As a leader and a voice in the world of travel, we know you like to stay in-the-know when it comes to travel tech insights and innovation. So, we decided to have a chat with Hotelmize, which has thrived despite the challenges posed by Covid-19. For those who don’t know, Hotelmize is a fintech-travel start-up that uses high-end technology to solve some of the challenges of the evolving travel industry.
Say hello to Omry Litvak, co-founder and COO at Hotelmize:
Travel Forward: How has Covid-19 impacted your business?
OL: Like all other travel-related start-ups, it’s been a very weird time for us.
At first, we assumed Covid-19 would be finished in a few months, then we realized it would be here for a long time. We decided to take the active route rather than sit and wait until the event was over. And to take advantage of this time to increase our client base and work on our product.
As a result, in the past year, we tripled the number of our clients.
We kept all our team together, and we are now seeing the market recover. We all hope that we will be able to look back on Covid in one year and say that it was a difficult time, but it also increased technology adoption that would normally have taken years.
Travel Forward: What trends have you seen amongst your customer base and how have you had to adapt?
OL: On a networking level, before Covid-19, the travel industry was focused on offline events and meeting in person, and in my opinion, there wasn’t a focus on discussing technological content on travel platforms. So, we have focused on discussing topics of interest for the travel community, like revenue management, AI, ML, insights on fintech, Covid-19 and more. During Covid, there has been a digital evolution with travel professionals wanting to know more about technology.
In just seven months, we have grown our website’s monthly visits to 24,000 unique visits per month, up from just less than 1000 unique visits per month. That tells us how the travel market has evolved in the last year due to Covid-19. Without physical events, there is a need to keep track of the latest trends, tech, and news. The travel industry has made a digital shift that will stay for good.
Travel Forward: What would you say to other travel tech professionals about thriving in the new normal? What advice would you give?
OL: I believe that travel tech professionals must be open-minded and be willing to adapt to new technologies. Travel organizations were so busy during the golden era of the industry that they weren’t thinking about embracing new technologies. However, now that we realize how fragile this industry may be, we need to adapt our technologies around pricing, the customer experience, and other factors as well.
By using that technology, we will be more productive, efficient, and of course, we will be able to recover from the pandemic better. As we know, technologies always lead to cost savings and increased revenues.
Be perseverant. If your technology is good enough to help travel companies during these times, you just need to be patient and focus on what your clients really need right now. Adapt, change, implement and you will grow faster than ever.
Interested in more insights from leaders in the travel tech industry? Then register for Travel Forward today!
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