Kistner below.
What are the key challenges faced in today's hotel distribution industry?
Today’s hotelier is confronted with a multitude of distribution channels and opportunities.
They are called upon to effectively distribute their product locally and globally through GDS systems, online travel agents, travel agents, direct marketing organizations, travel management companies, affiliate groups and more.
The challenge is to help hotels effectively and efficiently promote themselves to these multiple audiences.
RezNext seem to be a one stop shop for hoteliers. You pretty much have every tech product a hotelier needs. What are the key selling products among your suite and why?
Yes we do have a very comprehensive solution set. The idea is to make our solution set as complete as possible.
All our solutions are designed to empower our clients to better manage their hotels and better present and sell their inventory through the myriad of channels, both locally and globally that are available today.
What is the future of hotel distribution industry? Do you see any consolidation / convergence happening?
The hotel distribution industry is in flux. Roll ups, mergers and acquisitions continue to happen.
With changing needs, OTAs are reinventing themselves and expanding across geographies.
What are the steps RezNext has taken to ensure you stay ahead of competitors (Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Travelclick, RateGain, eRevMax etc)?
While it is interesting to know what your competition is doing, we believe it is more important to focus on the needs of our customers and develop solutions that deliver value for them.
While some of the groups you mention have some of the components we offer, none of them offer the complete and comprehensive set.
We have focused on delivering the features, functionality and solution sets that drive profitability for our clients.
We are ever aware of the changing face of distribution, the impact of social media, the need for instant information and confirmation.
You always need to be one step ahead.
Which markets are going to be a growing economy for RezNext and which markets will have sluggish growth in next 2 years?
We definitely expect plenty of growth in emerging markets such as Asia, Middle East and Africa, and we will be focusing on these markets.
There will also be pockets of opportunity in Europe and the Americas.
What's your view on hotel technology products adoption by Asian hoteliers compared to other markets like US and UK? Who leads and why?
Adoption of technology needs to be viewed for its ability to impact outcomes for hotelier be it Asian or others.
If technology introduces measurable results such as optimized use of manpower, greater automation, efficiency, accuracy, enhanced management, better visibility into process at the hotel, better planning and management, of course hoteliers will adopt it.
We see that especially with mobility solutions that have been widely adopted in the Asian markets.
It would be difficult to say who leads and follows in any market, as the same market in many cases, will do both at the same time.
While one market embraces mobile processing, it may be slow to adopt revenue management and business intelligence.
And of course, one must be mindful of the fact that slow today in the internet age is only a transitory statement. Disruptive technologies can turn things around almost overnight.
NB:Hotel image via Shutterstock.