Client

Market leader in the Middle Eastern travel industry, delivering new products and services to travellers across the region.

Overview

TMCs that are large with a diversified geographic presence face the challenge of standardising accounting processes to maintain operational efficiencies and compliance measures across offices. While it’s a critical requirement for large TMCs, it can also prove to be quite difficult because of a TMC’s multi-channel, multi-market model.
One of the largest global TMCs – also a HotelHub customer – wanted to implement the HotelHub solution in partner markets such as Israel and UAE. Due to lack of direct presence in partner markets, the TMC has been collaborating with a local agency to offer its services.

Key Challenges

Lack of standardised booking and accounting processes for partner agencies

Sub-par operational efficiencies and compliance measures across markets

The problem

Implementing a solution in a partner market that does not have the same systems and processes, as the TMC requires a completely different approach and solution configuration. It is as good as creating a solution from scratch. The booking platform must be configured with content for the new markets end-to-end, including clients, users, enabling the content with GDS and offers/negotiations with hotel chains. The platform must also account for market-specific requirements like booking records, invoicing and accounting.

Partner markets don’t have any mandates to use standard products or follow a globally standardised process. For the solution to be implemented successfully, HotelHub would need to consolidate the local agency’s back office systems and PNR set-up. Given the amount of change involved, the TMC was in discussion with the partner markets for a long time but hadn’t actually implemented any changes.

The need: A consultative approach to recreate the solution from the ground up

Taking on the project meant different things for HotelHub and its TMC. The TMC assumed that partner market expansions would work similar to any other market, but the reality was that the expansion involved HotelHub implementing the solution in a completely new environment. Leveraging the team’s expertise in setting up systems across TMCs of different sizes, levels of complexity and market models was key to a successful implementation. HotelHub adopted a consultative approach to the expansion, asking the right questions before recommending the best way forward. The approach revealed issues and use cases that even the TMC was unaware of. The HotelHub team was a constant source of knowledge and technical expertise – their understanding of the industry and local market needs ensured that the implementation went off seamlessly, and with all the necessary capabilities built into the solution.

Impact

The consultative approach, coupled with the team’s expertise, led to the implementation of the solution in the partner market in just 3 months. It also paved the way for further multi-market expansions and a mobile app for the TMC.