BHA Annual Luncheon

The BHA Luncheon event was an extension of our partnership with British Hotel Association. It took place in the Great Room of the Grosvenor House Hotel on 29th June and had a great turnout of over 700. 
We had the pleasure of inviting both clients and partners to intermingle over a great meal; we were joined by Bridgestreet Apartments, English Rose Hotels, Expedia, The Leonard Hotel, Supranational Hotels, and St. Giles Hotel. 
The BHA Luncheon this year was more special because it ended one era and welcomed another as the CEO Bob Cotton stepped down and the current CEO Ufi Ibrahim stood at the helm.

For us, this was another great opportunity to re-establish contacts with many hotel owners and directors and network with industry peers.

Casey Davy is Sales Manager – UK at eRevMax. He is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. Casey is based out of London and can be reached at caseyd@ratetiger.com

AHP Hotel Distribution Seminario

The last day of June saw the Association of Hotels of Portugal (AHP) organizing a seminar on Hotel Distribution. It brought together a group of experts in the area of hotel distribution to advice hoteliers on best available tools and latest trends in hotel management, online distribution and channel management.

An increasing number of tourists make their hotel reservations via the Internet. Also though the economy is recuperating, it has not held back Portuguese people from traveling. According to “The Travels of the Portuguese in 2010” study conducted in May this year, the Portuguese say they want to travel at least once this year. This has further made hoteliers more optimistic about business and has enhanced the need to distribute online to ensure they get their fair share of bookings from this dynamic medium.
The seminar was therefore a great platform to present directly to owners and hotel managers, marketing managers and marketing directors who are the real decision makers. I conducted a presentation on RateTiger and the concept of our solutions which included the advantages of online distribution; how to distribute more and better without changing its structure; how to boost sales team and how to ensure price parity. 
Other presenters included Zoover (Hotel Review sites and their importance); Viatecla (advantages of integrating review sites and how to monitor them) and Travelport/Galileo Portugal (GDS and Hotels). With over 60 hoteliers present it was just the perfect sized audience for making a strong presence amongst them. 
Overall the seminar was excellent and very productive. I received a lot of questions which showed the interest level of the audience and I was also approached for more information on RateTiger products. I look forward to other sessions by AHP as these are quality events which are purely B2B and helps all involved find what they need.
Pilar Sanchez Aita is Sales Manager – Spain & Portugal at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She is based out of Spain and can be reached at pilara@ratetiger.com

HITEC 2010

The RateTiger USA team attended the annual HITEC event last month. The Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) showcased the integration of current technology trends and how the industry is being shaped like never before.

Orange County Convention Centre in Orlando was the hub of all the activities, events and power discussions from June 21–24 as it became a one-stop platform for technology experts, hoteliers, travel companies and industry leaders to network and find cost-effective ways to improve company bottom lines.

HITEC remains one of the best B2B platforms for RateTiger meeting many PMS and CRS companies who are looking to extend their existing products. This is our chance to present our powerful back-end tools for vendors and large hotel chains, RTCorp and RTConnect, though it amazes me how much of the industry is playing catch-up with new business revenue models through the internet.

The overall footfall at the show was much better compared to last year and that was a big relief for us. The main RateTiger attraction (apart from myself) was the RTSuite iPhone app demo that we showcased to visitors. Customers liked it very much and were interested in the application.

Tradeshows like these provide us an opportunity to see how customers and the industry in general perceive RateTiger. We always get to hear good reviews and appreciation, which further encourages us to innovate and develop new features and products to serve the sector better. I am already looking forward to HITEC 2011. Congratulations to HFTP for making HITEC so successful year after year.

Bill Goldsberry is Director of Int’l Group Sales at eRevMax. He is based out of Florida and can be reached at williamg@ratetiger.com
 

Publituris Portugal Travel Awards 2010

The Publituris Portugal Travel Awards 2010, considered the “Oscars of Tourism in Portugal” took place on 18th June at the beautiful Tivoli Victoria Hotel in Vilamoura.
Our client, the elegant Internacional Design Hotel was conferred with the Best Four Star Hotel in Portugal title. The hotel’s design concept, great location and extraordinary customer service makes staying here a truly memorable experience for guests. 
The impressive, classical facade reveals an exciting and contemporary interior. Each of the hotel’s four floors has a special theme inspired by world cultures. From minimalism and Zen to urban chic, pop art and African touches, each room is different with images, lighting, textures and colors creating a unique and stylish ambience. 
 
Celso Terra Assunção (in picture left), Director of Internacional Design Hotel was present to collect the award. The event was superbly hosted by José Pedro Vasconcelos and also featured a concert by Rodrigo Leão & Cinema Ensemble. The Gala was attended by Bernardo Trindade, Secretary of State for Tourism.
We at RateTiger are pleased to have winners on our side and extend our warm wishes and congratulate every member of the Internacional Design Hotel for winning the coveted trophy and making this chic hotel a truly world class property.
Pilar Sanchez Aita is Sales Manager – Spain & Portugal at eRevMax and is responsible for sales of RateTiger products in the region. She is based out of Spain and can be reached at pilara@ratetiger.com