Leading business-to-business bedbank Mallorca-based Hotelbeds held their 7th annual Markethub Americas conference in Los Cabos, Mexico in early October. The location was chosen in part to support tourism in Los Cabos, so badly hit by Hurricane Odile in 2014, and the sea and the sun added the perfect backdrop to four days of networking, business meetings and industry presentations.
This year’s theme was “Simplify” and that idea is being implemented throughout the company. Making transactions easier, less complex and creating a better, more user-friendly experience for everyone is the goal.
Carlos Muñoz, Managing Director of Hotelbeds Bedbank, got things started with a look back over the past year. The company enjoyed a whopping 20% growth rate, well above industry standards. In Product, their destinations have been reorganized into Corridors, allowing easier and more reliable searching. They’ve added over 11,000 new hotels (6,000 in the Americas), 500 new destinations and over 4,000 new differentiated products.
There’s a new, faster, easier to understand and use, and mobile-ready Application Programming Interface (API) allowing different software and systems to interface seamlessly with each other. Technology updates are rounded out by a new app. The company itself has been reorganized which allow for a more streamlined and focused customer service.
Current trends affecting not just Hotelbeds but the industry as a whole include:
• OTA consolidation
• Innovation
• Technology and how it’s used, particularly mobile
• The Customers: what they want and how to keep them happy
In 2016, Hotelbeds will be concentrating on new differentiates and properties, data (how to better get, interpret and use it), and of course, Simplicity, from operations to services to relationships.
I had a chance to speak with Mr. Muñoz later that day. Last year’s Markethub was all about “Forward Thinking” and he remarked that the two themes go hand in hand. Simplicity comes from forward thinking, especially with regards to customer service, data management and innovation in distribution.
In 2014 it was announced that they planned to double their size within five years, and with this year’s 20% growth they’re well on their way to that target. Hotelbeds is constantly reimagining what the market needs. The name of the game is innovation.
Throughout two days of presentations, attendees had a chance to hear from various departments of Hotelbeds as well as travel industry specialists and Markethub partners. Norm Rose of Phocuswright gave a great talk on current trends and where the travel industry is headed. He emphasized the importance of mobile technology, especially in end-user booking, and declared mobile “no longer a trend but a constant.” The creative leadership and motivational group “Upping Your Elvis” was also on hand, bringing useful ideas for helping individuals bring simplicity into their own working lives.
Properties and destinations from around the Americas had a presence at the trade show. These included Interjet Airlines, US Virgin Islands’ Tourism, various Las Vegas Hotels including the Wynn/Encore and Caesar’s Hotels, Fiesta Americana Hotels, Disney Destinations, AM Resorts, and Los Cabos Tourism, among many others.
But Markethub isn’t just about meetings and presentations, and networking is always more fun with a little tequila! Attendees were treated to gala dinners by partners Marquis Los Cabos, Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos, Secrets Puerto Los Cabos, and the hospitality of host hotel the Riu Santa Fe. On Tuesday, restaurant Manta at the newly-opened Thompson Hotels’ The Cape hosted a lunch for the principals of the company.
Hotelbeds, www.hotelbeds.com
Markethub, www.themarkethub.com/americas
Los Cabos Tourism, www.vcabo.com