Paraty Tech , a specialist in the development of advanced technology for the optimization of online and offline direct sales in hotels, and Descubre Group , a leading company in digital communication solutions for the hotel sector, have announced a strategic alliance.
This collaboration, in addition to marking an important milestone in the expansion into the American market , offers cutting-edge solutions and facilitates access to them at the most competitive rates, with the aim of improving the guest experience (before, during and after the stay) and optimizing hotel operations.
Enhancing the international hotel experience
With a successful track record in the international market, these solutions are already used by some of the most prestigious hotel chains, such as Meliá Hotels International and Barceló Hotel Group , who already trust Descubre Group to improve the guest experience through innovation in hotels around the world. Now, both companies are preparing to introduce these solutions in the dynamic Mexican market, where Paraty Tech has established itself as the booking engine that manages the most beds in the hotel zone of Cancún .
A complete customer experience, from start to finish
Guest experience is critical at every stage of a guest’s stay – from the moment they begin dreaming about traveling, through the moment they leave, through the moment they book, and into their stay. Understanding and optimizing this cycle not only improves guest satisfaction and their perception of the lodging experience, but also drives sales and loyalty.
Descubre Group and Paraty Tech join forces to spread and introduce their solutions in major tourist destinations, offering tools designed to maximize operational efficiency and enrich the customer experience at all stages of their stay: personalization and promotion prior to arrival, optimization of communication and management of services during the stay and, finally, post-stay monitoring and retention.
Tools for an excellent customer experience
Pre-stay – Paraty Tech
Paraty Digital Suite, digital marketing agency : Full range of digital marketing services, including SEO, SEM, metasearch engine connectivity and campaign management, social media management, newsletter design and sending.
Revenue management tools : Designed in-house, they help you always keep your own and your competitors' prices under control, so you are in a position to offer the best guaranteed online price to the guest.
Web design and booking engine : With a clear focus on sales and user experience, both the website and the booking process are 100% custom, with the intention of offering a simple, intuitive and frictionless shopping experience.
In-house Call Center : For many travelers, the best experience still begins with a friendly voice. The specialized agents at Ring2Travel, Paraty Tech's call center, are trained to identify themselves as hotel staff and represent the establishment with extreme fidelity.
During the stay – DiscoverGroup
Channel 0 information and personalized digital signage : Improved communication with guests and effective promotion of additional services through Channel 0 and screens in common areas.
Service Directory : A Webapp directory that complements the corporate channel. It is a solution that informs and allows guests to interact from their mobile device, accessing activities, shows, incident reports, restaurant reservations, tours and much more.
Digital Menus : Menu in Webapp format that allows you to manage dishes according to availability in real time and with an allergen filter, all of this under the brand and corporate image standards.
Content manager : Intuitive management tool to update the content of all our platforms easily and in real time, informing the guest throughout their stay.
Touch screen information kiosk : Ideal totem for common areas with direct access to relevant information and promotions, among others.
Post-stay – Paraty Tech
Satisfaction Questionnaires : Listening to guests is crucial to improving and being able to make them feel heard and increase the likelihood that they will return in the future.
Loyalty Programs : Up to 5 different types of Loyalty Program (with or without levels, accumulation of points and/or nights, wallet, etc.)
Benefits for Mexican hotels
Thanks to this alliance, hotels will have access to a suite of integrated solutions that not only optimize processes, but also elevate the guest experience to a new level. From service automation to real-time incident management, our technologies are designed to help hotels stand out in an increasingly competitive market.
Iván Rodríguez, CEO of Descubre Group, commented: “We are very excited to collaborate with Paraty Tech to offer solutions that enhance the guest experience. This partnership is a key step in our mission to bring innovation and cutting-edge technology to hotels around the world.”
For his part, Daniel Romero, Director of Communications and Strategic Alliances at Paraty Tech, added: “We are extremely pleased to join our path with that of Descubre Group, with whom we share not only the sector and typical client, but also the desire to achieve excellence in our respective areas of specialization and to turn hotels into their main beneficiaries.” br>
About Discover Group
Discover Group is a company specialized in providing digital communication solutions for the hotel sector, with a focus on improving the guest experience and optimizing operational processes and with a strong presence in the market and with +450 hotels worldwide that use our solutions.
About Paraty Tech
Paraty Tech is a technology company that has been helping hotels and hotel chains boost their direct sales for over 12 years. With headquarters in Malaga, offices in Albufeira and Cancun, and sales offices in Colombia and the USA, it works with over 3,000 hotels around the world, with technology and customer service as its main hallmarks.
The data speaks for itself: up to 65% of quotes end in a booking.
Discover the effectiveness of Call Seeker, our quote and booking tool, in this Use Case where you can see not only why it is our most successful recent release, but also how all its features contribute to optimizing the operational efficiency of your team. Find out now how to boost and professionalize your voice channel. Access the full Use Case here.
Generation Z, which includes those born between 1997 and 2012, has grown up influenced by digital technology, social media and instant access to information. Unlike their predecessors, they have not known a world without the internet, which has significantly shaped their behavior, values and expectations.
In the travel sector, Generation Z is redefining the rules of the game, prioritizing authenticity, immediacy and visual experience when choosing their vacation destinations. According to a study by the consulting firm Resonance, 93% of Gen Z travelers use social media to get inspiration when planning their trips, and more than 50% decide their destinations based on what they see on these platforms.
How does Generation Z use social media to choose their vacations?
On social media, a picture is worth a thousand words, and that's why Instagram, the photo network par excellence, is becoming a staple for young travelers. Searches for hashtags like #travelinspo and the name of the destination are a must for finding the ideal vacation spot.
Visual inspiration and destination discovery: Instagram and TikTok are the top platforms where Gen Z seeks inspiration for their travels. Visual content is king for this group, with 70% stating that engaging images and videos are the main reason they choose a travel destination. Destinations that manage to capture attention with striking visual content have a clear advantage.
Influencers and user reviews: Influencers play a crucial role in Gen Z’s travel decisions. A report by Global Web Index indicates that 61% of this generation follows travel influencers, and 40% have booked a trip after seeing one recommended by one. In addition, opinions and reviews on social networks are also decisive, since they trust the experience shared by other users more than traditional advertising.
Authenticity and relatable content: Gen Z values authenticity above all else. They prefer to see genuine, unfiltered content that shows the true essence of a place or hotel. Establishments that are transparent and show both their strengths and more down-to-earth qualities are perceived as more trustworthy and authentic.
The importance of taking care of the social networks of hotel establishments
For hotels and tourist destinations, having a strong and well-managed presence on social media is more crucial than ever. A neglected or outdated profile can be the reason why a potential guest decides not to choose your establishment. This is where a well-defined social media strategy can make all the difference.
Why is it essential to take care of social networks?
First impression : Often, the Instagram or TikTok profile is the first point of contact between a potential customer and a hotel. A visually appealing profile, with up-to-date content and a clear narrative, creates an immediate positive impression.
Interaction and customer service : Social media is not only a marketing tool, but also a direct communication channel. Generation Z expects quick and personalized responses, making social media a crucial channel for customer service. Good handling of interactions can improve the hotel’s reputation and foster customer loyalty.
Community building : Fostering an active and engaged community around the hotel’s social media can create a ripple effect. Satisfied guests who share their experiences and recommend the hotel through their own networks act as brand ambassadors.
Paraty Digital Suite: the comprehensive solution for efficient social media management
At Paraty Tech, we understand the importance of a solid presence on social media for hotels and hospitality establishments. That is why, through our digital marketing agency, Paraty Digital Suite, we offer a comprehensive service designed to effectively optimize and manage your establishment's social media, among many other solutions.
What do we offer with Paraty Digital Suite?
Within our digital marketing agency (where we cover everything from connectivity and management of metasearch engine campaigns to the design and sending of email campaigns, including SEM, SEO, remarketing, etc.), we also provide a full range of services focused on social networks.
Customized content strategy: Without a strategy, there is no point in having a presence on social media. That is why, at Paraty Tech, we develop a content strategy aligned with your brand identity and your audience's expectations. This includes creating attractive visual content that highlights the best features of your hotel.
Social media management: We take care of the day-to-day management of your social media profiles, ensuring an active and consistent presence on all relevant platforms. This includes scheduling posts, managing interactions and monitoring comments and reviews.
Analytics and reporting: We offer detailed analysis of your social media performance, providing key insights into reach, engagement and conversions generated. With this data, we continuously optimize your strategy to maximize results.
Social Ads Campaigns: Following the strategy, we create specific campaigns for your establishment with segmentation appropriate to the preferences of your buyer persona. This way, reaching more potential customers will be even easier.
Social media content ideas
We've seen it all before, Instagram never stops updating its algorithm and adding new features... It's non-stop! But here are some examples of content that always works and is liked by the audience:
Guest Reviews & Experiences: Post stories and reviews from real guests sharing their experiences at your hotel. This content is highly credible and will resonate with Gen Z.
Behind the Scenes : Show the inner workings of your hotel, from the preparation of dishes in the restaurant to the attention to detail in room cleaning. This generates transparency and trust, making it one of the most popular content on social media.
Interactive content: Create polls, questions, and contests that engage your audience and encourage participation. Post stories with the poll or question sticker and you'll get more visibility on your profile, as well as being a plus for the Instagram algorithm.
Travel Guides and Local Routes: Publish travel guides or custom routes that guests can follow around your hotel, including recommendations for restaurants, activities, and historical sites.
Exclusive Flash Sales on Social Media: Launch flash offers or exclusive promotions that are only available to your followers on social media, encouraging loyalty and continued following.
In an era where Generation Z is redefining travel consumption through social media, adapting your digital strategies to their preferences is essential. At Paraty Tech, we help you connect with these new travelers through our agency Paraty Digital Suite, which optimizes the management of your social media to stand out in a competitive environment, maximizing your visibility and relevance in the tourism market.
Paraty Tech, a leader in the development and implementation of technological solutions aimed at boosting direct hotel sales, today announces it has become an authorised reseller of SiteMinder’s leading distribution and revenue platform. The move will enable Paraty Tech’s hotel customers to use world-class technology to reach more travellers globally, and streamline their direct sales and distribution strategies to unlock greater revenue.
SiteMinder’s platform is today used by more than 44,000 hotels globally to power more than 120 million reservations worth over US$50 billion in revenue each year. With its established integration with Paraty Tech’s booking engine, users of Paraty Tech’s booking engine can now benefit from the increased online visibility, operational efficiency and profitability enabled by SiteMinder’s industry-leading platform.
For the properties not yet leveraging sophisticated distribution and revenue management technology, the optimised integration offers an ideal starting point.
Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech, says, “We have long been a trusted provider of direct sales solutions. In light of the growing need for hotels to turn their attention to revenue and profits, we are delighted to now also be a provider of the global hotel industry’s most widely adopted distribution and revenue platform. Through our new offering, our hotel customers can now not only increase their competitiveness but also offer an enhanced experience to their guests".
The agreement takes immediate effect and applies in all markets where both technology companies operate, including Europe, North America and Latin America.
Royal River Luxury Hotel , a tourist complex located in one of the most exclusive enclaves of Tenerife, in front of the Costa Adeje Golf Course and with views of the Atlantic.
Since its opening in 2020, Royal River Luxury Hotel has sought to differentiate itself within the hospitality sector. With 50 luxury villas, elegant rooms, numerous swimming pools, a first-class spa, gym and a diversified gastronomic offer in four spaces, the hotel embodies the essence of superlative comfort. To continue in the line of excellence, the collaboration with Paraty Tech has become a key piece to boost sales in its direct channels.
The choice of Paraty Tech by Royal River Luxury Hotel is based on both the vast experience of the technology company and its wide range of services. Starting from its agile implementation, the connection between modules and tools , and the variety of services that reduce the number of interlocutors, favoring direct communication between the client and the supplier.
The project ranges from the design of the website, 100% customized, with independent versions for desktop and mobile devices, to the implementation of a booking engine with new functionalities adapted to the specific needs of the hotel.
With this association, Royal River Luxury Hotel meets the objective of being at the forefront. In this way, customized service launches have emerged such as the Gift Cards module . An implementation with which any user can give away stays from two to five nights, generating a Promocode to redeem for the purchase. This service will allow past, present or future guests to be rewarded, favoring the opening of a new way to boost direct reservations. In addition, the website is also supplied with a packaging service of unified and indivisible services such as the “romantic getaway” option, designed for couples.
"At Royal River Luxury Hotel, we are known for offering our guests an unparalleled experience, and to do so, we have found in Paraty Tech the perfect partner who shares our vision of excellence. Their experience and technological solutions have allowed us to take our offer to a new level," explains María Lorenzo, General Manager of Royal River Luxury Hotel.
Seeking to make the most of the potential of the services offered, both teams have worked hand in hand to completely renew the image and usability of the website, adding the adoption of the role of partner in digital marketing. Through the services of Paraty Digital Suite , the company carries out meticulous positioning work on the official website and traffic generation, as well as managing metasearch, SEM and Google Hotel Ads campaigns.
A degree of commitment that is not only reflected in the design of the website, but in the implementation of tailored solutions to take the hotel to the next level. Royal River Luxury also has Call Seeker services. A tool created with the aim of simplifying the task of quoting reservations and, thanks to active listening to the sector, gradually incorporating a wide range of functionalities.
One of them is activated when the website detects that the visitor has been inactive for a while and senses the possibility of losing a reservation. To recapture the user's attention, a pop-up appears requesting the email address in order to later send the quote by email.
With the main objective of boosting reservations through the direct channel, Royal River Luxury Hotel has Parity Maker , a tool that guarantees parity with the selected OTA and absolute control of rates. The best ally of the booking engine, to guarantee precision, constant evolution, in addition to reducing the abandonment rate and increasing the conversion rate.
For our part, “working with Royal River Luxury Hotel has been an exceptional opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities in the luxury hotel sector. Our mission is to provide tools that not only facilitate management, but also significantly improve the customer experience, and with this project, we believe we have achieved those objectives,” concludes Daniel Sánchez, CRO of Paraty Tech.
Joint work has allowed us to achieve the main objectives of the collaboration. For us, customer satisfaction is essential, and we have managed to meet the established objectives while maintaining excellence in our customer service and support. This has allowed us to generate positive results and obtain valuable feedback, promoting direct sales channels and optimizing the customer experience. Thanks to these achievements, Royal River Luxury Hotel has stood out in the competitive Tenerife hotel market.
In high season, the reservations and revenue departments of hotel establishments face critical challenges. Below, we detail the ten most common mistakes that can hurt efficiency and revenue, from fragmented availability issues and virtual overbooking to lack of communication of offers and inadequate customer service. Taking measures to avoid these errors is essential to optimize management and maximize hotel occupancy during periods of high demand.
1. Fragmented availability
Hotels often face non-linear availability problems for the same room type. For example, it may happen that on Monday a double room is available, on Tuesday a superior one, and on Wednesday, again, a double. Proper inventory management can consolidate this availability, optimizing the supply of rooms.
Likewise, minimum stays are sometimes trapped, preventing sales on key days.
At Paraty Tech, we offer functionalities that automatically relocate this availability, avoiding losses and ensuring greater efficiency in room management, something that not all channels can offer.
2. Virtual overbooking
Precise mapping between the booking engine, OTAs and channel manager is crucial to selling every last available room. Configuring rooms with their permitted occupancy, instead of assigning one room for each occupancy, avoids duplication of actual availability and ensures the last units are sold without problems.
Has it happened to you that a last room allows you to book multiple units on booking.com when occupancy is mixed? Surely this sounds familiar to you:
3. Spaces sold out on free days of the reservations/revenue department
It is common for the reservations or revenue department not to update slots in the Channel Manager during their free days, which leaves unsold rooms that could have been cancelled or been no-shows.
Implementing an internal protocol to manage these quotas automatically, or establishing bidirectional connectivity with the PMS, is essential to achieve 100% occupancy during weekends and holidays.
4. Non-aligned offers (bargains!)
Launching offers in periods of low occupancy is a common practice, but sometimes it is forgotten to do so on the channels themselves such as the official website and the call center, thereby damaging the reputation of the direct channel and promoting customers in search of bargains instead of our ideal target.
Aligning these offers across all channels is essential to maintaining a coherent and effective strategy.
5. Lack of communication of offers
It is well known that it is always nice to raise the price, but unfortunately, sometimes you have to propose a reduction, creating attractive offers and, most importantly, communicating them properly.
OTAs will position us better and marketing campaigns will be more effective. Let's remember that the customer does not have to know the previous price, so they will not notice the difference if it is not communicated to them efficiently.
It is not the same to lower the price of a room from €200 to €160 in the channel manager than to communicate on your social networks or campaigns that you offer an exclusive 20% discount, a flash offer with a countdown, or a promotional code by time limited.
Here, creativity and the wow effect are more important than ever!
6. Nobody answers the phone!
During peak season, the increase in calls can overwhelm both reception and reservations staff, resulting in numerous unanswered calls. This leads to loss of sales, bad reputation and diversion of customers to competitors.
It is crucial to have a well-prepared team to manage this increase in demand or outsource traffic that we are not able to handle.
7. Voice channel
We all know that calls need to be managed properly, but it is also necessary to provide written quotes (email, WhatsApp, etc.) and send booking links to ensure that potential clients are not lost. This allows you to track who books and who doesn't, make outbound follow-up calls, and maximize conversion opportunities.
Our Call Seeker tool, among other functions, allows you to manage these requests efficiently, achieving conversions of up to 50% on quote links. In addition, it is essential to implement correct collection processes, such as payment links, transfer payments and tokenization for deferred or automated payments, to optimize this channel.
8. Not offering what the customer is looking for
You work offers by device, market and channel... But also on your voice channel? It is essential to offer mobile rates, geolocated rates and opaque offers by telephone. This aligns the expectations of the customer who has met you online and maximizes conversion opportunities.
A common mistake is to discriminate a specific offer by device and/or market. The potential client has seen a certain price, but the agent, not having access to those rates, quotes the standard price, generating distrust and, consequently, losing the sale. Make sure your team has access to all available offers to avoid these mistakes and maintain customer trust.
9. Promote check-in dates
What hotelier has not had his establishment almost empty on a Sunday after a week at 90% occupancy? Promoting specific check-in days, such as Sundays, through special offers can help distribute occupancy more evenly.
These settings can be easily activated in the Paraty Tech booking engine, thus optimizing inventory management and improving the customer experience.
10. Avoid No-Shows
No-shows during high occupancy periods can hurt profitability and inventory management. Implementing automated collections a few days before arrival, especially on high demand dates, can prevent these unwanted no-shows and facilitate the resale of those last-minute units, thus maximizing revenue.
Booking.com continues to take steps in its migration process from the agency model to the merchant model and, selectively, for certain partners and only in certain countries at the moment, it will not continue its pre-payment policies. In other words, they will not accept pre-paid rates , such as Non-Refundable, unless they are the ones who manage the payment and charge the guest directly.
As a summary, and just to make sure that we all understand the implications of this change, in the agency model that the OTA had been using, it acted as an agent, facilitating the reservation, but payment was made directly to the hotel at the time of booking. make the reservation, which gave him greater control over prices. On the contrary, in the merchant model to which it is gradually migrating, much more widespread among the rest of the online agencies, the OTA acts as a financial intermediary between the hotel and the guest, and the latter pays directly to Booking, who subsequently upon the client's stay, pay the hotel. A mechanism that gives the OTA greater control over prices and cancellation policies, and that will normally also allow it to retain a higher commission than in the agency model.
To provide some figures that shed some light on this change in model, according to Trefis (Yahoo Finance), in Q1 2024, more than 57% of Booking's revenue from reservations came through the merchant model, while Revenue from the agency model decreased from 51.5% the previous year to 42.5%. Without a doubt, it is a very lucrative transition that also brings closer positions with one of its main competitors, Expedia.
On this occasion, the change of course is justified by the OTA's alleged security concerns, as a result of multiple financial fraud attacks directed at its users. However, it is not necessary to think too badly to realize that, ultimately, this measure gradually brings them closer to a model that suits them much better.
Possible negative effects for the hotel
It is undeniable that for many hotels (especially the most “booking-dependent”), if they decide not to accept the new rules of the game (something quite unlikely, due to the risk it entails for them), this measure could lead to a reduction in reservations through of the OTA, with the consequent impact on the income statement. Although realistically, the normal thing would be for just the opposite to happen and see their intermediation costs increase, because the fact that booking manages the payment will improve the OTA's numbers by being able to make price disparities, the ability they have to offer many more payment methods by markets, etc., in addition to the fact that this way of working facilitates the collection operations from hotels (at the cost of losing control over the final price).
Traditionally, pre-paid rates have been used to offer an additional discount in exchange for, on the one hand, having that cash flow from the moment of booking and, on the other hand, for offering much more rigid cancellation policies than They allow hotels to secure the reservation and make a much more accurate forecast . The key is in this discount, which has led these types of rates to position themselves as the cheapest and, therefore, in many cases also the most attractive for customers.
If they disappear (again, something unlikely considering that a very high percentage of hotels already use the merchant model), one of the options is that users, more sensitive to price than ever, look for a cheaper alternative within the platform, or even that they opt for another channel and, therefore, the number of reservations decreases. A circumstance that almost forces hotels to “accept ship” despite its multiple implications.
And the fact is that hotels that accept the new rules of the game, and many will not be able to afford not to do so, will completely lose control over payments (and loyalty) and will grant the OTA a new way to generate price disparities (will it be coincidence that it coincides in time with the suppression of the parity clauses?). In addition, many will probably adapt to payment via virtual cards (although there is the possibility of bank transfer), which also entails an incremental cost. A joy, wow.
Opportunity for those who do opt for the direct channel
But it's not all bad news. This situation is also a golden opportunity for the hotel to embrace technology once and for all and propose to finally optimize its distribution strategy, giving the direct channel the importance it deserves. Those who face this exam with their homework done and the subject studied will not need much to realize that dispensing with NRF in Booking opens a huge door to the generation of positive disparities in their direct channels . If the OTA wants to offer a better price than the official website, it will have to sacrifice part of its commission and, on top of that, risk assuming a higher cancellation rate. The direct channel will now offer the NRF exclusively, and when well managed, this is a great competitive advantage. The million dollar question… How many hotels will take this risk?
In any case, as always, for the moment we appeal to prudence and information. We are not aware that this measure is being applied in Spain, but it is worth staying alert, because it is common practice for Booking to test things in certain markets before implementing them globally, as happened at the time with the Early Payment Benefit .
Oasis Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel chain within the Mexican territory, has 9 establishments distributed between Cancun and Tulum, with a total of more than 2,500 beds in the Mexican Caribbean. Seven of these accommodations are categorized within what is traditionally known as All Inclusive Resorts, while the remaining two are urban hotels.
Having just completed one year since the beginning of this collaboration, we only have words of gratitude for this client who, although he has significantly raised the level of demands, has been fully involved with the project from the first moment, making a TEAM with us.
Oasis Hotels & Resorts has pushed us to strive like never before, but it has also made us better, it has helped us grow, to evolve. In every sense. We always say that work well done pays off and, to a large extent, thanks to them, we have established ourselves in the destination as the booking engine that manages the most beds in the Cancun hotel zone.
Challenges and objectives
If there is a client who gives the voice channel the importance that we know it deserves, without a doubt, it is this one. In fact, the main problem that Oasis Hotels & Resorts had when it came to us was not so much sales volume, but rather an imbalance between direct channels, and the consequences derived from it, such as lack of control, or the absence of unity, in the tariff structure.
At Paraty Tech we are very clear that the telephone is a central pillar of the hotel direct sales strategy, and that, in some cases, it can represent more than 25% of total reservations. But this case was different. Here, 70% of direct bookings came from the voice channel, and only the remaining 30% came through the official website's booking engine. A situation to which was added the difference in prices between both channels, and due to the opaque nature of the voice channel, it is easy to lose control. In our opinion, it was a question of integration of channels, of technologies, in short.
“The objective was not to lose sales in the voice channel, but to balance the balance with online sales, which were much lower.”Fernando Pereira, Chief Digital Officer Oasis Hotels & Resorts.
Therefore, here the fundamental objective was none other than to equalize the balance, that is, to reduce the difference in share between direct channels. The easy thing? Increase web reservations. The real challenge? Achieve it without telephone reservations being penalized.
From 70-30 to 55-45
Oasis Hotels & Resorts opted for our technology with all the consequences and we are very grateful for the vote of confidence. Thus, currently we provide you with:
Booking engine
Paraty Digital Suite (SEM management and social networks)
Paraty Metas (metasearch management)
Paraty Loyalty (loyalty program)
Price Seeker (rate shopper)
Call Seeker (voice channel management)
Business Intelligence
Such a migration obviously requires a certain period of adaptation. In this case, it could be said that the most intense phase of the implementation process lasted around three or four months (from June to September 2023), during which there was no significant data to report, but also nothing in particular to regret. And as they say, no news, good news.
However, starting in October, the first results appeared. And while the call center remained stable compared to the previous year (very good news), the direct online channel registered a timid, but hopeful, increase in reservations of 14.8%, which ended up consolidating itself as a trend of sustained growth over the last year. over the following months:
November 2023 / +64.7% vs 2022
December 2023 / +40.7% vs. 2022
January 2024 / +45.6% vs. 2023
In the words of Fernando Pereira, CDO of the company, “the great news is that the channels are being equalized. We have gone from 70% Voice - 30% Web, to 55% Voice - 45% Web . The call center is growing at a slower pace, but the initial objective was to maintain itself, while the website grew, because through the voice channel, control over prices was lost, as it is an opaque channel.
Call Seeker, improvised protagonist
Call Seeker is already one of our most successful releases. This tool, designed to facilitate hotels' transition to professional telephone service, and integrated with the booking engine, payment gateway, loyalty programs and CRM, allows them, among many other things, to make quotes and send pre-booking links. The data speaks for itself: up to 65% of all quotes end up becoming a reservation.
With Oasis Hotels & Resorts, its usefulness has been demonstrated for the umpteenth time and, as Fernando tells us, it has played a decisive role in this success story: “The implementation of Call Seeker has had a lot to do with control over the voice, by matching prices 100% with what was offered through the website. Thanks to Call Seeker we have been able to undertake a unified rate loading, integrated with our loyalty programs, and, ultimately, regain control over the entire direct channel, online and offline.”
General conclusions
Moving forward hand in hand with clients like Oasis Hotels & Resorts pushes us to make our solutions more effective tools, because from each particular request satisfied, all our clients end up benefiting. We find reliable proof of our ability to adapt in the fact that, from this project alone and in less than a year, the following innovations have been developed:
Refactoring of Loyalty Programs, which are now more flexible and scalable
Integration with Xerpa, which will allow us to insert a Social Login in any solution
Sale of independent services, such as the Day Pass
Call Seeker optimization, with new features such as multi-quoting
Integration of the Stripe payment gateway with the implementation of a multitude of detailed business rules
But the most important thing for us is customer satisfaction, compliance with the set objectives and always maintaining our customer service and support at the highest level. Only by having these three premises constantly present, are we able to generate results and feedback as positive as the one we present below:
Booking engine: We have grown a lot without harming the voice channel at all.
Call Center: It is growing somewhat slower, but the objective in this first phase was to maintain itself, and we have achieved it.
Digital Marketing: In general, it is working very well, but we especially highlight the brutal increase in conversion through social networks, where the ROI has multiplied by ten.
Call Seeker: It has played a determining role in the unification of rates and control of the direct channel, both online and offline.
Business Intelligence: We are very happy with the analytical tools and the creation of custom dashboards.
Payment gateway and Paraty E-Payments: We highly value being able to have all payments unified on one platform, Paraty E-Payments, as well as the ease of integrating all the super detailed business rules (seasonal, partial payments, etc.), created through our system, which have avoided problems, such as Stripe not charging again if the customer rejects the payment. In this sense, we would like to highlight the great work of the Paraty Tech technical team.
Customer service: Fluidity, flexibility, great technical support, direct contact... We have had as many meetings as required and maintained regular weekly calls every Wednesday to improve processes. The willingness and commitment have been full, and the feeling we have, due to their agility in response, is that the Paraty staff is now part of our team.
Although it seems like it was yesterday when we started hearing about NFTs , the truth is that their origin dates back to 2017. Seven years later, many still do not understand this concept, its possible areas of application and, above all, its usefulness. . That is why the pioneering platform developed by TripResale is especially interesting, and the implications of its recent integration with the Paraty Tech reservation engine, a company firmly determined not to get off the innovation train, and one of the first hotel reservation engines in the world. market in betting on this technology.
This solution represents the birth of what they have called the Non-Refundable Resellable Rate , destined to become a natural substitute for the traditional non-refundable rate, which will allow guests, if they are forced to cancel their trip, to resell their reservation through from the TripResale marketplace. A formula with which, according to Eduardo Martínez , CEO of the company, "everyone wins, because the hotel avoids dealing with the discomfort of a guest who requests a refund that does not correspond to him, the guest books with greater peace of mind when a door opens to a hypothetical refund through resale, and the direct channel, with a very advantageous rate, creates a form of positive disparity compared to other channels, which a priori should contribute to the increase in conversion.
Furthermore, one of the main achievements is that this entire process has been simplified to the maximum, to the point of not interfering at all with the reservation process and not requiring even the slightest knowledge of the technology on which it is based on the part of the user or the hotelier, who will receive notifications every time a user purchases a resellable rate and also every time they put it up for sale.
Daniel Sánchez , CRO of Paraty Tech, a leading company in the development of technological solutions aimed at promoting the direct sale of hotels, chains, glamping and other tourist accommodations, is sure to place high hopes in this strategic collaboration, with which he hopes to “increase the ratio conversion of the booking engine, but also revolutionize the usual hotel rate structure, with this new model that changes the rules of the game that until now have been applied to non-refundable hotel rates.”
The new partnership promises to transform the way travelers manage their reservations today, offering flexibility and peace of mind in the event of any unforeseen event prior to travel, and, therefore, also the role that non-refundable rates have played to date. Along these lines concludes Gina Matheis , CEO of Paraty Tech, who is “excited about this alliance with TripResale, which marks a significant milestone in our mission to offer innovative and customer-oriented solutions, and also represents a step forward in adaptation of technology to the changing needs of the market and the traveler.
As you already know, since December 1, 2023, all companies with more than 50 employees are required to have a visible complaints channel on their website , as stated in the BOE, in Law 2/2023 . This measure, aimed at promoting transparency and integrity in the work environment, requires that all companies implement a system that allows their employees and third parties to anonymously and confidentially report any illegal act or act contrary to the organization's code of conduct.
In this context, at Paraty Tech we have gotten to work to help you comply with this new regulation. And the implementation of a complaints channel, in addition to being a legal requirement, constitutes a fundamental resource to promote a safe and ethical work environment.
The importance of the Complaints Channel on your hotel website
The complaints channel must be visible and accessible at all times and from any section, both for the company's employees and for external people who are related to it and who have knowledge or suspicions of regulatory non-compliance. The purpose of this channel is to provide a safe and confidential means so that inappropriate practices can be reported without fear of retaliation.
The complaints or claims that are presented will be processed with the objective of promoting the investigation, verifying the authenticity of the information provided and urging the correct resolution of active files, including, where appropriate, the appropriate sanctions.
Catch up with Paraty Tech
On the hotel's official website, the user will find the “Complaints Channel” section, through which they can report events such as those already mentioned. The complainant may fill in their personal data, always confidential , or present the facts anonymously. After completing the information, a tracking code and password will be generated automatically that will allow the user to check the status of the file. For your part, you, as a hotelier, will also have your own private area to manage these matters.
Complying with this regulation not only avoids potential penalties, but also demonstrates a commitment to business integrity and responsibility. For this reason, we remind you of the obligation to include this section on your official website, we urge you to implement it as quickly as possible, and we are at your disposal to facilitate this task. If you are interested, please contact your assigned account.
Earlier this year, Paraty Tech announced the launch of its booking engine for campsites and glampings, a tourism modality that has significantly accelerated its digitalization process over the past five years. Now, it takes a giant leap in its intention to become a technological reference for this vacation modality by joining forces with Revbell, the multi-sector revenue management system (RMS) that has been adapting its platform for years to meet the unique needs of this and other sectors, specializing to the point of positioning itself as the leading solution in its segment.
Indeed, more and more tech companies are focusing on these business models that have transitioned from selling only plots to marketing a wide variety of accommodations, including bungalows, pre-pitched tents, bubble rooms, static caravans, etc., and that are gradually behaving, at all levels, like horizontal hotels.
This alliance, which aims to boost direct sales of campsites and glampings, improve their technological ecosystem, and enhance the purchasing experience for guests, ultimately aims to increase the profitability of these tourist accommodations. It will allow both companies to bundle their respective solutions to offer a comprehensive solution at a very competitive cost.
Moreover, the combination of Paraty Tech's advanced technology, optimized over more than a decade, and Revbell's know-how and experience in revenue management will enable campsites and glampings to reduce their dependence on intermediaries, fine-tune their pricing strategy through dynamic rate management, and maximize their revenues.
In the words of Daniel Sánchez, Chief Revenue Officer of Paraty Tech, "it is fantastic to see how other companies strive to adapt their tools to the demands of this emerging sector and are willing to ally with companies like ours to offer a seamless and personalized purchasing experience, from the first contact to the final booking, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty".
Similarly, Idoia Herrero, Sales Manager and Partnerships at Revbell, is convinced that "the integration of our solutions with those of Paraty Tech will allow our mutual clients a centralized and on demand automatic rate management, ensuring price consistency across all channels, and providing a convenient and intuitive booking process, enriched by the countless functionalities, features and optimizations that have benefited thousands of hotel establishments over more than a decade".
With this agreement, both companies reaffirm their strong commitment to leading the digital transformation in the tourism sector, providing solutions that drive operational efficiency, increase profitability, and enhance customer satisfaction.
First consequences of their gatekeeper status and the application of the DMA.
Booking.com has announced that as of July 1, it will remove parity clauses from its contracts that allow properties to offer different rates on their own channels and on the Booking.com platform. This new measure is an update to its contracts with its partners in the European Economic Area in response to the new regulations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
With this update, Booking.com's partners will no longer be required to maintain the same rates on both the platform and direct channels. While the company believes that rate parity offers significant benefits to consumers by providing easy and secure access to a variety of options in one place, it has decided to comply with the requirements of the DMA.
After the European Commission (EC) appointed Booking.com as a gatekeeper, forcing it to adjust its business practices. In a statement, the company said: "While we believe that parity provides consistent price benefits for consumers by giving them easy and secure access to a variety of options on the same site, we will comply with our obligations under the DMA. We will continue to invest in products and services that create value for our customers and help them travel and experience the world".
In addition to the changes in the European Economic Area, Booking.com has begun to implement certain specific commitments in Spain in response to the draft decision of the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC). The company has demonstrated its commitment and intention to act ethically while awaiting the CNMC's final decision, at which time it will evaluate its future steps.
The Digital Markets Act is a European Union regulation aimed at overseeing the operations of major digital platforms and promoting a fair and competitive market environment. The removal of the parity clauses marks a significant milestone in the dynamic between Booking.com and its hotel industry partners. The company's next steps will be closely watched by both regulators and the hotel industry.
The European Commission can impose fines of up to 10% of a company's global turnover for failure to comply with its gatekeeper obligations, rising to 20% for repeat offenders. However, in the case of systematic infringements, the Commission has the power to take additional measures, such as forcing the company to sell parts of its business or prohibiting it from acquiring services related to the cause of the infringement.
A respite for hoteliers
The reform of this clause has brought a ray of hope to hoteliers who have been expressing their dissatisfaction with Booking.com's demands for years. In particular, the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers and the Madrid Hotel Association denounced Booking.com for abusive practices, and several hotel managers accused the platform of imposing price parity.
Following these accusations, the CNMC warned that it would impose a fine of 486 million euros on Booking.com for restricting the prices of Spanish hotels. This amount will not be finalized until July, but it is already the highest in the company's history.
To try to alleviate these problems, the Global Reformbnb was created in Barcelona in 2023, an initiative that has already been operating since 2018 in New York, Paris and Tokyo, with the aim of addressing the growth of tourist rentals and the expansion of Airbnb. It is now also defending the interests of hoteliers against major players such as Booking.com and Expedia.
How does the hotel benefit from this new regulation?
Positive differences
New regulations in the area of rate parity offer a number of opportunities for hoteliers looking to optimize their direct channel sales. With the disappearance of restrictions imposed by the popular OTA, hotels can now work harder and better to generate positive rate differentials on their official website.
Discounts and Best Online Price Guarantee without fear
Until now, hoteliers have been reluctant to offer exclusive promotions or very obvious special discounts on their websites for fear of possible retaliation from the OTA, often resorting to promocodes or even hidden offers, if at all. Now, however, they will be able to implement these practices openly and without restrictions, benefiting both their own properties and their guests by fearlessly displaying classic claims such as the famous "Best Price Guarantee".
Improved competitiveness in metasearch engines
In addition, the ability to offer the best rate on the Web will significantly improve a hotel's competitiveness in metasearch engines. This new freedom allows hotels to highlight their most attractive rates and drive more customers to direct booking channels.
Although the implementation of DMA has affected both visibility on metasearch engines and the number of bookings through Google Hotel Ads, now, with the end of Booking's parity clause, hotels will be able to offer their rates more flexibly compared to OTAs..
For example, the new structure makes it possible to offer the reservation at a loyalty price versus the standard cost of the room in an online agency. This is an approach that Paraty Tech has been promoting for a long time, and which is now reinforced by not being subject to guidelines that limit pricing strategies.
More loyalty opportunities
In terms of loyalty, the possibilities have expanded considerably. Many hoteliers tended to offer benefits that were not strictly linked to price, due to the rigid clauses of Booking.com. Now, they will be able to easily create discount programs in their loyalty clubs, implementing levels with economic incentives to encourage repeat business and customer satisfaction.
Offsets: impact on the billboard effect
It is important to note that although the OTA will no longer contractually require price parity, they are likely to apply penalties that will affect the positioning of hotels on their platform: "This will not only affect direct sales through the platform, but also the billboard effect they generate for the hotel's direct channels", explains Daniel Sanchez, Chief Revenue Officer of Paraty Tech. With the intention of further boosting direct sales and conducting a more exhaustive analysis of the market, "using tools such as Price Seeker, our rate shopper, allows hoteliers to monitor the positioning of their establishments in different OTAs, both by comparison and by destination, in order to properly control this variable", adds the CRO.
Next Thursday, June 13th, the Hotel El Fuerte in Marbella will host Hoteltrends Andalucía, an exclusive event for hoteliers, organized by Hotelverse and Paraty Tech, in collaboration with Fideltour, Flexmyroom, and IDeaS.
The event will offer a series of activities designed to provide attendees with a comprehensive overview of the innovations and challenges facing the hotel industry today and also promises to be an essential platform to explore the latest trends in hotel distribution and technology.
The day will begin with the round table "Online and offline direct channels: challenges and tools", focused on analyzing the challenges facing direct sales and the resources available today to overcome them. Industry experts will discuss the strategies needed to optimize these and other hotel distribution channels.
Afterwards, attendees will enjoy a coffee break, an opportunity to network, make contacts and forge valuable collaborations and synergies.
Also, one of the highlights of the program is the presentation of the "Business Case Amare by Hotelverse & Paraty Tech". This case study illustrates how the synergies between these two eminently technological companies have led to the successful implementation of innovative solutions, such as the immersive booking process through the use of the digital twin, significantly improving the customer experience and operating results.
The day will conclude with a second round table that, under the title "The future of hotel distribution", will bring together various expert voices in this field to constructively discuss emerging trends and forecasts for the evolution of the sector in the coming years.
From Paraty Tech, we are very proud to be part of an event like this again, crucial for the industry, which has been able to bring together such diverse hotel profiles as Juan José Gallego from Soho Boutique Hotels, Iciar Gatell from Holiday World, Mano Soler from Les Roches, Guillermo Laguna from Marbella Club, Tamara Amore from ONA Hotels, Iván Corzo from Alanda Hotel and Pablo Torres, who repeats the experience as a luxury moderator.
Our commitment to innovation and excellence in the field of hotel technology drives us to periodically launch initiatives of this nature, for which we usually rely on our unconditional partners and the opinion of industry leaders to provide solutions that respond to the real needs of hoteliers.
"Hoteltrends Andalucía" stands as an unmissable event for those interested in staying at the forefront of trends in hotel distribution and technology, and who until the day of the event will be able to get their place for this meeting.
We eagerly await the attendance of all attendees and are confident that the debates and presentations that will take place will contribute significantly to the development and optimization of the hospitality industry.
When Smart Travel News informed us that they were entering the exciting world of events, we sensed that something big was coming. When we saw that Smart Travel News Inspire, the flagship of the series of meetings they had designed, would be held at the iconic Méndez Álvaro cinemas in Madrid, we knew it would be a different event from anything we had known before. As we started receiving the first communications, our suspicions began to be confirmed. And after attending and participating in it, we can say without a doubt that this media outlet has set a delicate precedent. From now on, surprising the audience will be even more challenging than it already was. The question that arises is whether they themselves will be able to surpass it next year.
It is clear that you can't please everyone and that perhaps not everyone will identify with this event format, but the laughter and smiling faces spoke for themselves. Popcorn replaced canapés, comedy replaced sobriety, theater seats replaced chairs, and the big screen replaced the classic projector.
The setting itself was already a statement of intent and, with Juanda Núñez behind (and in front of) the cameras, it was clear that anything could happen. And it did. In fact, everything happened. Dubbing scenes from movies like Batman or The Exorcist, in the purest style of El Informal, songs created with artificial intelligence, The Revenue Managers Band doing humorous covers of iconic songs like Europe's The Final Countdown and Rammstein's Du Hast, and a wonderful cast of speakers who had seen the writing on the wall and attended the event convinced that offering "more of the same" would not be enough or appropriate that day.
The hotel is always the protagonist: an ad-hoc intervention
If it usually doesn’t take much for Daniel Romero, our Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships, to make the presentations his own, on this occasion, with more reasons than ever, there was no doubt that he would pick up the challenge thrown by the organization and strive to live up to the circumstances. And the title of his presentation, The hotel is always the protagonist, already hinted at the direction it would take.
The seventh art was the thread of a speech in which, to explain the evolution of the hotel technology ecosystem and the role of its main players over the last decade, he recounted how the "Paraty Tech movie" was conceived, filmed, and produced. Jokes and football references, and jokes had their place. He even dared to share, via QR code, the recipe for the meatballs of Gina Matheis's mother, the company’s CEO. He also shared a free loyalty audit, all in good faith...
All this to ultimately convey three key ideas:
Every creation, whether artistic, cultural, or technological, ultimately owes itself to its audience, its public, in our case, the hotels.
Today we face an extremely mature audience, digitally speaking, more demanding, educated, and informed than ever, which has also witnessed a democratization of technology and has the best resources at its disposal to do its job.
The multiple plot twists this movie has experienced and the constant changes in the actors' roles directly respond to the needs and demands of the one who always was, is, and will continue to be the true protagonist: the hotel.
Conclusions: with Juanda, to infinity and beyond
Everyone left the room, never better said, convinced that they had experienced something groundbreaking, innovative, original, different, even bewildering. Impressions that, however, did not conflict with the feeling of having learned something or at least refreshed topics that are worth keeping in mind: the power of brands, what artificial intelligence holds for us, the importance of data, the impact of food waste on the bottom line and our lives, the benefits of connectivity via open API, personal growth and the limits we set for ourselves, or the imperative need to stay up-to-date in one of the most dynamic and ever-changing sectors there is.
The perfect balance between "adding value and saying nonsense," as Daniel referred to during his fifteen minutes of fame. Thanks to Juanda, Laura, and all the Joseluises at Smart Travel News.
The data has spoken: the voice channel continues to grow. Compared to the same period in 2023, so far this year we have seen a more than remarkable increase in both bookings made by phone (+40%) and the revenue generated by them (+60%). The desire for vacations and the desire to travel do not cease, and we are on the way to another historic year for tourism.
However, to achieve such positive results, it is not enough to try to answer as many calls as possible. And here's a silly example…
I just booked my hotel room for next week in Madrid because I have the pleasure of being a speaker at the Smart Travel News Inspire event. I did it in a major chain, I will not say which one. First of all, I had to book by phone because the web booking engine did not give me an immediate confirmation. Surprising, isn't it? But let's leave online aside for the moment.
I called the hotel and they treated me well. Friendly and quick. When they have already made my reservation (non-refundable, breakfast included, to be paid directly at the hotel), they tell me that it will be valid until 6:00 p.m. on the day of arrival (my train arrives in Madrid around 11:00 p.m.) and that if I want to protect it until the time of my arrival, I will have to leave the details of a card as a guarantee. Reasonable. So far, barely passed.
The worst part comes when I ask for the method of sending the card number and he tells me to give it to him verbally. No secure payment link to tokenize the card, no recording system to encrypt or distort the voice... nothing. There is still a long way to go.
Innovation is not just about inventing the wheel, it is also about making the best use of it
You may be able to invent something truly groundbreaking at some point in your life. You may even be able to get your creation to catch on and end up being useful to many other people. But let's not kid ourselves... This is really complicated. However, innovation can come in many other ways, such as reinterpretation, finding new uses, or simply making the best use of what already exists.
Outbound Campaigns
Just as hotels use email campaigns to communicate with their guests, someone figured out that agents could do the same over the phone. And the truth is, outbound campaigns have proven to be a very useful resource for rewarding past guests and encouraging them to return to the destination and property in the future.
Quality of service
It is imperative to refine call center operations by designing and implementing a caller identification system that allows, on the one hand, to better identify market needs and, on the other hand, to minimize the intervention of the human factor in those calls that hide an intention more of consultation than of reservation. In this sense, access to the conversion rate and its monitoring provides very valuable information on customer behavior, making it possible to better distinguish between the different existing profiles and to personalize the service much more. Artificial intelligence has a lot to say on this point.
Booking confirmation methods
It is also important to have different methods of confirming reservations and validating personal information so that what happened to me today does not happen again. Sending payment links has proven to be a very effective and secure system that also drastically reduces the cancellation rate.
Unifying Online and Offline Rates
The rapid detection of price discrepancies with other channels and the application of protocols for automated price changes based on pre-configured business rules are common practices in booking engines. Why is it so common for unintended price differences to occur between direct online and offline channels? The answer lies in something as simple as system integration.
When both channels are aligned, at least from the start, with a common pricing structure, integration with loyalty programs and billing systems, etc., it goes a long way toward increasing voice bookings and, ultimately, direct sales.
Multi-quote
In addition, the comfort and well-being of the customer has been prioritized with the implementation of services such as Multi-quote, thanks to which different accommodation alternatives and/or holiday packages can be offered in a single call and all these options can be sent to the customer in a single email, with direct booking links, thus avoiding the tedious task of comparing prices on different websites.
Trust and Personalization
Hotel call centers play a critical role as the first point of contact for guests and a source of valuable information for hotels. The ability of agents to identify emerging needs has led to the development of new tools and services, such as intelligent redirects or the ability to confirm reservations after midnight.
Their conversations provide the hotel with feedback on the reasons why calls did not result in a booking (high prices, lack of availability on certain dates, specific requests, etc.), allowing them to adjust their strategies to improve the customer experience and increase conversions.
In addition, the needs or incidents communicated by guests over the phone reveal the shortcomings of the hotel or hotel chain, some of which can be solved directly by the agents (cards not activated for e-commerce, payment gateway failures, errors in the web content or broken functionalities that prevent the reservation from being completed, etc.).
Put a call center in your life
A call center, contact center, or customer experience center, whatever you want to call it, is about much more than just leaving the phone in the hands of on-duty agents. It is about providing a proactive service, not a reactive one. It is about professionalizing a channel, the voice channel, which, although it is one of the essential pillars of direct hotel sales, often falls to departments that are already saturated with the mere fulfillment of their natural functions.
This process requires resources of many kinds. It requires investments in technology, daily metrics and analysis, specialized personnel, integrated tools, and innovation. The voice channel, due to its opaque nature, cries out for an ad hoc revenue management and direct sales strategy with at least the following five fundamental objectives.
Optimize service quality
Maximize agent performance
Improve customer experience
Increase conversion
Build guest loyalty
Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You can outsource all or part of the service, or you can rely on tools to help you manage your call traffic more professionally and efficiently. Either way, you can count on us. If you want to know more about Ring2Travel, do not hesitate to contact us.
Paraty Tech, a leader in technology solutions for the hospitality industry, and Spazious, a group and event booking and management platform, today announced a strategic alliance to offer hotels a group and event booking engine.
This partnership will allow hotels around the world to access Spazious' cutting-edge technology in conjunction with Paraty's booking engine and other solutions, greatly simplifying their daily operations.
Spazious automates the reservation and group management process from initial request to final confirmation, reducing manual work and eliminating errors, freeing hotel staff to focus on more important tasks. With this partnership, hotels will be able to:
Receive all group and event requests centrally.
Check room and event space availability in real-time.
Create immersive 3D visualizations of future events.
Confirm reservations and securely manage payments.
Access detailed reports on group and event performance.
Thanks to the merger of both technologies, the Paraty Tech API will feed the Spazious platform at the pricing level, favoring and improving the automation of processes related to payment methods, download of reservations, etc.
In addition to the aforementioned benefits, hotels will have access to preferential rates when contracting both package solutions.
Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech, said, “We are excited to partner with Spazious to offer our customers a complete group and event management solution. This partnership will allow us to offer hotels state-of-the-art technology that will help them improve efficiency, increase revenue and provide a better experience for their guests”.
For his part, Antonio Batanero, CEO of Spazious, added: “We are very excited about this partnership with Paraty Tech. This collaboration will allow us to reach a greater number of hotels and help them make the most of our solutions for digitizing the event and group business”.
About Paraty Tech
Paraty Tech helps hotels improve their direct sales by developing customized solutions and tools. Headquartered in Malaga (Spain), with offices in Albufeira (Portugal) and Cancun (Mexico), and sales offices in Colombia and the USA, Paraty Tech works with more than 3,000 hotels worldwide that already benefit from its technology, which includes products such as a booking engine, web design, revenue management tools, online marketing, connectivity and metasearch management, loyalty programs, and its own call center, among others.
About Spazious
Spazious is a solution for booking and managing events and groups in hotels. The company offers a state-of-the-art booking engine that allows hotels to centrally manage all of their group and event requests, as well as a 3D event simulator that allows them to generate virtual tours of the different facilities that the hotel offers to its clients. Spazious is headquartered in Miami, USA, with offices in Madrid and Cancun.
Contact us:
Paraty Tech:
Daniel Romero | dromero@paratytech.com
At Paraty Tech, together with our partners SiteMinder, Duetto and Sojern , we are pleased to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who made possible the resounding success of our recent Roadshow through Mexico HIT' 24: Hotels. Insights. Technology. The training sessions for hoteliers, which took place in Cancun on May 20, 2024, Mexico City on May 21, 2024 and Los Cabos on May 23, 2024, exceeded all our expectations thanks to the active participation and enthusiasm of more than 50 hoteliers in each destination.
We want to extend our deep gratitude to the registered hoteliers and attendees who joined us on these days. Their interest and commitment to continuous improvement and innovation in the hotel industry are a true driving force for all of us. Your questions, comments and participation in the debate tables were crucial for the enrichment of these days and for the creation of a space for learning and mutual collaboration.
We especially thank the main Hotel Associations of each destination and the prominent hoteliers who contributed their valuable experience and knowledge to the discussion tables. Their collaboration not only raised the quality of the interventions, but also strengthened ties within the hotel community.
Short presentations presented by spokespersons from Paraty Tech, SiteMinder, Duetto and Sojern addressed key topics and offered innovative solutions to current sector challenges. The positive feedback we have received fills us with satisfaction and motivates us to continue with this initiative.
The extraordinary reception of this Roadshow 2024 prompts us to enthusiastically announce that next year we will celebrate the fourth edition of this event . We are committed to continuing to provide a space where hospitality professionals can learn, share experiences and find new ways to improve their operations and strategies.
Thank you once again to everyone who made this success possible. We hope to have your presence and participation in the next edition, where we will continue working together for the growth and development of the hotel industry in Mexico.
Did you know that in certain hotel establishments, problems with the payment gateway are responsible for up to 40% of bookings being abandoned in the last step of the process? Fortunately, not all hotels suffer to the same extent the impact of blockages that arise at the very moment of the transaction, but you should always keep in mind that each market has its preferred payment methodology and your website must be prepared to meet that of each traveler profile you receive.
In a sector as competitive as the hotel industry, every aspect of the future guest's experience plays a decisive role in their decision making. From the first impression made by any of your channels, when they are still immersed in preliminary searches and queries, to the last step of the purchasing process, when they are already determined to stay at your hotel, without forgetting the post-stay relationship.
Considering how expensive it is in every way to get a user this far, don't you think it would be a shame to throw it all away because of inconveniences related to international payments, online payment blockages, not supporting a certain payment method or the existence of a pre-set limit on the credit or debit card set by the bank?
Even if the "fault" is not yours, there is a high probability that the reservation will be lost forever. This is why it is essential that you have the means to keep the customer a little longer, to give him a second chance to finish what he started, and to prevent him from changing his mind and choosing another channel to the detriment of the direct one.
Payment methods can also help you generate positive differentials with other channels and, in general, taking care of and optimizing every aspect related to this area will not only take trust, security perception and guest experience to another level, favoring their loyalty, but will also contribute to boosting direct sales and have a direct impact on your bottom line.
What makes a user leave your site?
This is a question you probably ask yourself often. The truth is that there are many reasons, and knowing them is crucial to gradually reducing them:
A common cause is that the user has only logged in for a quick query (find the phone number, find out if the pool is open, gossip photos, etc.).
Lack of availability (no desired occupancy, no rates, stay restrictions, etc.) is another common reason. Redirects of all kinds are very effective in avoiding this and approaching the concept of non-availability equal to zero.
Another common reason is the need to compare prices with other channels (OTAs, metasearch engines, etc.). Having a price comparator as part of the process, such as Rate Check, minimizes abandonment.
Similarly, a site that is not well structured in terms of content and information architecture, that does not have a well-designed browsing experience, or that does not convey security, will also cause the user to bounce.
Finally, the cause that concerns us the most, and perhaps the most serious because of the moment in which it occurs: problems at the time of payment.
Well aware of this scenario, at Paraty Tech we strive to offer innovative solutions to reduce leakage points and minimize their impact, with two fundamental objectives: to improve the conversion rate and build customer loyalty.
Latest: Payment error popup
However, this may not be enough, and with one of our recent launches, we added a new variable to the formula: the payment error popup. What does it consist of? Basically, it consists of offering the user different alternatives to try to prevent a payment error from becoming a dead end.
How does it work?
Sometimes simplicity is the key to the effectiveness of certain solutions. This is undoubtedly the case of the new functionality that concerns us, and it is that with two simple popups, 100% configurable from our Paraty Boosters tool, the number of reservations lost in the last step of the process is drastically reduced. How does it work? We will explain it to you below:
The user reaches the final step, enters the payment information, and clicks the button to pay and complete the reservation.
For one of the reasons listed above, the payment fails. Instead of the typical standard gateway message informing him that an error has occurred and encouraging him to contact his bank if the problem persists, the first popup appears, offering him two options:
Try again using the same payment method
Try a different payment method
If the error is repeated, the same pop-up will appear again. This will continue until you have tried more than three times. At that point, the second warning pop-up will appear, informing the user that it is no longer possible to continue trying. Otherwise, the user is informed that he/she will receive a pre-booking email with a direct link to continue the process later.
The offer sent by email will be valid for 24 hours and will include all the reservation details, an assigned pre-locator and a link for the user to complete the reservation at any time. In this way, we eliminate the possibility of the client resorting to other ways to make a reservation. In addition, it should be noted that all the reservations sent are accessible through the manager, in case you want to follow up on them or the ones you are most interested in.
Conclusions: Collection security is critical
Ensuring collections is critical. Ensuring that the payment process does not become a pain point is critical. Payment methods are not a trivial matter. Each market and segment has its own preferences, and your official website's booking engine must be up to the task.
As a hotelier, you should of course know these preferences, but also be more proactive in hiring and implementing more payment methods, and not be satisfied with the gateway provided by your bank, without exploring other more modern options with a more international vocation, such as Stripe, Paynopain, Ayden, etc.
In Paraty Tech we have in-house developments that facilitate this work, and partners that allow us to go where we cannot go by ourselves... Currently, we are integrated with more than 50 payment platforms, with which we are already working to cover this area as much as possible:
Pay directly at the hotel
Credit/Debit Card
Bank Transfer
POS & Payment Gateway
Over 50 payment platforms
Bizum
Installment Payments
Paraty e-payments
As always, if you are interested in activating this new functionality, simply contact your account. In the meantime, we will do our best to continue to innovate and improve our systems to provide the best possible experience for our customers and help our hotel partners succeed in an increasingly competitive market. In fact, although we do not yet have an official launch date, we would like to take this opportunity to inform you that our Business Intelligence will soon reflect bounces in the payment gateway, including the reasons why they occurred.
Paraty Tech, a leading partner specialized in empowering sales through direct channels for hotels and hotel chains, announces its recent partnerships in the United States. These strategic alliances mark a significant milestone in the company's expansion plan in the U.S. market.
Firstly, Paraty Tech has joined the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) as an Allied Tech Member. This collaboration with AHLA underscores Paraty Tech's commitment to the hospitality industry and its dedication to providing tailored solutions to hoteliers.
Secondly, Paraty Tech has become a member of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI). By joining HSMAI, Paraty Tech gains access to a network of industry professionals and resources, further strengthening its position in the U.S. market.
These partnerships come at a time when Paraty Tech is already making significant strides in the U.S. market. After just one quarter in the region, Paraty Tech has secured its first contracts, demonstrating that its customized approach to enhancing sales through direct channels, with a focus on reducing intermediary costs and increasing revenue, is resonating well in the United States.
In addition to providing tailored solutions for direct channel sales optimization, Paraty Tech is committed to sharing valuable content with hoteliers in the areas of revenue management and digital marketing, trying to leverage both associations' communication channels to disseminate insightful articles, white papers and business cases to empower hoteliers and enhance their competitiveness in the market.
Commenting on the company's expansion into the U.S. market, Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech, expressed the challenges associated with entering new markets, but also conveyed her optimism and confidence in the company's success. "Expanding into new markets always presents challenges, but we are optimistic about our prospects in the United States. We draw confidence from the successful cases of international expansion we have achieved thus far. We believe that our proven track record and commitment to excellence will pave the way for success in the U.S. market."
Both partnerships and early contracts are integral parts of Paraty Tech's strategic growth initiative. By aligning with reputable associations, delivering tangible results, and providing valuable educational content, Paraty Tech aims to deepen its engagement within the hotel sector and further solidify its presence in America.
"We are thrilled to establish these alliances with AHLA and HSMAI", said Daniel Romero, Director of Communications and Strategic Partnerships at Paraty Tech. "These collaborations reflect our ongoing commitment to serving the needs of the hospitality industry and our dedication to driving innovation in direct channel sales optimization. Our early success in securing contracts demonstrates the effectiveness of our tailored approach, and we are excited to continue delivering value to hoteliers across the United States."
Paraty Tech, a leading provider of innovative solutions for revenue management in the hospitality industry, is thrilled to announce the integration of its cutting-edge rate shopper, Price Seeker, with XLR8, a powerful Revenue Management System (RMS) developed to become a Hotel Strategy Assistant, providing a truly interactive solution to achieve optimal revenue results. This strategic collaboration marks a significant advancement in revenue optimization, offering hotels unparalleled control over distribution channels and insightful analysis of competitive landscapes.
Price Seeker, renowned for its insightful advanced technology enabling real-time monitoring and analysis of proprietary and competitor rates across all distribution channels, now seamlessly integrates with XLR8 RMS. This integration empowers hotels to dynamically adjust pricing strategies, capitalize on revenue opportunities, and maintain a competitive edge in today's dynamic hospitality market.
"We are excited to unveil the integration of Price Seeker and XLR8 RMS, both solutions born from internal needs, providing hotels with a comprehensive solution to enhance revenue management capabilities, to make Hoteliers’ lives easier whilst boosting results" said Sara Evans, Growth & Partnerships Manager at XLR8.
According to Cindy Johansson, Price Seeker’s Project & Sales Manager, "this integration enables hotels to optimize distribution by increasing automation and focusing efforts on the right channels, while gaining valuable insights into competitor pricing strategies, ultimately driving increased revenue and profitability".
Key features and benefits of the Price Seeker and XLR8 RMS integration include:
User-Selected Distribution Channels: Our platform provides users with the flexibility to choose distribution channels that align with their preferences and objectives.
Identify other strategies, such as loyalty clubs or last room availability.
Personalized Setup for Varied Occupancies: Clients can tailor their setups to accommodate diverse occupancy requirements, ensuring a customized experience that meets their specific needs.
Strategic Market Approaches: Users have the option to select and monitor specific domains, enabling them to exercise control over pricing strategies and optimize their market positioning.
Comparative Analysis of Parity Rates, with an Emphasis on OTAs: We conduct thorough parity rate comparisons, focusing particularly on online travel agencies (OTAs), to ensure competitiveness and enhance our market presence".
The seamless integration of Price Seeker and XLR8 embraces innovation from within, packing it with purpose and significance, underscoring both companies’ commitment to providing hotels with innovative solutions to navigate the complexities of revenue management in the hospitality industry.
The good weather is accompanied by the desire to get away from the noise of the cars, the hustle and bustle and the routine. Running away to nature for a few days has become one of the main desires of this era in which being adventurous or not is no longer the question. Allegedly competitive prices (which, as we shall see, are not so competitive nowadays) and the modernisation of services have meant that the idea of loading up the car and escaping with the aim of getting in direct contact with the environment, whether on the beach, in the countryside or in the mountains, is increasingly on the traveller's mind.
The camping sector has become the big winner in tourism in recent times, changing the habits of many travellers, who have decided to change the large tourist buildings for these new "horizontal hotels". These cosy independent lodgings, often built of tarpaulins and poles, are in vogue, and the data corroborate this.
The irruption of glamping, a determining factor
The positive evolution of this sector in recent years is not only reflected in the growth in numbers, but also in the birth and proliferation of new accommodation specialities. The idea of calling the campsite to check the availability of pitches, preparing the car and keeping your fingers crossed during the whole trip, hoping that when you arrive there will not be no more pitches available, is still a reality among campers. This uncertainty, which is not suitable for everyone, has pushed this type of accommodation to reinvent itself until it has come up with the concept of "glamping", an increasingly widespread term that has managed to merge concepts that are, a priori, very distant from each other, such as glamour and camping.
Dating from around 2020, glamping has brought the comforts traditionally associated with hotels to the prime locations of campsites. In addition, the variety of accommodation formats is also constantly evolving and now includes bungalows, tents of various categories, cabins, container flats, static caravans, designer bubbles, etc. All these changes can be extended to the new target groups that are seduced by this new range of options. While families and retired people used to be more popular, it is becoming increasingly common for couples and young people to opt for this alternative getaway.
Another way of selling, another user experience, through technology
Most campsites have adapted their facilities and products to the different traveller profiles, but in terms of technology, digitalisation, user experience and revenue management, in many cases, change is slower, despite the fact that their operations, and even their guests, are now more similar to those of a hotel than to the traditional concept of a campsite.
Although, their usual way of managing bookings, seen from the outside, could be described as rudimentary, the fact is that their share of direct sales is usually very high, above 60%, largely due to their reduced distribution network. In fact, most of these accommodations have been channelling their entire flow of guests by means of requests (without immediate confirmation) through their website and voice channel.
But then, what can the technology and know-how of more specialised hotel suppliers bring to the table? In our opinion, a lot. All the changes we have been discussing so far are accompanied by an increase in the level of demand from guests, and these new expectations must be met at every stage of the guest experience, starting with the booking process.
In other words, the new breed of visitor is willing to pay more, but they no longer simply carry their rucksacks on their backs and pray for an unoccupied pitch. They now value, even demand, a perfectly tarmac pavement on which to slide the four wheels of their state-of-the-art suitcases, trade in their sleeping bags for pristine sheets on double beds, and forgo cold bathrooms and shared facilities in favour of cosy toilets and small private spaces shared only with their companions.
Of course, not all technology companies have the capacity (or the interest) to undertake the necessary changes to adapt their products to the needs of campsites and glampings. But for those who are willing to allocate resources to these tasks, it may be encouraging to know that Spain has around 1,190 accommodation units of this kind, most of them managed by their owners or by individual managers.
South America has also joined the glamping success story. At the beginning of last year, 202 active glampings were counted in the National Tourism Registry (RNT) in Colombia, most of them located mainly in Antioquia, Caldas and Quindío. Mexico has not been left behind. In 2023, the Mexican Association of Glampings (AMG) counted more than 130 such accommodations throughout the country, especially in Baja California, Baja California Sur and Jalisco.
Paraty Campings in response
Although in terms of increasing direct bookings as such it is not as easy to obtain such powerful results as in other types of establishment, technology can favour a change in the way of doing revenue, fostering loyalty, favouring a more controlled booking pace, increasing the average ticket, optimising the purchasing process, professionalising telephone customer service, improving online reputation or controlling the pricing strategy, both of competitors and their distribution channels which, with the new accommodation modalities, are gaining some prominence.
We have taken the leap with the launch of Paraty Campings
, which merges the best of the booking engine for hotels and chains, with functionalities and modules specifically developed for this sector. For example, the possibility of applying a base price by capacity, which is taken as a reference for the type of accommodation selected, being able to add everything else as an extra or additional service, or an advanced filtering system by levels, which allows the user to choose between the different types of accommodation available (plots, bungalows, glamping, etc.), as well as to make the best possible selection. And this is just the tip of the iceberg...
The first consequences of the entry into force of the regulatory framework known as DMA (Digital Markets Act) , proposed by the European Union, with the aim of limiting the power of large technology platforms, and which led to the designation of the so-called Gatekeepers (Alphabet , Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, Microsoft), are already beginning to become evident.
And Google has surprised us again with the announcement of the discontinuation in the Google Hotel Ads metasearch engine of the Stay Commission and Conversion Commission bidding strategies, which must now be converted into Objective ROAS (or Improved CPC) campaigns and/or o Maximum Performance Campaigns for Travel Objectives.
This measure comes at a time when, according to data provided by the World Tourism Organization ( UNWTO ), more than 88% of international tourism had recovered prior to the Pandemic, and in which Google Hotel Ads stands as the most used metasearch engine , being used by around 75% of travelers, according to the specialized sector media Hosteltur.
A before and after that affects hotels
Google assures that this measure responds to the changes that the sector will experience this year, as a consequence of the aforementioned DMA, such as the disappearance of third-party cookies . But what does it mean for the hotel sector?
Two of the main bidding models that hotels have been using until now are:
Commission per Stay: in the Commission per Stay model, the hotel paid the agreed commission only if the reservation was made effective, that is, no commission was paid if the reservation was canceled.
Commission per Conversion: on the contrary, in the Commission per Conversion model, the hotel paid the commission when the reservation became effective, regardless of whether it was subsequently canceled.
The point is that both bidding models require the famous third-party cookies and travelers' information (a circumstance that clashes head-on with the guidelines on data protection and privacy) to determine, for example, when they have stayed at a hotel a specific client and thus be able to correctly measure commissions. Hence its deletion and the imposition of this very delicate change, which requires exhaustive monitoring of the performance of the campaigns after their migration.
As always, there are already deadlines to complete each of the phases involved in this process:
February 20, 2025: The current commission model will remain in use for new hotels until February 20, after which date it will no longer be available for new campaigns.
November 30, 2025: Stay commission reconciliation will be offered for 9 months after deactivation, until November 30, 2025. If advertisers do not reconcile, they will be charged for all conversions they received during the period billing.
So how are you going to proceed?
The model that will replace the current model will be CPC with ROAS objective and Maximum Performance campaigns for travel objectives will also continue to gain ground. Likewise, these will coexist with the traditional CPC (Cost per Click) model which, among other things, is useful to achieve visibility in search results on Google Maps.
Therefore, the most sensible thing to do to adapt to this new situation without generating too much friction is to try the CPC model. Always keeping an eye on October 31 , the date on which the bidding model will have to have been changed in all campaigns to ensure that they continue to function normally after discontinuation.
Although it may be a discouraging panorama, at the same time it represents an opportunity for hotels to refine their advertising strategy and gradually adapt to the evolution of the rules of the game of the new electronic commerce. Proactivity will be essential to prosper in the hospitality industry , since it is a tremendously competitive sector.
What are we doing at Paraty Tech?
As always, we try to anticipate these types of situations to minimize their impact and avoid greater evils. Therefore, for now, the steps we are already taking to promote a successful migration from CPA to CPC in Google Hotel Ads are:
Evaluate performance: Analyzing the most important metrics to understand how the campaign is performing.
Set objectives: by controlling the CPC, we establish performance objectives, depending on whether we are looking for more visibility, profitability or both.
Test: Testing with the CPC bidding model before full migration.
Optimize the bidding strategy: once the migration to CPC is complete, adjust the bidding strategy to achieve the desired objective.
Constantly measure and optimize: comparing key metrics with the previous CPA model to evaluate the success of the migration.
With these steps and a data-centric approach, we will help our clients in an effective migration from CPA model to CPC model in GHA. In any case, as always, if you need more information on how to get the most out of your investment in CPC for Google Hotel Ads, do not hesitate to contact us.
The thing is to reinvent oneself, to find formulas to differentiate oneself from the competition, to gain more and better guest loyalty and to increase new access routes to increase direct reservations . It is not so much about trying to invent the wheel, but about being able to find possible use cases for solutions and purchasing dynamics that are already applied and have been revealed to be effective in other sectors or segments. This is how Wallet Cards have arrived in the Paraty Tech hotel reservation engine.
Wallet Cards: what do they consist of?
You are probably already familiar, to a greater or lesser extent, with the concept of a Wallet Card . If not, it is quite simple to explain: in general terms, it could be defined as the issuance of virtual or physical cards on which an amount of money is loaded, so that the user can later make payments with it (in view of your next reservation), always according to certain previously defined conditions. From here, the possibilities are endless.
The virtual Wallet Cards of the Paraty Tech hotel reservation engine, a new functionality accessible in the Paraty Hotel Manager, have a very similar operating mechanism to the one just described, but the uses that can be given to them are as diverse as they are interesting.
Possible uses of Wallet Cards
With a wide range of configuration parameters at their disposal, the hotelier can issue as many wallet cards as they want, with very diverse conditions and objectives:
Compensate a guest If a guest experiences an incident or has a bad experience during their stay, they can be compensated with a wallet card so they can enjoy a discount on their next reservation.
Attract and/or retain guests Campaigns can be launched in which nominative wallet cards are given as an incentive.
Establish agreements with companies Cards can be created with particular conditions for the workers of a specific company.
Have a detail with your workers For example, in a chain, cards can be created so that hotel workers can enjoy discounts on stays at other establishments in the hotel chain.
How Paraty Tech Wallet Cards work
This new functionality is activated directly in Paraty Hotel Manager with an advanced configuration (which will add the account assigned to the account). Once done, under the Useful heading of the menu , the "Wallet Cards" section will appear, from which the cards can be issued.
The hotelier may issue one or more cards for specific guests, or issue cards for multiple recipients. There is no limit on the issuance of wallet cards, but there is a condition of associating each of them with an individual email address . To facilitate this task, the functionality allows the upload of CSV files with the data of each recipient, and the system will automatically generate a card associated with each person included in the file.
Configuration parameters include the following options:
Recipient email
Promocode prefix (numbering will be generated automatically)
Number of cards to be issued
Expiration date of the card(s)
Discount to be applied in euros or as a percentage
Discount type (per day or voucher type)
Language
Rate(s) to which it applies
Afterwards, the hotelier will be able to consult at any time the cards issued , their specific configuration parameters, the use that has been made of them, in relation to the number of reservations, the revenue generated and the total discounts applied.
Benefits for the hotelier
The benefits for the hotelier of using Wallet Cards are numerous, since they will have a new resource to encourage, compensate or reward past, present or future guests , favoring the opening of a new way to boost reservations through the channel. straight. All this from an environment that you know very well and through a simple and intuitive module:
Security and convenience The wallet card is generated, configured, sent and managed from the booking engine extranet, with which you are already very familiar.
Agility and automation of processes Generating wallet cards is very easy and fast, and the possibility of uploading a CSV file also greatly speeds up multiple card issuance.
Flexibility The hotelier has multiple configuration parameters that will allow him to determine the duration of the promotion / expiration of the card, personalize the prefix of the promotional code, something very useful to identify the reason for issuance, and determine the language of issuance, among others. Other options. Example: The hotel can issue cards for the company JCK, which wants to give €200 wallet cards to its workers or clients so that they can use them to reserve a stay at their hotel. The promotional code will be of type JCK-XXX (where XXX represent random characters). In this way, all members of the company who have been depositaries of the card will receive it in their email, for their use and enjoyment.
Loyalty Wallet cards can be very useful in turning around an uncomfortable situation, making the initially dissatisfied guest go home happy knowing that they will be able to enjoy a discount on their next stay. It can also be an effective way to reward the loyalty of repeat guests, with a detail that will largely ensure a new visit in the future.
This functionality is now available to Paraty Tech booking engine customers. For more information about its activation, please contact your account manager .
At Paraty Tech it is clear to us: more and more campsites and/or glampings operate, at all levels, as horizontal hotels. Of course, there are differences. Their casuistry is particular and there are many configuration parameters that must be taken into account when it comes to enabling the complete creation of this type of online lodging experience. We also know that, in general terms, their direct sales rates, per se, are much higher than those of hotel establishments. After all, they have hardly any presence in OTAs (except for some very specialized ones) and practically all their guest flow has traditionally been channeled through requests via their website (usually without immediate confirmation) and the voice channel.
But, precisely for this reason, their digitalization process has advanced at a slow pace, in contrast to other segments, a circumstance from which they now suffer to a greater extent, also due to the irruption and incorporation of new accommodation modalities that are a trend.
The margin for improvement is enormous. The reality is that, today, they are more likely than ever to benefit from all the technological arsenal available in the market to improve the way they sell, to reinforce their way of making revenue, to optimize their distribution and, above all, to take care of every detail of the trip or of the guest's experience. Their owners and managers know this and demand it, and we have decided to take up the baton.
A little context: from camping to glamping
Gone are the days when camping was, yes or yes, synonymous with adrenaline and adventure. Setting up the tent at nightfall, with almost no light, cursing when the pegs were bent due to the hardness of the ground or waking up sweating like a chicken, with your back stiff as a trunk, as a result of the classic standard mats, thinner than cigarette paper, were part of the attractions of a type of getaway that, almost always, turned into a fun (and uncomfortable) experience from which you returned full of anecdotes.
The sector (and the traveler profile) has evolved a lot over the last few years and, although there are still brave DIY (do it yourself) advocates, today they are almost an endangered species and, in their absence, an endless number of accommodation alternatives have proliferated within the framework of what is now known as glamping (a term that combines the concepts of glamour and camping). The purists have been replaced by more comfortable tourists, attracted by this new vacation modality that does away with the usual difficulties and setbacks of this form of active tourism, without renouncing open spaces or contact with nature, inevitably associated with it.
The traveler (especially the post-pandemic) has welcomed with open arms proposals such as Kampaoh, which, after establishing agreements with an infinite number of campsites distributed throughout the national territory, exploits a percentage of its plots to offer different categories of tents, already assembled for their use and enjoyment, or Ohai Nazaré Outdoor Resort (Portugal), which markets plots, yes, but also bungalows, apartments, tents, static caravans, etc., applying a modus operandi that allows for a more flexible and flexible use of the camping area, applying a modus operandi closer to that of the traditional holiday resort (with diets, catalog of complementary activities, facilities with every detail), than to that of the traditional campsite.
The sack has been replaced by spotless sheets dressing king size beds, the common bathrooms and kitchens by coquettish toilets and last generation vitrines respectively, the community swimming pools by water parks, shopping at the supermarket by full board and all inclusive, and so on, a long etcetera of advances that have exponentially multiplied the spectrum of guests to be addressed.
The answer: Paraty Campings
The idea of adapting our business model to the world of camping has always been an important point on our growth roadmap. Until now, the circumstances had simply not been right. However, we are pleased to announce that Paraty Campings is now a reality that takes advantage of the best of our booking engine for hotels and chains and is completed with functionalities and modules specifically developed for this emerging sector.
Pre-search accommodation filtering
Sorting results by price
Filtering results by price range
Filtering results by services
Supplements and packages
Additional services
Special Member Rate
Loyalty Programs
Conversion boosters
Retargeting
Dietary plans
Multi-tariff
Multi-currency
Call Center integration
Integration with revenue tools
For this, on the one hand, it was necessary to solve everything related to the tariff structure, which was very different from that of hotels. On the other hand, it was essential to allow the selection and booking of different accommodation formats (plots, bungalows, glamping, etc.) and to associate them with their own logic. All this, without renouncing a fundamental premise, a direct consequence of always placing the guest at the center of our developments: make it simple.
One base price per capacity
Our solution to overcome the first obstacle consists, in essence, in creating a simple configuration that allows the application of a base price per capacity, which is the one taken as a reference for accommodation, since it normally does not vary according to occupancy. Everything else can then be added and managed very easily from the Supplements & Packages and Additional Services modules.
A customizable filtering system
To overcome the second obstacle we have chosen to implement an advanced filtering system by levels, which allows the user, if desired, to initially select between different accommodation formats (plots, bungalows, tents, glamping, etc.). For each type of accommodation, independent filtering criteria are established which, once you are in the booking process, will allow you to fine-tune your selection.
Take advantage of Fitur to ask us about Paraty Campings
The most interesting thing about all our developments is that they feed back on each other bidirectionally. For example, this filtering system, located in the first step of the booking process, is also available to hotels, which can use it to allow their potential customers to find the ideal room, filtering by bed type, amenities, views, etc., thus further enriching their shopping experience. Similarly, the infinite possibilities available to hoteliers are enabled in Paraty Camping, which brings great value in a segment where conversion and loyalty enhancers are not so widespread.
We can't think of a better place to showcase Paraty Campings than Fitur, an unmissable event for us, where we always take the opportunity to present some of our latest launches. Come to our stand, 8D15 (Hall 8) and find out more. In addition, you will have two tablets at your disposal to test all its functionalities and see its extraordinary potential.
We are at the beginning of the year, still taking stock of 2023 and focusing on the objectives of 2024. A few days of reflection, thinking about improving and becoming aware of everything we have achieved last year, which is not little.
We tell you about it here, and in the process, you will see the importance of having a Customer Experience Center like Ring2Travel on your team.
In the digital era in which we are immersed, it is very clear that some people prefer and need direct contact, the famous human-to-human , and this is reflected in the 345 hotels we provide services to, spread across Spain, Portugal, Italy, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
A tangible testimony of the effectiveness of the strategy focused on the customer and the voice channel is the revenue generated, during that period, being €11,347,300.65 . Our focus on the quality of our service makes it our commitment to offer a completely personalized service for each hotel establishment, with our team acting as one of the hotel's own professionals. Becoming a strategic pillar for our clients, in addition to becoming a driving force to increase income through direct reservations.
A year is a long time, 365 days are enough, in Ring2Travel, to answer 441,409 calls , which is said to be early. We operate 24 hours a day and in the different countries mentioned above, offering our telephone solutions to anyone who wants to outsource and have a well-defined strategy for incoming, outgoing calls, emails, chat...
These incredible results represent notable growth compared to the previous year, generating 32.25% more revenue compared to 2022 , reflecting, in this way, the continued confidence of customers in the call center services and their ability to evolve in an dynamic business environment.
We contribute to customer satisfaction, since we are right where they want us to be. At Ring2Travel we serve every day of the year, 24 hours a day and in 5 languages , helping the reception and reservation departments of the hotel establishment. Call overflow, cancellation recovery, prepaid calls, SMS campaigns, chat service, email management, satisfaction suveys... and much more.
This 2024, don't miss the opportunity to obtain incredible results in your direct telephone sales thanks to Ring2Travel , do you dare?
2023 came to an end. And, as usual, we take advantage of the first days of 2024, before the definitive starting signal that represents the end of the Christmas holidays, to review, take stock, look back and, with perspective, once again identify reasons to feel very proud of all the work done, the challenges overcome and the countless milestones we have celebrated.
From event to event
The year began and ended with the first and unavoidable event of the season occupying our minds. And after some complicated editions, we returned to Fitur as exhibitors . With renewed enthusiasm, the agenda is full and the stand is full of colleagues, friends, collaborators and clients, sharing smiles and melting into hugs. We were so looking forward to a fair like the ones before!
Well aware that in-person events were back at 100%, our commitment to them has been stronger (in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Colombia or the United Kingdom) and varied (we have acted as organizers, hosts, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and attendees) than ever. From training and training, to parties and cocktails, through fairs and conferences of various kinds.
For example, in March we escaped the Spanish pre-spring cold to head to the Mexican heat, where we once again organized our traditional Roadshow , for which we had, on this occasion, the collaboration of Asksuite and Duetto. Under the title "TTT: Trendy Tech Tips '23", the event consisted of a series of free training and networking coffee-break sessions exclusively for hoteliers that took place in different key cities in the country, such as Cancún, Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta , and ended up becoming the prelude to one of the most important fairs in the destination, Tianguis Turístico . Precisely taking advantage of our attendance at the latter, we decided to go a little further by offering a satellite party in style: Hotel Dreams Travel Tech Party . Drinks, canapés, music, private security, gifts and the best atmosphere among professional colleagues.
The micro-events that make up our roadshows have already been confirmed as a very well received format and everything indicates that they are here to stay. In fact, we had no problem replicating the same formula, with a different name, in Spain (we brought DISHOT to Mallorca, Tenerife and Gran Canaria), Portugal (with Bedsrevenue, Lisbon, Algarve and Oporto enjoyed Revenue for Breakfast) and Andorra (country where we celebrate Hoteltrends, accompanying Hotelverse).
This year, after the opening of our commercial delegation in Colombia , we will probably decide to hit the road in this country as well. And, giving continuity to our internationalization strategy, the incorporation of Alejandra Hernández as Business Development Manager last August, brought new blood to Latin American territory, taking us to such important events as Search4, ExpoCotelco and TravelExpo.
Sharing knowledge with hoteliers
Our blog has also continued from strength to strength, feeding non-stop on the opinions and knowledge of all our experts, growing both in number of readers and in pages read. Contents that we have combined with others intended exclusively for specialized media in the sector. The truth is that we haven't stopped writing!
And speaking of smiles, we have also had time to air our always welcome achievements and recognitions to the four winds. A plus that pushes us to continue giving our all in our work and reminds us that we are still on the right path. We highlight here certain milestones, such as Paraty Tech's meritorious distinction as a Google Premier Partner , a badge that only 3% of marketing agencies obtain, or the company's inclusion in the ranking of the 40 most innovative companies in the tourism sector , according to Sergestur.
Alliances as a way to grow
If at the time we refer to 2023 as the year of events, 2024 is called to be the year of strategic alliances, a field that we intend to maximize. The first step has been the appointment of Daniel Romero as director of strategic alliances, but it will not be the only one. In fact, this new direction comes to give continuity, organize and reinforce our firm determination to bet on partnerships as a way of growth.
In fact, recapitulating the agreements reached over the last few months, the truth is that they are many and very interesting. Good proof of this is our return to the Hotel Technology Institute with Ring2Travel or our collaboration with the FEHM , but also the integrations we have undertaken and periodic collaborations with top-level players, such as Duetto , Flexmyroom , BeSafe and PortAventura World . In particular, the latter has led Paraty Tech to become the first booking engine to incorporate this add-on that offers hotels in the area the possibility that users of its official website can purchase tickets to visit any of them. the three theme parks offered by the resort, with immediate confirmation, at the time you reserve your accommodation.
Be where the hoteliers are
If in 2022 growth was the word that best summarized our journey (new markets, notable increase in colleagues and substantial increase in clients), in 2023 it could be presence. We have given everything to be present where hoteliers have asked us. Presence, also, in our offices. After the complicated years of the Pandemic, we have once again fully enjoyed unity, work and team activities , managing to enhance the feeling of belonging and expand the Paraty DNA. Presence, finally, in new countries and markets, because in the same way that our technology does not understand accommodation typologies, it does not understand borders either. By the way, next destination… USA!
On Friday we returned from Mallorca, where we attended the XIX Congress of Spanish Hoteliers organized by the CEHAT in collaboration with the FEHM, with a good taste in our mouths, the feeling that there is still much to do and a new concept under our arm, the technological smile , coined by Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech, during one of her interventions.
There is a very useful exercise that is asked of telephone agents. It consists of smiling before starting to speak and trying to start a conversation without blurring said smile from their faces. Many are surprised to discover that this mere gesture, whether intended or not, favors the adoption of a friendlier tone that, despite the physical distance, their interlocutor is able to perceive. You can try it.
When Gina thought about the technological smile, she did what many people would do today: ask Chat GPT. She was clear about what this concept, arising from real intelligence, from her human intelligence, meant. But perhaps the artificial could help to finish defining it. Doing so served three things:
Note again that Chat GPT still does not have all the answers . With its head down, the tool admitted not knowing the term, claiming in its defense that it could be due to the fact that it is only updated until 2022.
Once again confirm its enormous potential in terms of association, synthesis and interpretation . Although he claimed to be unaware of this expression, he ventured to offer a meaning that denoted a high understanding of the intention behind the metaphorical invention. Gina created it, yes, but she wouldn't have known how to define it better than Chat GPT.
Once again confirm his extraordinary speed of learning . To write this article, I asked Chat GPT again about the meaning of technological smile, just a few hours after Gina had done so. On this occasion, he ignored in his response the fragment that alluded to his updating period and answered with confidence and vehemence, as if he had known the concept since the beginning of his short life (although, in honor of the truth, he returned a different result depending on how the question is asked).
Connecting successfully: communication, marketing and customer experience
But then, what is the technological smile in the hotel sector? Patience, we'll get to that now. Gina had the pleasure of participating in the round table "Connecting successfully: communication, marketing and customer experience." Moderated by Juan Daniel Núñez , editor of Smart Travel News, and made up of a fairly random panel, a priori it gave the sensation of be more a kind of catch-all of professionals from the most diverse fields, than a properly orchestrated debate: Marta Gutiérrez, VP & CEO of Ogilvy, Javier Guadiana, CEO & founder of Reason Why, Andreu Genestra, Michelin Star chef, and Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech. Let's see what came out of there... However, in the end, life's surprises, it ended up being one of the most dynamic, entertaining, educational and lively events of the entire congress program. shots at the government, another whipping the hoteliers, a third patting them on the back to compensate, and the fourth in discord, adding firewood to fan the flame of all these recently lit bonfires. Marta told how, after having stayed countless times in the same hotel for years for work reasons, she was surprised, almost annoyed, that they had never welcomed her and received her by name. A warmth that she would have appreciated after fifteen hours on a plane, tired and dirty, which is how she used to reach her destination.
For his part, Javier opposed this position, claiming that, personally, he preferred to avoid these gestures and formalities, because in a situation like the one described, what he wants is to avoid the reception and go directly to the room to lie down.
Knowledge of the guest and hyper personalization, storytelling, differential value proposition, etc. were some of the topics addressed. But in front of an eminently hotel audience, only Gina was playing at home, and well, that's just getting noticed, what do you want me to tell you. In other words, the technological smile that he outlined as soon as he started, just as happens with the human one, ended up infecting an audience that he knew how to win over from minute one.
About the XIX Congress of Spanish Hoteliers
Good organization, large attendance, networking and a presenter with a very good attitude and many tables, livening up the event and linking all the ingredients of a slow-cooked meeting, and in which beyond the hypothetical direct return that is expected of any type investment, you simply had to be there. The best, the good vibes between colleagues and competitors in the sector, being able to finally put a face to many of the people behind our daily emails, and see the good health that the industry enjoys. hospitality. The worst thing is to leave there with the feeling that, although big and important changes are expected in the very short term, nothing truly groundbreaking and innovative has been said at these meetings, nothing that both the hoteliers and their suppliers do not already know, which apply to a greater or lesser extent. Well, except for that new concept of a technological smile, of course. It's a joke…
It may be because it is my natural field of operations and, in the end, we all end up sweeping home, but the conclusion I come to is that there seems to be a communication problem on both sides of the board and that, perhaps, the key is not It is no longer so much about what to say, nor about repeating yourself like aioli, but rather about how to say it, about finding new formulas. Will language be the lever that gives the hotelier that little push so that he ends up winning the game in that area of intermediation that takes away so much and seems to care so little at times, and which he uses more out of inertia than out of necessity? ?
Technological smile from ear to ear
But then, now, what the hell is that technological smile? Well, it is nothing more than a concept that refers to the feeling of pleasure that we experience when interacting with well-designed and friendly technologies. A concept that is related to the idea that technology can help improve the quality of life, generate positive experiences, and help guests connect better with the accommodation they choose.
That is precisely what we aspire to at Party Tech. To devise, develop and implement increasingly friendly solutions, technological smiles from ear to ear that, in turn, awaken very human smiles in our clients and their guests. And so we hope to go, once and for all, from accepting the popular Mallorcan saying "I'll tell you things", to something much more effective and proactive: we are going to do things.
The journey of El Llorenç was born in September 2019 with a very clear idea: to create experiences through which its guests could feel and live the most authentic history, culture and gastronomy of the island of Palma de Mallorca. With 33 rooms, this boutique hotel is much more than just a hotel. It is a full-fledged host, whose aim is to make guests feel the true essence of Mallorca.
Paradoxically, its virtue is also the source of the problem. For the same reasons, its distribution is atypical for the destination and, therefore, parity is difficult to control. It is also not easy to decide who should they compare to and defining its competitive set is complex.
The collaboration project between Price Seeker and El Llorenç is a clear example of our willingness to actively listen to the sector. In this sense, the work of Victoria Vergara, revenue & sales manager of the hotel, has been fundamental in creating a tool tailored to its particular casuistry. New levels of filtering, new sites as a source of data and exclusive functionalities have marked the commitment of this unique boutique hotel to our comprehensive price intelligence platform.
Paraty Tech, leader in technological solutions for the hotel industry, is pleased to announce its presence, this time as an exhibiting company, at the prestigious Cancún Travel Mart 2023, where it will take the opportunity to present for the first time the update of one of its most important tools. successful: Call Seeker. Those attending the event, which will take place from October 11 to 13, 2023 at the Iberostar Selection Cancún, will be able to see this and many other new developments first-hand at Stand 522.
The Cancún Travel Mart is an annual event that brings together professionals from the primarily Mexican tourism industry, providing the opportunity to establish contacts, promote products and services, and learn about the latest trends in the travel and tourism industry. Paraty Tech, the booking engine that currently manages the most beds in the Cancun hotel zone, and which has the trust of brands such as Park Royal Hotels & Resorts, Oasis Hotels & Resorts, Sandos, Barceló, Iberostar, Viva Hotels & Resorts and Wyndham is enthusiastic about this new appearance at the event, as stated by Gina Matheis, CEO of the company:
"Returning to Cancún Travel Mart is a clear symptom of the good evolution of our commercial relations in the country, where we have felt very supported from the first moment, and we are convinced that our ability to continue adding value to the hotels in this destination booming tourism".
Call Seeker 2.0: The definitive tool for hotel call centers
One of the highlights of Paraty Tech's participation at Cancun Travel Mart 2023 will be the presentation of Call Seeker 2.0, the latest version of its innovative call management tool. Call Seeker 2.0 has been designed to help hotels professionalize their telephone service and provide exceptional service to their guests by optimizing and automating voice channel management.
Since its launch, Call Seeker has become one of the most well-received Paraty Tech solutions in the sector. Not in vain, telephone attention in many cases falls to non-specialized departments, such as reception, which will now be able to save time and make the most of very common tasks, such as sending quotes and generating pre-reservations.
Call Seeker, which is integrated with the hotel's booking engine, payment gateway and loyalty program, already supported these functions, which included additional configuration parameters such as manual price modification and locking, availability and the possibility of ignoring space or minimum stay restrictions, in addition to establishing the validity of the quote/pre-reservation.
Now, the new version includes interesting new features, such as multi-property quotes, integration via API with the popular WhatsApp messaging system, and integration with Paraty E-Payments, the technology company's collection system, as Daniel Sánchez explains, Chief Revenue Officer of Paraty Tech:
"Thanks to the new integrations it is now possible, for example, to send a payment link to the guest directly from the platform itself. Call Seeker 2.0 is the best example of how our solutions improve through active listening to the sector. In fact, Many of its new features respond to specific requests from certain hotels or chains, but they will also serve to benefit many other tourist accommodations."
Visit Paraty Tech Stand 522
Paraty Tech invites all attendees at the meeting to visit their stand, number 522, to obtain more information about how their products and services can help, not only to improve efficiency and the guest experience in your hotel, but also to ultimately boosting the increase in direct reservations and, consequently, reducing intermediation costs. According to the words of Milena Castrillejo, Key Account Manager for Mexico and LATAM, "our participation in the fair represents a unique opportunity to meet again with our clients, but also to connect with industry leaders, establish new alliances and demonstrate that our Technology is a living entity that never stops evolving." For more information and to schedule a meeting during Cancun Travel Mart 2023 with Paraty Tech, you can visit their website or write to them directly by email .
Today, September 27, is World Tourism Day. A date that, because of our current activity, but also because of the baggage we carry with us, touches us very closely. This year, the theme is a declaration of intent: Tourism and green investments. Sustainability, in short, or what the vast majority of us understand by this concept.
The RAE has not exactly broken its head when referring to sustainability as the "quality of being sustainable". However, we like another of its meanings much better and it represents very well, in our humble opinion, the magnitude of the term: a characteristic of development that ensures the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.
As you can see, this applies to everything. And in our field, it constitutes a way of proceeding that can be applied to the most diverse fields. From the obvious, such as the effort to use, as far as possible, so-called clean energies, to make responsible use of resources, valuable and scarce in equal parts, such as water, or to reduce our carbon footprint, to issues perhaps not so closely associated in the collective imagination with sustainability, such as care, and, above all, the imperative need to foster greater collaboration between public and private entities to create a tourism model that contributes, through the promotion of destinations (their services, gastronomy, culture, nature, business fabric, etc.), to their deseasonalization. ), to its deseasonalization, and therefore, to favor the preservation and development of its charms, and a harmonious coexistence between its local population and those who decide to visit them.
None of us are going to change the world (a facile argument), but we can contribute to do so (another hackneyed phrase). Whether forced, or out of conviction, that is the way forward. The roadmap we need to set ourselves. We can believe in climate change. We can embrace conspiracy theories and deny its existence or, at least, the real impact of our actions on its future. It matters little. Because the reality is that, beyond the convinced environmentalists and vehement deniers, all these steps are good for the place where we live (we are not talking about the earth as a planet, but also about our country, our city, our municipality) and for the professional activity we have chosen: hospitality. It is very hospitable to ensure the needs of our present, without compromising those of future generations. Or is it?
Moreover, it turns out that the traveler of our time has spoken out and we have the obligation to listen (if not out of conviction, let's do it because there is a lot at stake). Large corporations offer the possibility on their digital platforms to record our actions in this regard (it is no coincidence that they have worked to give them the visibility they deserve), and we know for sure that tourists value them more and more, and that they are willing to invest more in their getaways, vacations or business trips, when they are aware of their small contribution (and consequent conscience-cleansing). An unwritten win-win pact. Greenwashing is not, logically, the ideal model, but it all adds up, why deny it. And if it serves as a pretext to get the batteries (or solar batteries), it's a good thing.
Anyway.... Sharing this brief reflection with all of you is just an excuse to wish you a happy Tourism Day.
Hotansa, a hotel manager with 18 establishments located in different destinations in Andorra, and Paraty Tech, a company that provides services to hotel establishments with the aim of boosting their direct sales, joined their paths in 2021, when they decided to lay the foundations for a comprehensive collaboration.
The project included the design and development of the official websites of each establishment and the group's corporate page, all of them equipped with the reservation engine of the technology company located in Malaga, and the contracting of other products such as Price Seeker (platform price intelligence), Paraty Digital Suite (digital marketing) and Paraty Metas (metasearch engine management).
In the words of Gloria Paris , commercial director at Hotansa, “every year with Paraty Tech we have improved our numbers.” A statement fully aligned with the results obtained in the 2022-2023 winter season , which reflect an increase of 54.5% in direct reservations compared to the same period of the previous year.
Not in vain, as Daniel Sánchez , CRO at Paraty Tech, comments, “this data is very positive, but it is not the only one to be proud of.” And, thanks to Hotansa's balanced distribution mix, between both entities, combining know-how, technology and efforts, they have achieved that the direct channel , with a 12.5% share , rises to second position in volume of sales, equaling the main OTA and only below the number one national channel in ski travel.
Still, far from settling, "this year our goal is to position direct sales first, to be the first to sell our own product," says Néstor Hernández , marketing manager of the hotel management company, who sees the increase in the budget in digital marketing one of the keys to achieving this, trying to reach an audience located one or two levels lower in the sales funnel, and enhancing the relevance of markets such as the British, French or German.
A strategy that they believe they can afford due to their careful control policy, which has led them to maintain the average cost per direct reservation at very low levels, around 4.2% , and to invest 24% less than estimated in platforms. such as Google Ads and Google Hotel Ads. A situation consistent with the metrics and analytics they manage, which indicate that almost 70% of sales come from organic traffic.
The ultimate goal, Gloria concludes, is none other than “positioning Hotansa as the best option in Andorra, placing the direct channel, our official websites, in first position in sales volume, even if it entails a higher average cost per reservation.”
Let's pull the string a bit. The alerts, fittingly said, went off when Price Seeker detected a series of unexpected price inconsistencies on Atrápalo, causing significant discrepancies between the price offered by this channel and the official website. Our tool was extracting and displaying the price without knowing that, in many cases, the Smart discount was being applied, leading to significant disparities with the direct channel.
Price Seeker now extracts the cheapest price
Already aware of Atrápalo's new program, it is important to know that our Price Seeker price intelligence platform already captures the cheapest price offered by the OTA, whether or not the hotel is included in the Smart program during those dates.
Additionally, we are working to soon indicate if that price includes the Smart discount and, if so, also display the percentage of difference. In other words, the price we capture is the cheapest that the user can end up paying if they register for the program. If not, they will pay more, but never less than the price shown on our platform.
From retail to travel
E-commerce, essentially, involves buying and selling goods and services using the Internet. According to this generic definition, online room reservations, regardless of the channel used, would fall within what is commonly known as e-commerce.
On more than one occasion, we have mentioned that the hotel sector has much to learn and import from others, such as the audiovisual entertainment industry or marketplaces. Leveraging the vast volume of data generated by their users through browsing habits, queries, and acquisitions, these players excel in offering hyper-personalized experiences and deploying aggressive and effective loyalty mechanisms that help retain customers, ensuring future purchases.
Well, it seems that some are already taking note of this modus operandi. This is the case with the new Atrápalo loyalty program. As we have already mentioned, the whistle-blower responsible for alerting us to its existence has been none other than Price Seeker, our hotel price intelligence platform.
What is Smart?
To make sure you understand what it entails, let's establish a brief parallel with Amazon Prime. You may be familiar with it, but if not, let us remind you how it works. Amazon users have access to the Prime subscription, involving an annual fee (currently at 49.90€, though initially, it was half this cost) in exchange for several benefits:
Fast and free shipping on a wide selection of products
Free access to Prime Video
Free access to Prime Reading
Free access to Prime Music
Prime Day: an exclusive day of offers for Amazon Prime customers
Unlimited storage on Amazon Photos
Privileges that not only translate into revenues from the subscription fee, but ultimately invite the consumer to make repetitive purchases on the Amazon marketplace and repeatedly use its complementary services. But most importantly, once the need is created and the customer is caught in their networks, the latter is, in a way, at the mercy of their commercial interests.
Atrápalo's Smart is based on this annual subscription model, and even the cost (50€ per year) bears a suspicious resemblance to Amazon's. In exchange for that amount, the user "can buy with them unlimitedly, benefiting from exclusive discounts during the subscription period" on certain products offered by the OTA and identified with the "Smart" label, such as flights, hotels, flight + hotel.
Atrápalo has been clever in crafting this loyalty program because its legal basis does not specify which products will have the Smart label or the amount of the discount. Therefore, everything indicates that its strategy is designed, on the one hand, to attract repeat customers and, on the other hand, to promote the products they are most interested in selling.
How much are the discounts with Atrápalo's Smart?
This is the million-dollar question, and to answer as accurately as possible, the product being booked and the value of the reservation must be considered because the discount range is very broad.
In the example shown below, a search for Malaga in August, the discounts applied to different hotels range between 6% and 12%. However, for flights and trains, it can go up to 30%.
The subscription to the Smart program is carried out during the same purchasing process, and for future purchases, logging in will be necessary to benefit from the associated discounts. This is similar to the locked rates of loyalty clubs implemented by certain hotels, which are always displayed and can be selected, but when it comes time to complete the reservation, joining the club is necessary to enjoy the best price.
This is how they describe the program on their website:
"The Smart subscription is a new annual subscription service offered by Atrápalo to buy Flights, Hotels, and Flight+Hotel with exclusive discounts for SMART customers. The subscription is contracted simultaneously with the purchase of a flight, train, or hotel. When you buy, we offer you the option to subscribe to Smart and start enjoying exclusive discounts on Flights, Hotels, and Flight+Hotel. By subscribing to our Smart program, you benefit from exclusive discounts on the prices of our flights, trains, and hotels for 12 months. In this way, you can buy with us unlimitedly, benefiting from these discounts during the subscription period."
The company has integrated its hotel booking engine with the resort to facilitate the purchase of tickets for visitors when selecting their accommodation in the area.
The technology company Paraty Tech, which provides services to hotels and hotel chains with the aim of boosting their direct online and offline sales, takes another step forward in its commitment to the sale of experiences at source, by establishing a direct integration of its booking engine with the PortAventura World resort.
The incorporation of Transfers & Experiences into the Paraty World Group in 2021 was a declaration of intent in this regard. Specializing at the time, as its name suggests, in the sale of experiences of all kinds and transfer services, mainly on the Costa del Sol, its imminent integration with Paraty Tech's booking engine represented the opportunity to offer hotels the possibility of providing a better experience for their guests, avoiding tedious and usual negotiations with local suppliers and providing them with an additional source of income. All this without having to intervene in the management of the service, nor undertake any investment.
The Paraty Tech - Transfers & Experiences alliance has taken a giant step forward in 2023, exponentially increasing the number of destinations they serve and developing their own API. The API facilitates the process of connecting new suppliers, who, as with hotels, have a lot to gain from this initiative with which expanding their online distribution network becomes a very simple task.
This is the case of PortAventura World, one of the most popular theme resorts in Europe, located in Tarragona (Costa Daurada), the new connectivity will allow hotels in the area that operate with Paraty Tech's booking engine to incorporate this add-on and thus offer users of its official website the possibility of buying their tickets to visit any of the three theme parks offered by the resort at the same time they book their accommodation.
As David Gil, CEO of Transfers & Experiences explains, “a careful two-step purchase process, designed to not negatively influence the conversion rate of the engine, allows the potential guest to add this experience as an additional service in the second step of the process, right after the room selection”. After completing the accommodation booking, the guest is informed to finalize the ticket purchase. At that moment he is redirected to the PortAventura World payment gateway, where he will pay for his order, obtaining his tickets with immediate confirmation. Therefore, the hotel does not intervene in the management of the payment of these.
According to Mireia Bové, Head of Sales at PortAventura World, “thanks to our collaboration with a partner such as Transfers and Experiences, we are able to be present at such a decisive moment for our potential clients as the booking of hotel accommodation in our area. For us, the fact of complementing in such a simple way a hotel reservation with the hiring of an experience in the destination undoubtedly contributes to raise the expectations and satisfaction of travelers who visit the Costa Dorada”.
Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech, is convinced that “the sale of experiences at source, in addition to being an unquestionable resource with which to increase their average ticket, brings great value to hotels, while helping them to offer a better service to their guests, who can complete their accommodation experience, in the same process, with a visit to the main attractions of the destination, as PortAventura World certainly is for the Costa Dorada”.
About PortAventura World Parks & Resort PortAventura World Parks & Resort is one of the largest family leisure and vacation destinations in Europe. Throughout its 28-year history, it has received more than 100 million visits. With a privileged location close to Barcelona, the resort operates 5 4-star themed hotels and 1 5-star hotel (PortAventura Hotels) and has 2 hotels under management outside the resort grounds, with nearly 2,700 rooms, and a convention center (PortAventura Convention Centre) with capacity for up to 6,000 people. PortAventura World Parks & Resort also has a theme park, a Ferrari Land park, the only one of its kind in Europe, and a water park that is a leader in Europe with a range of world-class attractions. In April 2023 it received the B Corp certificate, which recognizes the company's work in terms of sustainability, social responsibility and good governance.
Paraty Tech, a technology company specialized in the development of solutions and tools that aim to enhance direct sales of hotels, hotel chains and other tourist accommodations, expands its team in LATAM with the incorporation of Alejandra Hernández as Business Development Manager Colombia.
With headquarters in Spain and branches in Portugal and Mexico, the opening of its commercial presence in Colombia gives continuity to its internationalization strategy and, in particular, to its expansion plans in Latin America, after the establishment of a permanent team based in Cancun last year, in whose hotel zone it is already the booking engine that manages the most beds.
Paraty Tech, which arrived in Latin America in 2017, already has several clients in the Andean country, including independent establishments, such as Hotel Soratama, and hotel chains, such as Spiwak Hoteles and EM Hotels. In the words of Gina Matheis, CEO of the company, "the incorporation of BDM responds not only to the intention of continuing to grow in Colombia, but also to the need to offer a better service to its clients there". A country that, she continues, "has great potential in direct sales and where we can provide great value, backed by our extensive experience in various international markets".
Alejandra Hernández, who assures that she faces this new phase with "high doses of motivation and optimism", has spent a large part of her professional career in the hotel industry, with extensive experience in opening markets, working on both sides of the board. She has served as product and operations manager at technology companies such as Erbon software and Price Travel, and as revenue manager and ecommerce director at Continental All Suites Hotel and Park Inn by Radisson, among others. In her opinion, "having hotel know-how and supplier experience" has allowed her to develop a global vision of the sector, better understand the needs of potential clients and know what the role of each player is at any given moment and situation.
"We are convinced that our differential suite of 360º services will arouse the interest of many other establishments in the country, which will soon benefit from our technology and the permanent support of our team of account and revenue managers", concludes Daniel Sánchez, the company's CRO.
The sale of destination experiences is a widespread practice. However, if we talk about sales at source, with immediate confirmation and through the hotel's official website, without having to do anything and charging commission for each purchase made by any user, things change. This is already a reality with the Paraty Tech booking engine.
Destination is The King
The traveler does not choose the destination based on the hotel. The process is just the opposite. First you decide where you want to go and then you look for accommodation in that location, except on very few occasions. The sooner we assume it, the sooner we will also understand the importance of trying to go much further than offering a merely accommodation service.
Let us not be misunderstood. The benefits (in terms of gastronomy, entertainment, well-being, security, etc.) that the guest can enjoy behind closed doors of the establishment are essential. The first thing to take care of is our product, of course. But if we are able to complement your stay by making available to you the possibility of contracting experiences (from those usually in demand at the destination, to more exclusive ones, practically tailored to your tastes and preferences), we will be gaining money to capture your attention. , significantly improving the perception of the service you are acquiring.
We are very aware of how tedious it is to negotiate with one and other suppliers to, ultimately, try to resell their products to our guests, once they are in our facilities. In addition to the wear and tear caused by this simple process of closing all these agreements individually, we must add the effort that we must carry out, first, to make sure that our client is duly informed when he arrives, and then, to encourage him to end up hiring one of those activities. To make matters worse, the competition in this sense is fierce, because it is almost a rarity that a hotel does not offer the purchase of experiences at the destination. So how do we differ?
Marketplace of experiences and transfers
At Paraty Tech we knew how to identify this problem years ago and we took an important step by incorporating a very well-positioned company in the world of complementary offerings into the Paraty World group. This movement would allow hotels to have their own marketplace of experiences and transfers with immediate confirmation, under the protection of their own brand, also charging commissions for each sale generated. This meant killing two birds with one stone because, on the one hand, they avoided the problem of dealing with various suppliers and, on the other, they began to have a new source of income that also significantly improved their service in the eyes of their guests.
Obviously, we are not stopping there and we continue working tirelessly on this field of hotel marketing, seeking to meet the expectations of an increasingly demanding traveler profile eager for new sensations. We knew of the attraction potential of a resource of these characteristics.
Only a few months later, it was already possible to contract a transfer service as an additional service within the reservation process on the official website, nullifying the efforts of the OTAs to differentiate themselves from the direct channel (for example, giving away the taxi with the reservation) and facilitating a lot of life to the tourist when it is time to set up your vacations.
Sale at source, a novel differential factor
It was about time. The good reception of this add-on to our booking engine pushed us to continue developing in the same vein. Today, the integration with the complete catalog of experiences is already a reality. As we said, the sale at destination is available to anyone. Now, if we talk about sales at source, the spectrum is reduced. And if we add immediate confirmation to the formula, it directly becomes a one-of-a-kind feature.
If you work with the Paraty Tech booking engine, users of your official website can already book their room and, in the second step of the booking process, as if it were an additional service to use, add any experience they want live during their stay at the destination, and do so with immediate confirmation. Meanwhile, the hotel, which does not have to do anything, continues to commission each of those sales.
We already have API: providers, you are welcome
In parallel, the development of our own API, not only speeds up the integration and start-up procedures of the service, but also greatly facilitates the adhesion of new providers, also avoiding that you have to give up your usual partners, who can now connect with us in a much faster and easier way.
From Paraty Tech, hand in hand with our partner Transfers & Experiences, a company also belonging to the Paraty World group, we have proposed to professionalize the non-hotel activities sector, with a platform that facilitates the connection of local providers with hotels, through of our API, favoring the B2B sale of these at the destination, and the B2C sale at origin, through the official web pages of the tourist accommodation.
Paraty Tech, a hotel booking engine, integrates with BeSafe to offer a prepaid rate with insurance included, flexible and easy to integrate into the sales strategy of each accommodation, at a key time and boom in travel policies.
The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic hit the entire world hard. Travel was paralyzed and millions of people were forced, first, to cancel their vacations and then, when mobility was reactivated, with the virus still very present, to assume medical expenses derived from their health care outside their countries of origin. . Having overcome the worst of that situation, today we know that many of the steps that were taken then to try to alleviate, to some extent, the drama that it entailed and its most direct consequences, are here to stay.
In the travel sector, one can speak openly of an evident change in trend. Both in the type of experiences that have become more in demand, and in relation to the preventive measures that travelers seek to safeguard their rights in the event of the unforeseen. Security and the contracting of flexible insurance policies linked to hotel reservations are a priority for what can now be classified as a new traveler profile and a new way of traveling.
We have a very recent example of an insurmountable setback in the early call for general state elections in Spain, scheduled for next July 23, that is, in the middle of the summer campaign. A decision that implies that the options of millions of Spaniards, fearful of being called to occupy a polling station or wishing to vote in person, are basically reduced to three: not traveling during those dates, risking having to cancel without guarantees refund in case of being summoned or contracting an insurance policy such as BeSafe Rate PLUS.
Flexible insurance, the safe way
It is for this reason that the integration of the Paraty Tech booking engine with BeSafe comes at a key moment, precisely when travelers need it most to secure their vacations, offering a safe way with which everyone, hoteliers and guests, win.
Thanks to the suite on which BeSafe operates, whose main differential value lies in its flexible nature, the service directly connects the insurer with the hotel's reservation engine, offering travelers a prepaid rate with insurance included that adapts its coverage to the type of establishment and its main customer profiles. In the event of cancellation or accident, the hotelier will not have to worry about managing the refund request procedures. BeSafe will take care of this, regardless of the contracted variant:
BeSafe Rate: indicated for hotels that want to offer security to their guests, it offers coverage in case of cancellation or illness. The cancellation guarantee covers a refund of up to 100% of the amount in the event of unforeseen events, such as illness (COVID-19 included), hospitalization, accident, etc. While the assistance coverage during your stay, valid from arrival to departure, allows you to enjoy medical and health assistance, luggage guarantee, theft and roadside assistance.
BeSafe Summer: suitable for hotels that operate during the summer season, it offers medical assistance for outdoor activities and civil liability coverage.
BeSafe Business: suitable for mainly urban hotels, it offers a refund in case of meeting cancellations, transport delays, etc. The ideal option for business trips.
BeSafe Winter: suitable for hotels operating during the winter season, it offers mandatory civil liability coverage, medical assistance in case of injuries, reimbursement for rescue on the ski slopes, etc.
BeSafe Rate PLUS: indicated for hotels that want to offer full refund guarantees to their guests, it is similar to the BeSafe Rate, with the exception that it offers coverage in the event of almost revolutionary cancellation, by taking any documentable reason as valid, guaranteeing the refund in 7 days, through its automated portal for Refund & Go refund claims.
Both companies very satisfied
The integration process is now completed and it is possible to see this product in operation at the Nura Boreal hotel, belonging to the Nura Hotels chain. Representatives of both companies declare that they feel very satisfied with this alliance.
Thus, in the words of Daniel Sánchez, Chief Revenue Officer of Paraty Tech, "the integration with BeSafe Rate should favor the resurgence of the non-refundable rate, almost extinct during the Pandemic, by encouraging guests reluctant to pay in advance to book without fear of losing their travel money in the event of an insurmountable setback and, consequently, allowing the hotelier to once again enjoy the cash flow that this type of rate provides."
For his part, Alessandro Bartolucci, CEO of BeSafe Rate, assures that "they are delighted to join forces with Paraty Tech and to embark together on this path towards the digitalization of the sector, combining their experience with this innovative hotel reservation engine" , and adds which "aim to provide hoteliers with a unique offering that helps them increase their revenue with a flexible insurance solution, to ultimately protect guests during their stays."
It's not artificial intelligence, but hey, it is an intelligent novelty, because we know that it responds to a real need. As much as technology evolves, we will always end up reviewing the list of reservations for the day, paper and highlighter in hand, checking that everything is in order to offer the best guest experience.
For the enemies of Anglicisms, the rooming list is nothing more than a document used in the hotel industry to provide detailed information on the distribution of rooms and the guests who will occupy them, during a certain period of time. The rooming list is important to the hotel as it helps organize and allocate rooms efficiently, and to guests as it ensures a smooth stay and allows them to confirm that their booking details and preferences are correct prior to arrival.
At Paraty Tech, as hoteliers that we are, we know that, although there are many procedures that continue to be carried out, commonly said, "on the old lady's account", it is essential to be able to contribute to their streamlining and efficiency, thus optimizing the productivity of the establishment staff and favoring its natural operation.
From the direct engine to your email
A new functionality of our booking engine saves the hotelier from having to access the extranet to check the day's reservations generated through the official website, which will now be sent daily to your email (or to the email accounts you indicate ). A very comfortable way of respecting current processes, improving them in terms of efficiency.
In that email the hotelier will have in a very accessible way data such as:
reservation identifier
Origin of the reservation (mobile, Google My Business web, call center, etc.)
Check-in and check-out date
Country
Occupation
Fee
promo code
Room
Regime
Comments
Price
Additional services
Activating this functionality is as simple as adding an advanced configuration, indicating the recipient emails. You still do not have it active and you would like it to be like that? Get in touch with your account.
The alliance between FlexMyRoom and Paraty Tech takes a new giant step with the launch of a new product that will allow hotels to include travel assistance insurance as an additional service in their online booking process. The Pandemic, and the insecurity of travelers as a result of the outbreak of the Coronavirus, highlighted the need to take out travel insurance that guarantees the reimbursement of your reservation, in case you are forced to cancel your trip, and/or the coverage of health expenses in case of contracting the infection and needing medical treatment. Once the worst of this tragic situation has been overcome, this type of product continues to be in high demand, both by the guest and by the hotelier.
In addition, as a curious fact, the launch could not come at a more opportune moment, because due to the next general elections that will take place on July 23 (in the middle of the summer vacation campaign), after being called in advance by the current Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, there has been an understandable slowdown in bookings and a certain fear of an increase in cancellations. On the one hand, due to the obvious desire to exercise their desire to vote, but also due to the fear of Spanish citizens of being forced to cancel their vacations if they are called to fill a position at one of the polling stations. A circumstance that would not be so dramatic if you had travel insurance.
What is truly new?
Until now, insurance used to be packaged with a specific rate, forcing the user to select it if they wanted to enjoy the benefits associated with contracting this product, thus limiting their options and preferences. And, in parallel, this format also prevented the hotelier from marketing their inventory with full freedom. For this reason, after months of work, listening to requests and receiving feedback, carrying out tests and carrying out improvement work, we are very happy to announce the launch of a new optional assistance product that adds to those already active in FlexMyRoom and Paraty Tech.
As of today, hotels can now offer their clients, through the official website, travel assistance insurance as an additional service, in the second step of the reservation process, regardless of the rate selected by the user, improving thus retention and loyalty, and matching the offer of most OTAs.
It should be remembered that the disparities are not only in price, and with this novelty, this particular form of disparity is also put to an end, while a positive disparity is generated with all those channels that do not have this alternative.
Over the last year, the purchase of travel insurance has grown remarkably. A situation that has not gone unnoticed by insurers, and which has also been echoed by the main hotel distribution channels, which have already made a move, as Miguel Signes, CEO of FlexMyRoom, explains:
"Every day, the industry continues to move towards hyper-segmentation and personalization of the customer experience. For this reason, most OTAs already allow users to purchase travel insurance on their platform during the booking process. From Hence, from FlexMyRoom, in collaboration with our partners and hotels, we have developed this new product so that the traveler continues to find the best, most competitive and customizable option, on the hotel's own website.We are really excited that this new product by finally see the light and take one more step towards that personalization of experience, both for the hotelier and for the traveler."
What are the advantages of including travel assistance insurance during the booking process?
By offering travel insurance, the hotel provides protection for its guests and demonstrates that it cares about the well-being and safety of its guests during their trip and stay.
In other words, it constitutes a competitive advantage, in the form of peace of mind, which will allow travelers to enjoy their stay without unnecessary worries.
This new product is added to those already active and will allow the customer to take out travel assistance insurance and customize their vacation directly in the booking process without having to leave the hotel's website.
Just as some OTAs or tour operators already include this service on their platform, with Paraty Tech and FlexMyRoom the hotel can also offer it to its direct customers and, thus, improve retention on its booking engine, avoiding unnecessary leaks, and increasing the satisfaction of its guests.
You want to know more?
You can contact your Paraty Tech Account Manager directly or, if you prefer, follow the following 3 easy steps:
Access the FlexMyRoom website and go to products.
Click on LEARN MORE and fill in the form, selecting the product "Optional travel assistance insurance".
We will contact you to see the connection details.
If you already have the Paraty Tech booking engine, activating it will be a matter of minutes.
One of the highlights of the first day of the TecnoHotel Forum was the panel The complex world of hotel distribution, under debate , in which we had the pleasure of participating, represented by Daniel Sánchez , Chief Revenue Officer of Paraty Tech . From the start, he had it all, and he did not disappoint. Accompanying our colleague was a daring, funny, expert and hotelier moderator, committed, between laughs, not to mention the word "parity", for a matter of principle and maturity ( Alfonso Pérez , from Only YOU Hotels), a representative of the company that owns the metasearch engine that has grown the most in recent years ( Zuriñe Eguizábal , from Travel at Google), a specialist in one of the most anticipated markets and with the greatest projection for the future ( Guillem Gisbert , from Ctrip) and a true heavyweight in hotel distribution ( Xavier Cortés , from Keytel).
On the table, the most diverse topics and of great interest to hoteliers, especially taking into account that we are facing a rarefied scenario, in which a long period of increased demand, with a customer willing to pay more, It collides head-on with a slowdown in the rate of reserves over the last few weeks and an economic context still marked by an always threatening inflation. The order of the day was established:
What role will the Asian market play next and when?
Why invest in Google Hotel Ads
How to sell more through the direct channel
What are the potential and emerging markets
Omnichannel
Artificial intelligence
Less little birds in the head, better foundations
Although, as we have already mentioned, we are experiencing a period of excess demand, the reality is that this is not the case in all markets and, depending on the destination, these indicators behave unevenly, making it necessary to resort to a mix of channels more varied and appropriate to the destination, without failing to take advantage of the billboard effect of large companies such as Booking.
Daniel Sánchez , Chief Revenue Officer at Paraty Tech , confirmed that "in Spain, the ones that continue to pull the bandwagon the most are the UK, Germany, the US and France" . The rest of the markets represent more residual percentages and to capture demand you have to spend more, knowing that the ROI will be lower. And, although it seems that only digital marketing formats are valued, Daniel assures that "things go beyond online marketing" and that "in certain markets it is essential to have a physical presence".
What do we have to do to sell a lot through the direct channel?
To the million dollar question, Daniel responded forcefully: less little birds in the head, more building a good foundation . Immediately afterwards, he finished explaining himself: "The motor always goes to our heads, but there is an offline part, the telephone, which does not stop growing, especially in vacations, in which important disbursements are made, and the telephone builds trust."
There is no magic formula to sell a lot, but there are some minimums that must be met: "Have a good price, develop a 360 strategy, invest in marketing, be well positioned... start rolling with this and, from there, think about incorporating some of the multitude of add-ons that exist. We have reached a point where the engine and the web are now just commodities, what is important is everything that surrounds it: loyalty, crm, Wi-Fi connection… the options are endless”.
"There is no need to put a ceiling on investment in marketing"
The thing was to obtain irrefutable answers, universal truths, in which to take refuge to increase profitability. However, the goose that lays the golden eggs exists only in stories. An important step, in terms of online marketing, is to assume that investments are being made, not expenses, because there is always a return. For this reason , "there is no need to put a ceiling if the ROI is good, because limited budgets limit the hotelier". Everyone seems to already agree that direct sales can end up being as expensive as brokered ones, "but, even if it ends up costing us 15 or 18%, it will always be more interesting to sell direct than through an OTA". For this reason, Daniel advised to stop thinking in net amounts to start working with “floating budgets, and establish an affordable cost translated into a percentage”.
We hope that 2024 will be the year of full recovery of the Asian market
Despite the fact that in May the volume of international searches grew by 60% and that of reservations by 40%, perhaps the number of Chinese visitors is still not as expected. Something that Guillem Gisbert, Country Manager Spain & Portugal at Trip.com/Ctrip, who is confident that 2024 will be the year of full recovery for this market, attributes to different factors: "China has suffered the biggest lockdown in the world, although its de-escalation has also been faster than that of any other country. Just like in Europe, now that borders have just been opened, they are traveling mostly locally, to the places they know and where they feel comfortable. But it is also that there are handicaps that condition international travel, "we must recover the air routes and solve the issue of visas," he says.
Like the rest of the speakers, Guillem agrees on the importance of knowing the particularities of each market in order to be able to offer travelers the product they want, through the channels in which they feel comfortable, just when the one who demand it. But when we refer to the Asian market, and more specifically, to the Chinese one, this question directly becomes one of the most important.
There you can't kill flies with cannon shots. It is not enough to make a literal translation of our website into your language and wait for reservations to start coming in. Of course, there is the issue of language, but also that of influencing those issues that are most interesting to them, in offering them the payment methodologies that generate confidence: "with them, credit cards are not going to work, translating for the sake of translating It's not going to work either, you have to go further, have someone who speaks the language, maybe set up a Chinese breakfast corner, get to know their needs well, those of each existing profile”. For example, "the generation of the only child is the one that is now traveling the most and has the greatest purchasing power," he says. Not surprisingly, China has 1.4 billion potential tourists, but only 150 million have high purchasing power: "It's about making Spain a top of mind destination for Chinese customers," he concludes.
Hotel demand is growing at double digits
The presence at the table of Zuriñe Eguizábal, Industry Manager at Travel at Google, had also generated great interest. Due to the position he occupies within the American giant, Zuriñe has access to an infinity of data associated with the travel sector. Circumstance that, from the start, allowed him to begin by stating that "hotel demand is growing at double digits in most of the key markets". In his opinion, the pandemic has brought about a great change in people, in all of us, and now we appreciate living experiences more. A circumstance that continues to have a direct impact on tourism, "a vertical that grows more than other verticals".
Again very aligned in his answers with many of the opinions of his panelmates, Eguizábal insisted that "it is important to understand which market you are targeting and adapt your recruitment strategy", and he attributes a good part of the success of Google Hotel Ads, one of the goals that has grown the most in recent years, due to its versatility: "There are different strategies depending on the objective: increase traffic (invest in clicks), generate reservations (CPA), profitability (capture reservations from a minimal return) .
All players invest in metasearch engines and bid for the same terms as hotels, including even their own brand. A practice as unethical as widespread. Competing with giants like Booking or Expedia as a brand defense strategy is profitable, as commented by moderator Alfonso Pérez, Corporate Sales and Marketing Senior Director at Only YOU Hotels. However, he was wondering how to compete with the multi-million dollar investments of other players in generic search. As our CRO already said, the Google representative spoke of assuming a "structural and financial change" and asking herself "how much am I willing to pay for a direct sale by brand, and how much for one from someone who doesn't know me" because, Obviously, we are talking about a very different investment volume.
The distribution is not complex, the complex thing is to find a balanced distribution
Xavier Cortés, Managing Director at Keytel , was expected, above all, to shed some light on the complex (or not so complex) world of current hotel distribution, in which, in his opinion, "there is a loss of control, due in part to the redistribution exercised by all the actors. The hotelier perceives and is aware of this reality, which has led him to bet on the channel that makes the most sense, direct. The truth is that this loss of control translates into a generalized lack of traceability, and the direct channel is the exception that confirms the rule.
The pandemic was a turning point in distribution. As a consequence, the hotelier has reduced channels and there the direct channel has taken advantage, but it has not been the only beneficiary of this situation, as Xavier highlighted when he assured that "the great winner of the Pandemic has been Booking" .
Cortés also shared that feeling of slowdown in reserves in recent weeks: “Europe has behaved very well until this last week, in which there are certain flattening indicators. Internationally, the Latin American market offers very good prospects (especially Brazil, Mexico, Argentina) and the Middle East is also doing very well. It is also hopeful that next year we can once again count on the Chinese market and India, a country with even greater possibilities of adapting in the short term, with fewer cultural and technological barriers". highlight the determining role played by knowledge of the different markets: “Understanding the markets will allow us to diversify better” .
There are markets with a very important offline component. The Latin American, for example, which is controlled by a few operators, and some global player as well. In fact, on occasions, the fact that the two large OTAs are present in certain markets leads us to think that they are enough, but it is a mistake: "It makes us depend, especially at a time like the present, of overdemand, in which everything seems easy. However, when there is a correction in the demand, that is when you see if I have really done my homework."
In short, the key is to manage not to give up any market, to any segment, and it is not just a question of reducing channels, but of finding the ones that generate value for me in each market.
What to expect from artificial intelligence?
It is on everyone's lips and, who else, who less, everyone has an opinion about it, including the participants in this interesting table in which practically nothing was left unanswered.
While Daniel Sánchez was convinced that, in terms of direct sales, "the possibilities of AI are endless" (for content generation, to work on SEO, etc.), Xavier referred to generative AI as "the future of the way to search for trips” and to the blockchain as a technology with “a long way to go” . For his part, Zuriñespoke of the possibility of "colliding the data we have with that of the hotel's own CRM to find the most profitable customer, who is most interested, and thus end up paying for each channel based on the value it generates, not not just today, but 5 years from now." Lastly, Guillem recognized that Ctrip is already integrated via API with OpenAi (Chat GPT), both internally and at the user level, which translates into greater ease when searching, to they avoid leaks in search of additional information.
The hotel chain has been in business for more than 30 years
Park Royal Hotels & Resorts, a hotel chain with more than 30 years of experience and presence in the best destinations in Mexico, USA, Puerto Rico and Argentina, chooses Paraty Tech as a technology provider to boost the sales of its direct channels.
Paraty Tech, with headquarters in Torremolinos (Spain) and branches in Cancun (Mexico) and Albufeira (Portugal), specialised in the development of technological solutions aimed at increasing the direct reservations of hotels and hotel chains, continues its incursion into Mexico with a firm step, incorporating the hotel chain Park Royal Hotels & Resorts to its portfolio of clients.
The choice of Paraty Tech by Park Royal Hotels & Resorts is based on the vast experience of the technology company, as well as its wide range of services, which translates into greater agility of implementation, favours the integration and interconnection between modules and tools, significantly reducing the number of interlocutors and favouring client-supplier communication.
With this partnership, Park Royal Hotels & Resorts has satisfied its need for renewal, evolution and adaptation to the present time, betting even more on its direct channel to achieve its objectives. Seeking to squeeze the maximum potential out of their official website, they have completely re-launched it with a daring integral renovation of image and usability, which has led them to gain positioning, freshness and user experience. This is how Claudia López Huesca, Corporate Marketing Manager of the hotel chain, explains it:
"We know the potential that our direct channel has. Our expectation and challenge is for it to reach a sales share of 20% of our annual closing. The objective of this evolution, in addition to improving the experience and usability of our current and potential customers with a fully optimised website for any device, is to take advantage of technology to simplify processes and be more productive, focusing more on planning strategies and being able to configure them in the system in a quick and easy way. And what could be better than to be accompanied at all times by experts who share our same objective: to maximise the direct channel. It was necessary to dare to make a big change and we are convinced that Paraty Tech is the best option, and they have demonstrated this from the beginning".
The project has ranged from the design of the website, 100% customised, with independent versions for desktop and mobile devices, to the implementation of the booking engine, loaded with new ad-hoc functionalities and directly integrated with Duetto, the chain's RMS, including the loyalty programme, Loyalty Experiences by Park Royal, the Park Royal Pro module for professionals and the deofuscation of the blog, now much more visible for Google, and loaded with resources to get to know and enjoy the facilities of its heterogeneous offer of establishments and the destinations in which they are located. A complete and enriching experience for potential and current guests.
The agreement also involves the adoption of the role of digital marketing partner by Paraty Tech. Through its Paraty Digital Suite division, the company is carrying out, from day one, a meticulous work of positioning the official website and generating traffic to it, which is already bearing its first fruits. It includes the management of metasearch, SEM and Social Ads campaigns, the creation and sending of newsletters, and meticulous SEO and UX work, "an indestructible tandem in the direct channel" according to the words of Carlos Mérida, Product Designer at Paraty Tech:
"The new Park Royal Hotels & Resorts website is a clear success story in many ways. For example, it has gone from 9500 keywords positioned in October 2022 to more than 25700 today. The information architecture has also been improved, reducing the number of URLs with Thin Content (content of little value) in favour of landings for each establishment, loaded with content of interest to the user. All of this paying special attention to accessibility (outlining the brand's corporate colour palette and adapting texts), giving great importance to the attraction power of video, cleaning up online reputation (disavowing fraudulent links) and optimising international labelling (language codes for the main core markets)".
One of the main challenges when undertaking such an important change was to ensure that the diverse range of Park Royal Hotels & Resorts brands, associated respectively with the different types of accommodation they manage, coexisted in harmony within the corporate site. Rafael Sandoval / Commercial Director at Park Royal explains:
"Park Royal Hotels & Resorts has a brand manual that represents the values that mean everything to us, but we felt that our previous site did not reflect them properly. It was crucial that Grand Park Royal Luxury Resorts, Park Royal Beach Resorts, Park Royal City and Park Royal Homestay could share the spotlight but without losing their identity and market, each product needed its own space and images and a cleaner, brighter, fresher and more modern website, without giving up its content, that is, its own autonomy and identity. An objective that we are sure we have achieved thanks to the commitment and involvement of Paraty Tech".
This is undoubtedly a very ambitious step for the hotel chain, to which Paraty Tech has responded, above all, with a sense of responsibility, always aware of the complexity and importance of the assignment, according to its CEO & Co-founder, Gina Matheis:
"From the beginning of our discussions with Park Royal we understood perfectly what this project represented for both of us. From their perspective, a commendable vote of confidence. From ours, it was a golden opportunity to make our mark on the Mexican hotel industry, demonstrating that the big players are betting on our technology. We knew that it would mean putting all our heart and soul into it, and that is what we have done from the very first second. Starting with a good, solid and stable foundation, and finishing off the work with a host of tweaks that make it very different from the rest".
When she talks about "tweaks" she is referring to those little details that make the difference, such as the browser tab titles, which confess to "missing you" if you change tabs, independent and coherent colour palettes for each brand, the display of rooms in list mode or in mosaic mode, a blog that allows you to filter by theme, the display of a featured hotels module when you click on "Book" without having previously chosen an establishment, the new flexible calendar, the option to change currency in real time or to hire a transfer with immediate confirmation during the booking process, or a mobile version that is independent and optimised to the highest level.
In conclusion, Daniel Sanchez, Chief Revenue Officer at Paraty Tech, reminds us that:
"Bringing the project into production is only the first step. Our work includes exhaustive, daily monitoring, so that absolutely everything is always optimised, with no margin for error: prices, parity, meta search engines, offers, incentives, content, page speed, general stability of the site... We want to demonstrate the extraordinary growth potential of the direct channel and to be able to do so hand in hand with Park Royal is a precious gift".
It will be held on May 25 via streaming and in the metaverse of the school for free
It will feature speakers such as Alfonso Pérez Liñán, Corporate Sales and Marketing Sr. Director at Only YOU Hotels, Elena Mateos, CEO & Founder of HotelSAAS and Jesús García González, Co-Founder of Xperiencia Virtual, among others
Barcelona, May 15, 2023.- Technology has had a profound impact on all industries, and tourism has not been an exception. This is how the Turistech concept was born, which aims, thanks to digitization, to promote sustainable and inclusive tourism that benefits both travelers and the local population and their environment. For this reason, IEBS Digital School celebrates Turistech Day , an event that will bring together experts from the tourism industry to discuss the new trends and opportunities that are emerging from digital transformation, which we at Paraty Tech have the great pleasure of sponsoring.
The use of digital tools is key to attract increasingly hyperconnected tourists and to engage with them in an intelligent and scalable way. In this context, Turistech Day was created to offer tourism professionals a unique opportunity to learn about the latest trends and challenges in the ecosystem.
The event will feature recognized experts in the field of Turistech, who will share their experiences and knowledge on how to implement new technologies in tourism businesses. They will talk about, among other things, marketing and innovation in tourism 4.0, how to create immersive experiences using the Metaverse, key technologies for personalizing the tourist experience in hotels and future technologies in the tourism sector, among others. things.
The speaker's agenda will feature recognized professionals in the sector, such as Alfonso Pérez Liñán, Corporate Sales and Marketing Sr. Director at Only YOU Hotels, Elena Mateos, CEO & Founder of HotelSAAS, Jesús García González, Co-Founder of Xperiencia Virtual, José Luis Fernández, Chief Commercial Officer at Jacidi & eRoom Suite, Jorge Vallina, Managing Partner & CEO at Global Consulting and Tourism and Rocío Rojas, founding CEO of Turistech, among others.
Turistech Day is a free online event that will take place on May 25. It can be followed in streaming or in the metaverse from anywhere in the world.
Lastly, and for all those professionals in the industry, IEBS offers the Postgraduate in Tourism Transformation: Turistech and Traveltech, a program to learn to adapt to the changes that occur in organizations and the needs of an increasingly demanding and documented.
IEBS is the 1st online digital native school in Spanish in the world. It was born in 2010 with the purpose of improving society with quality education at a fair price, thanks to technology, automation and the use of artificial intelligence. Since its inception, IEBS has trained more than 123,000 students in 53 countries with its more than 350 programs at the forefront of innovation. It is considered the 1st online business school in Spain according to the CSIC ranking and the 2nd in Latin America according to the Ibero-American ranking.
About Paraty Tech
At Paraty Tech we have spent a decade optimizing our solutions and promoting direct sales of more than 3,000 hotels, hotel chains and other tourist accommodation. Reducing the dependence on OTAs thanks to our booking engine, the most advanced revenue management tools and a wide range of online marketing services, including connectivity and metasearch engine management. In technology we trust.
Although it is unthinkable now, there was a time, many years ago, when there were satisfied or dissatisfied customers. A comment could be positive or negative. In other words, there were no degrees of satisfaction, because there was no way to quantify it, to assign it a value.
Then came companies like Booking and Tripadvisor which, even back then, understood and anticipated the leading role that guest reviews would play in the future, and invented a new way of measuring the degree of satisfaction, offering the possibility of assigning a rank to the reviews. Not only that, but different aspects of the stay could also be rated by giving different grades for issues such as cleanliness, location, staff treatment, facilities, gastronomic quality, etc. Nowadays, we apply all these values together to define the quality of a service.
Price parity does not exist
Something very similar happens with parity. Beyond those who speak of the end of parity, or refer to it as a utopia, the truth is that almost everyone tends to simplify the analysis of parity, reducing it to two possible options: I control it (I am in parity), or I do not control it (I am not in parity). Once again, this is a very biased view, which avoids an approach to which we do give a great deal of credit: the degree of parity. An indicator that has a direct impact on a hotel's operating data and, therefore, on its income statement.
We will not deny the evidence. It is indisputable that avoiding disparities 100% is practically impossible, as it does not depend solely on our distribution network, nor on our work. Unfortunately, and sometimes, contrary to what is specified in the contracts we sign, certain channels have, in turn, many other collaborators who are the ones who end up selling the beds that we had given to the primary collaborator.
And in this "chain of favors", it is very difficult to maintain control and detect certain disparities. But this is one thing, and to resign oneself to it, or what amounts to the same thing, to forget about price parity, under the argument that, whatever I do, it is beyond my control, is quite another. Price parity is one of the basics of hotel direct selling, and measuring it is essential to guarantee the success of our strategy.
Precisely for this reason, at Price Seeker we decided to "cook" the Parity Index, an exclusive indicator based on our own algorithms, which establishes a system for measuring parity management, assigning it a value that moves in a range from 0 (the worst possible management) to 100 (the best possible management). In short, the Parity Index offers a very interesting reading that tells us how efficiently or poorly we are managing parity.
Today, there are already many large hotel chains on the national scene that are governed by this criterion. The Parity Index works for them as a guide for the preparation of a clear commercial strategy and a healthy distribution mix. It also serves as a tip-off that identifies and minimizes channels that operate without control and that only contribute to generate discrepancies that damage the brand image and prevent a defined and efficient revenue management.
How the parity index works
Next, we will try to explain in a simple way how the Parity Index works, although it is important to take into consideration that the algorithm has defined a very precise valuation that responds to the heterogeneous casuistry of the different types of tourist accommodation.
Rating system
Parity Index is 0: all searches are in discrepancy.
Parity Index is 100: all searches match the official price.
Parity Index is any value between 0 and 100: this value corresponds to the degree of discrepancies detected, based on different criteria, such as discounts, visibility, commission and conversion, among others.
Price Seeker V4 users have the Parity Index at their disposal to manage their parity, and the best way to exploit the potential of this indicator is to follow a few simple steps:
Log in to your Price Seeker V4 environment with your credentials.
In the Easy Track Dashboard, identify the Parity index and your Top Offenders (the channels that are generating the most disparities).
Access the Parity dashboard by applying the desired filters.
Detect the metasearch engines and OTAs that have the lowest Parity Index and are offering the highest differential.
Check the main table paying special attention to the numbers marked in red to verify the prices offered.
Detect disparities through the OTAs and Metas detail table.
Go as deep as you want using the filtering system.
We bring our technology even closer to the Balearic Islands
The first step was to establish a permanent team there. Specifically, in Palma de Mallorca. The objective was none other than to improve our customer service in the Balearic Islands through greater proximity and accessibility. Now, with the collaboration agreement reached with the FEHM Hotel Business Federation of Mallorca, we bring our technology even closer to the Majorcan and Balearic hoteliers with the intention of taking their direct sales further, to another level.
Palma de Mallorca is one of the most popular locations, both by national and foreign tourists. The direct sales potential of the establishments located there is enormous and, by making the appropriate resources and know-how available to you, we are convinced that we can contribute to making the most of it.
Over the last two years we have been gradually increasing our presence on the islands, a variant of tourist destination, for different reasons, full of particularities: the types of accommodation they house, the visitor profiles they attract, the way in which these arrive at the destination, the services they demand, etc. And at Paraty Tech we have a complete 360º suite of products, tools and solutions that come in handy, and that include the booking engine, custom web page design, revenue management tools with specific functionalities and specifically developed indicators. for independent hotels, chains and resorts, digital marketing services, metasearch engine management and a hotel call center with which to enhance your voice channel.
The work that the FEHM has been carrying out for the benefit of its associates, always led by the omnipresent María Frontera, has been truly fantastic for many years now. That is why we have placed great hopes in this strategic agreement, through which we are convinced that we will be able to contribute our bit to consolidate, once and for all, the role of direct sales in hotel marketing.
Special conditions for associated hotels
As part of the collaboration agreement reached with the FEHM, we have prepared a package of special conditions for its associated hotels, with which we hope to favor conversations with the Mallorcan hotelier, facilitating the contracting of our services:
3 months free of Price Seeker: our recently renewed rate shopper, now a price intelligence platform, more accessible than ever.
Elimination of engine implementation costs: Over a decade of optimizing our booking engine has led it to offer one of the highest conversion rates on the market.
3 Months Free x2 Call Seeker Jobs: Booking quotes and pre-booking generation will no longer be a problem for reception and sales teams thanks to Call Seeker .
When we talk to hoteliers, it is increasingly common for terms such as autonomy, data, analytics, sales tools, etc. to come up in these conversations. In short, they seek more freedom, they yearn for greater self-management capacity, they demand effective and agile commercial resources on which to rely to boost their direct sales, without losing control over the decisions they make and the solutions they implement.
We come to respond to all these requests from Paraty Tech with Paraty Boosters, one of the latest modules developed for Hotel Manager, the back-office of our booking engine. An even more effective tool when combined with others such as Rate Check and Rescue Seeker, with which we seek to improve results by increasing direct bookings.
What is Paraty Boosters?
Paraty Boosters is a generator of incentives in real time, 100% configurable and measurable at any step of the reservation process or section of the official website. The appearance that the incentives can acquire is varied, and the activation possibilities and functionalities associated with them, very numerous.
From traditional popups, to floating elements of limited duration, through banners, subscription boxes for the newsletter, the loyalty club or the application of promocodes, countdowns, impulse sales accelerators or flash offers, responses to periods of inactivity of the user or abandonment intention, etc.
How does Paraty Boosters work?
Paraty Boosters has an intuitive interface integrated into the extranet of our booking engine. Through a simple drag & drop system that, first, allows you to select the type of incentive, second, offers the possibility of customizing the content and, third, select its location and configure its behavior.
Access the Paraty Boosters module on the Extranet
Choose your template and give it a name
Use the Drag & Drop system to add or delete elements
Edit the available text and image fields
Customize the aesthetic by adding your corporate colors
Define the sections or stages of the reservation process in which it will be displayed
Sets the status to active or inactive
Ready! Prepare to witness the results of your action
And also, A/B Testing
Any implementation carries a risk and we want you to always be sure that the incentives you apply are as effective as you expect. Therefore, you can also decide to activate them in A/B Testing mode.
In essence, A/B Testing enables the option to activate the incentive for only half of the users who access the website, allowing you to analyze the differences between the conversion rates of the website when the incentive is active and when it is not. it is. Information that you will have at your fingertips in the BI of Paraty Boosters.
Advantages of having a real-time incentive generator
A real-time incentive generator on your hotel's official website is a very valuable resource to improve the guest experience, increase their satisfaction and degree of loyalty, and increase the conversion rate of the booking engine.
Paraty Boosters is a commercial resource with which you can launch special offers, accommodation packages and activities or services, additional discounts, loyalty bonuses or any other initiative you can think of. The possibilities are endless and all of them increase the degree of motivation of the potential guest during the reservation process, always eager to find the best possible offer for their future stay. With Paraty Boosters you will make them feel valued and appreciated by giving them special treatment, with which they will feel more comfortable and satisfied.
Increase the conversion rate
Improve user experience
Increases the degree of guest loyalty
Get data that helps you get to know your audience better
Get a higher level of personalization of your offer
Combine Paraty Booster with Rate Check and Rescue Seeker
In order to make the most of the potential of the tools we make available to you, we suggest you combine Paraty Boosters with two other top tools: Rate Check and Rescue Seeker.
Our price comparator with OTA's and Goals within the reservation process, Rate Check, can only add up. Not being afraid to show OTA prices is a clear sign of transparency and trust. Values perceived by your users, who also appreciate the comfort of having everything in the same place, and the satisfaction that this site is the official website. Rate Check integrates with your booking engine to offer your clients OTA prices for their same search criteria, always according to your business rules. In other words, if the price of the OTA or the Metasearch engine is lower than that of the official website, it will not be displayed.
On the other hand, Rescue Seeker, our active retargeting platform, launches to the rescue of lost reservations, tracking the footprint that your users leave when browsing and using it to offer them real-time solutions that respond to their behavior: recovery of reservations left by half way, dissuade users from leaving the website, give them that necessary push after periods of inactivity, a clear sign of uncertainty, etc. Rescue Seeker reduces the bounce rate and contributes to increasing the conversion rate.
Next, we leave you with a short video of Paraty Boosters. You want it? Ask your account for more information.
Paraty Tech, a leading technology company for the hotel industry, is proud to announce a new appearance at the Tianguis Turístico, one of the most important events in the sector, which this year will be held in Mexico City, from March 26 to 29.
The agendas of our representatives from the offices in Cancun and Malaga (Spain) have been open for weeks, including that of their CEO, Gina Matheis, who will be part of the five-member delegation that will travel to the country's capital with the aim of to present our most recent solutions to boost direct bookings for hotels, hotel chains and other types of tourist accommodation.
Among them, it is worth mentioning the design of custom web pages, our booking engine, optimized for more than a decade, our suite of digital marketing services, which includes a platform for managing campaigns in metasearch engines, and our wide range of tools revenue management, led by Price Seeker v4, our comprehensive price intelligence platform.
Paraty Tech has just celebrated the free Tech Trendy Tips '23 training sessions for hoteliers with enormous success (March 1-3), framed within our usual Roadshow MX. On this occasion, the chosen destinations were Cancun, Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta, and for them we counted on the invaluable collaboration of Duetto and Asksuite, technology companies that will soon be joined by Hotelinking , for the organization of the great party for customers and business partners with which Paraty Tech plans to put the icing on the cake for our presence at the tourism fair.
Baptized under the name of HOTEL DREAMS / Tianguis CDMX Travel Tech Party, this exclusive meeting with limited capacity and aimed at hoteliers, will take place on Tuesday, March 28, starting at 7:00 p.m., at Janis Palmas, a distinguished nightclub located only 10 minutes from the Citibanamex Center. The party will be attended by the main hotel groups and independent hotels in the country, and will be enlivened with live music, drinks, canapés and gifts for the guests. Tickets can be purchased through the following link.
Gina Matheis, CEO of the company, assures that "at Paraty Tech we are excited to be able to present, for yet another year, our technological innovations at the Tianguis Turístico, and excited about the idea of rewarding the loyalty of our collaborators, offering them a high-quality party." level in which to be able to chat in a relaxed environment in equal parts playful and professional”. With these actions, we ratify our firm commitment to continue providing full support to the Mexican hotel sector, through the development of new products and innovative tools and careful customer service, two of our main hallmarks.
For more information and appointments, from Paraty Tech we invite you to visit our website or contact us via email:
The creation of Paraty Digital Suite was once a declaration of intent by this technology company based in Torremolinos (Málaga) and offices in Cancún (Mexico) and Albufeira (Portugal). This important step, in addition to ratifying the growing role of digital marketing within the commercial strategy of hotels, implied, above all, Paraty Tech's firm determination to strengthen this department, considering it as a fundamental pillar for direct sales. hotel company , placing itself at the same level as others such as the official website, the reservation engine or the revenue management and price control tools.
Today, this change of direction and the strong investment in resources and personnel associated with it, recently reinforced with the incorporation of Bárbara Balderas as digital marketing director , has borne fruit. And Google has recognized this work by granting Paraty Tech the status of Google Premier Partner 2023 , granted only to 3% and reviewed annually.
To select this select group of collaborators, Google takes into consideration variables such as the volume of investment and optimization of the campaigns, the diversification of channels, technology, or the degree of specialization and certification of the team members who manage all of this. .
Paraty Tech has been developing solutions and implementing tools for more than a decade to enhance the direct sales of hotels, hotel chains and other tourist accommodations. This recognition constitutes not only indisputable proof that, far from having stagnated, they continue to update their range of services according to the new needs of their clients, but it also represents a well-deserved award both for them and for the hotel establishments with which they who work, who have placed all their trust in the Paraty Tech experts and have undertaken the relevant investments, always guided by the recommendations of the members of Paraty Digital Suite.
In the words of Bárbara Balderas, director of digital marketing at Paraty Tech, “we could not be happier with this recognition that, on the one hand, clears up any possible doubt about the contribution of digital marketing to direct sales and the importance of not putting a ceiling on to the investment in this field as long as the return is as expected, on the other hand, it further increases my level of confidence in this wonderful team that I have just joined (all the credit is theirs) and, finally, it opens many doors for us to "to definitively position ourselves as authentic specialists in the field."
For her part, Gina Matheis, CEO of the company, is aware that “thanks to the extraordinary work of the team, we will now enjoy multiple advantages associated with this recognition that will allow us to improve even more, such as access to new Google products in the pipeline.” beta, to the most recent statistics and trends, and to exclusive events organized by the American technology giant.”
The Hotel Technology Institute (ITH) adds Ring2Travel as a new partner in the Call Center area.
The objective of this association is to incorporate a new resource with which to continue strengthening the advisory work of the Hotel Technology Institute (ITH) . Through the accession of Ring2Travel, they continue to expand the range of tools they make available to associated hotels, on this occasion, adding a service that is currently in high demand by hotel establishments and their guests. A trend supported by data from January 2023, which has recorded an increase of more than 50% in the number of calls answered, and 73.8% in net sales, compared to the same period last year.
The Torremolinos-based company offers solutions both for those hotels that already have telephone service personnel and are looking to improve interaction with their guests, automating workflows and expanding their commercial capabilities, and for those who feel the need to include this channel in your sales strategy , outsourcing this service to avoid undertaking new investments.
Julián Alcolea , Head of Operations at Ring2Travel, explains that: “The traditionally called Call Center has never stopped being there, but over the last few years the voice channel has gained in relevance, confirming itself as one of the most profitable and requested by the guest. We are certain that through our membership in the ITH we will be able to make hoteliers aware of its growing importance, as well as open their eyes to the multiple benefits of incorporating it into their direct sales strategy.”
For his part, the general director of ITH, Álvaro Carrillo de Albornoz , points out that: “There is no doubt that the Customer Service department is key and indispensable for the tourism sector, it provides considerable value and is essential for creating adapted strategies. and well defined. Through this department empathy is created and the best time to generate a relationship of trust to advance guest loyalty. For this reason, we see it as appropriate to work hand in hand with Ring2Travel and bring this necessary solution to the sector that differentiates us and brings us excellence.”
About Ring2Travel
Ring2Travel is the customer experience center or contact center of the Paraty World group, designed to complete the direct sales strategy of hotels, hotel chains and other tourist accommodations, regardless of the booking engine, the destination and the markets with which they work. Specialized agents act on behalf of the hotel, presenting themselves as hotel staff, offering telephone service in up to 5 languages, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Ring2Travel's range of services includes handling incoming calls, outgoing pre-stay and cancellation recovery campaigns, outgoing calls as reinforcement for campaigns on key dates (Black Friday, Valentine's Day, etc.), call overflow service, click to call campaign on the website, management of chats and mailboxes, etc. In addition, they also offer the Call Seeker solution, a reservation quoting and pre-reservation generation tool for establishments that already have their own reservation agents.
SEO positioning for hotels can benefit the increase in direct sales for your hotel or tourist business. What are the strategies and tools that Paraty Tech uses to achieve this goal? Join us, we'll tell you everything.
SEO Positioning in the Hotel Sector
First, let's take a look at the hotel sector. According to a report by the consulting firm We Are Marketing, online bookings will grow by 261% in the coming years due to digitization. OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) are one of the most consolidated and preferred booking channels for users. What can be done to increase direct bookings? The answer is a good online marketing strategy.
Users search the internet and compare prices and services before making a reservation. As a result, the website of your hotel or tourist complex must operate correctly (both the booking engine and all integrated functionalities). If the page is not attractive or does not function correctly, it will affect your bookings and the SEO positioning of your hotel.
SEO Strategy for Hotels
The SEO strategy for hotels begins with a study of the potential customer and their journey to formalize the reservation. This data is obtained from the hotel's own database and tools, such as Google Analytics. A family looking for accommodation does not have the same needs and interests as a solo traveler, so these factors must be taken into account when working accordingly.
Keyword Research
Keyword research will improve your website traffic, increase its visibility, and ranking in search results (SERP). There are numerous tools to conduct this type of study, but one of our favorites is SEMrush. The hotel sector is a market niche with high demand and competitiveness, so the keyword strategy to attack should be long-tail and related to the user's search intent, for example:
Service prices (hotel + location + offers): hotel name in Malaga, offers.
Service level (hotel + location + with service): hotel name in San Sebastian with parking.
Target audience and location (hotel + target audience + location + services/service level): hotel name for families in Tenerife.
Target audience and services (hotel + target audience + location + services/service level): hotel name for families in Tenerife promotions.
Once the keyword strategy is designed, it will be used to:
Design or optimize the website architecture and URL structure.
Content curation to promote services and products.
Update or create content for the blog (we recommend that your site has one).
Optimize on-page elements (title and meta descriptions).
Mobile Compatibility
According to the 2021 mobile report by Ditrendia, Spain is the European country where we spend the most time on mobile phones, and 76% of users have already made purchases through their mobile devices. Therefore, your hotel's website must be compatible, function correctly, and be optimized so that your potential customer can make reservations through their mobile.
Local SEO for Hotels
Local SEO positioning is essential for your hotel; it provides visibility to your business for users who perform a geolocated search, helps you compete against OTAs, and increases direct sales. The Google My Business listing is the star of local SEO. How can you optimize it? Here are some of our recommendations:
Upload photos and a 360º video.
Review and respond to visitor comments.
Ensure that it is up to date.
Conclusions
In summary, if you leave it in the hands of our team of professionals, who will implement the techniques described above and use the right tools; they will design a SEO strategy for hotels that will provide the following benefits:
Registration to attend these face-to-face training sessions with limited capacity is already available through the following Eventbrite links, the only essential requirement being to use the corporate email of the hotel establishment that those interested in booking represent. your square:
After the success of last year's edition, Paraty Tech (booking engine), Asksuite (chatbot) and Duetto (revenue management system) repeat the initiative and organize their Roadshow México 2023. The event, consisting of a series of training days free networking and exclusive coffee-break for hoteliers, under the title "TTT: Trendy Tech Tips '23", will take place throughout the first week of March in different key cities of the country.
Representatives of each one of the companies will offer 40-minute presentations in which they will make a complete tour of the technological trends that this tourist season has in store for us in their respective areas of expertise, offering tips and lines of action to hotels with the objective of maximizing their income, improving their customer service and increasing their sales through the direct channel.
Program
The training sessions will take place between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. of the dates marked on the calendar by the organizers, the first being in Cancun (03.01.23), which will be followed by those in Mexico City (02.02.23) and Puerto Vallarta (03.03.23), with a program which will be replicated to the three destinations:
10:00 a.m. -Asksuite Trends for high performance management of reservations teams Karen Mantilla , Account Executive LATAM
10:40 a.m. -Paraty Tech Direct channel: the future depends on you Daniel Sánchez , Chief Revenue Officer
11:20 a.m. - Networking Coffee Break
12:20 p.m. - Duet Trends and predictions to drive revenue strategies Arturo Gracia , Director of Hospitality Solutions LATAM Patty Alton , Sales Director LATAM
About the organizers
About Paraty Tech
Paraty Tech is a technology company with offices in Cancun, Albufeira and Malaga that focuses its activity on promoting direct reservations for hotels and hotel chains, both online and offline. Developer of one of the world's leading hotel booking engines, they complement this system with a wide range of 100% in-house revenue management tools, web page design, a complete suite of digital marketing solutions, including the management of campaigns in metasearch engines, and his own hotel call center, Ring2Travel. More than 4,000 hotel establishments around the world rely on its technology.
About Duetto
Duetto offers a suite of cloud-native SaaS applications for hospitality businesses to optimize every booking opportunity for greater revenue impact. The unique combination of hospitality experience and technology leadership drives Duetto to seek innovative solutions to industry challenges. The SaaS platform enables hotels and resorts to take advantage of real-time, dynamic data feeds and actionable insights into prices and demand.
More than 4,000 hotel resort properties in more than 60 countries have partnered to use Duetto's applications, which in both 2022 and 2023, was named the world's #1 revenue management system at the HotelTechAwards.
About Asksuite
With over 2,000 customers in over 40 countries, Asksuite's AI Booking Assistant is linked to a powerful omnichannel service platform, ensuring that hotels can respond to all customer inquiries (both during and after business hours). , also helping teams to organize the workflow with a unified inbox that includes all communication channels. In 2023 Asksuite has been recognized as the best Livechat & Chatbot Website at the Hotel Tech Awards, in addition to occupying the number 3 position in the Best Places to Work ranking and number 5 in the Hoteliers Choice Award, both created by Hotel Tech Report. .
From a panel as anticipated by Hosteltur for weeks, something very good could only come out. And the Premium Experts Panel, under the title "What are the new trends in marketing and tourist distribution that you shouldn't miss?", framed within the actions of Hosteltur Academy, undoubtedly lived up to expectations.
Oliver Espinosa, director of RIU Hotels & Resorts, Daniel Sánchez, CRO of Paraty Tech, and Chema Herrero, CEO of Bedsrevenue, accompanied Neus Tarrés in her role as moderator. Before introducing the first speaker, she opened the session by summarizing the keys of the delicate global context in which we find ourselves immersed, wondering how it could affect tourist distribution and direct hotel sales in 2023, even when the most recent edition of Fitur, concluded last Sunday, left a very good overall impression and expectations of prosperity.
Oliver Espinosa: "The democratization of technology has created a complex distribution environment"
Oliver Espinosa, director of RIU Hotels & Resorts, believes that in recent years, there has been a democratization of technology resulting in a complex environment where wholesalers buy and sell, and the hotel ends up losing control over its rates and inventory. He referred to the concept of "hyperconnected distribution," where B2B to B2C and B2B to B2B to B2B to B2B models coexist.
In this scenario, the retailer, one of the most affected parties, has ended up demanding a direct relationship with the hotel, increasingly widespread. A new mode of relationship characterized, fundamentally, by unmediated interaction and improved information. For hoteliers, it represents a mode of diversification, gaining clarity in the face of hyperconnectivity and reducing distribution costs. For the retailer, it means, among other things:
Access to a greater number of product versions and additional products
Meeting orphan demand
Access to the complete inventory
Enjoying immediate commission payments
All this is possible thanks to technology, and there are different implementation formulas. However, while the advantages of this marketing format are clear (greater adaptability, lower investment, B2C segmentation, reduced costs in technological terms, etc.), Oliver concluded by emphasizing that the challenges to overcome are not few: widespread credit, PVP and Net parity, metasearch agent, limited product selection, billboard effect, commercial consistency…
Daniel Sánchez: "The key to many of the trends that 2023 holds lies in process automation"
Daniel Sánchez, Chief Revenue Officer of Paraty Tech, focused his intervention on identifying the trends that 2023 holds in terms of direct sales. Specifically, he referred to ten trends that, in his opinion, will largely mark the path that hoteliers must follow for expected results, and where automation has much to say.
Some are old friends of the sector that have resurfaced due to the pandemic, while others represent an innovation for many. However, according to Daniel, there is the technology and resources to implement all of them.
Ancillary Revenue
We don't just mean upselling and cross-selling. We must focus on moving from RevPar to TrevPar. Increasingly, this involves personalizing the experience, probably the best way to compete with OTAs and tour operators. And for this, we must be prepared to be able to sell services beyond accommodation, even independently and through automated processes.
Voice channel
Although there is a widespread lack of specialization in telephone service, if hotels were aware of the potential of this direct channel, which has gained ground due to the pandemic, they would take much better care of it. The voice channel has one of the highest conversion rates and, combined with a good CRM, which facilitates lead tracking through automated tasks, its potential is extraordinary.
"Pro" direct module
Coinciding with everything expressed by Oliver, Daniel emphasized how this module is becoming more and more like Loyalty Clubs for guests. Work is being done on incentive programs and differentiated strategies for each agency. It is a very profitable sale that also contributes a lot in terms of database acquisition.
Artificial Intelligence
Without needing to think about the hotel Minority Report, the truth is that artificial intelligence is not the future; it already coexists with us and is present in the generation and application of business rules, automated sales tips, follow-ups of potential customers, and conversations with guests.
Immersive Purchasing
A trend that is making its way at giant steps and promises the maximum level of customization, while increasing conversion and improving ancillary revenue.
A/B Testing
There is no better way to confirm the appropriateness of the actions we take than through A/B Testing, something that hotels are increasingly clear about. It improves ratios, generates confidence, increases conversion, and enriches the user experience.
Advanced Digital Marketing
It seems that the idea of not putting a ceiling on digital marketing investment is gradually being internalized. Hotels are incorporating specialists in this field, including new channels and models to combat OTAs and maximizing the potential of metasearch engines.
Loyalty
Once relegated almost exclusively to large chains, today it is a must for all establishments, almost a mechanism for capturing the first reservation and, perhaps, also the last. Loyalty is experiencing a new stage of splendor, and the variety of existing programs is a great ally to better understand the guest, improve the customer journey, and, of course, try to ensure a profile of repeat customers.
Omnichannel
Just as the customer can try to contact us through various channels, the hotel must be able to attend to them in all of them in a coordinated manner, online and offline, demonstrating that it knows their preferences and automating communication flow tasks as much as possible.
Direct channel vs. Tour operators
Tour operations have reactivated a lot and will do so even more throughout 2023. Be very careful with opaque packaging, with opaque disparities because this player wants to recover its status, and the hotel cannot afford to let them sell the juiciest part of their inventory.
Chema Herrero: "The numbers have improved a lot, but not due to a change in strategy, but rather a very special situation"
The last intervention of the premium experts panel came from Chema Herrero, CEO of Bedsrevenue, who began by highlighting that, indeed, in 2022 there has been a widespread improvement in the figures associated with hotel sales, with increases in occupancy (33.1%), ADR (11.9%), and RevPAR (49%), but clarifying that it has not been due to changes in strategies but rather to a situation that has been given to us, a "special circumstance," dependent on very changing variables. He talked about good forecasts but that must be interpreted with caution. After this brief introduction, he focused his speech on the importance of finding the unicorn, understood as the Buyer Persona, and the need to ask the right questions: who sells to me, how and when do they do it, how much does it cost me, how profitable is it in terms of RevPar / TrevPar, how loyal is that customer, and what do we really know about them.
Regarding distribution, he also emphasized a recurring idea but still considered a pending subject: it is not enough to just sign contracts. His recommendations involve establishing an intermediation scoring to achieve the much-desired healthy channel mix. The goal is to identify which distributors are not necessary because it is increasingly difficult for a distributor to provide a specialized niche that really helps make a difference. It is, therefore, about defining economic objectives but also defining operational objectives with each of the distributors: budget and action plan, in short.
In the second part of his intervention, he spoke of a "return to the pre-pandemic past," referring to a trend in which the hotelier settles into a mix dependent on tour operations, a player that is working very hard to occupy the position it had before the pandemic. The customer has changed, and we must be able to reach them without depending on third parties. Something that OTAs are very aware of and, relying on technological evolution within distribution, execute perfectly.
Therefore, the roadmap seems clear: we must identify the buyer persona and get involved in the battle for the customer, our present and future buyer. The gold of our time is data, and the cleaner it is, the easier it will be to work with it. We must not be afraid to differentiate between profitable customers, less profitable customers, and customers who simply are not.
To impact each phase of the conversion funnel, we must find a strategy that adds value before, during, and after the stay, understanding Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) as data that must always be on the table. The technology to do this is within our reach, and the ROI it provides is fantastic. It's time to practice, and quoting verbatim, be a surgeon in revenue.
Recap in bullet points
Direct sale - retailer connection
Increase TrevPar
Establish a distribution scoring
Know the customer in-depth to increase CLV
Pay special attention to the early sale of distribution
Be very vigilant of the US market and nearby markets
Keep an eye on the implementation of NFTs and blockchain technology
The technological ecosystem of tourist accommodation is not homogeneous. Depending on the type of establishment, the number of beds, the market niche it addresses, the category or distribution channels, among many other variables, each hotel, chain, hostel, aparthotel or vacation rental home will demand certain or other solutions to optimize your resources, maximize your income and increase your profitability.
Don't give up the basics
Obviously, there are some basics that are practically impossible (and not recommended) to give up. If you aspire to sell online directly, at a minimum you will need a website and a booking engine. This is, without a doubt, the first step. But only that, no more, no less. From there, the concept of “need” is relative.
As specialists in direct sales, at Paraty Tech we know well what other resources are supposed to contribute to boosting direct bookings. But above all, we have always defended that technology is the means, not the end, and we will never recommend arming yourself to the teeth without properly justifying the usefulness of implementing certain tools. Strategy rules.
The crux of the matter
And that is precisely what this article is about. Today we want to analyze the importance (or not) of relying on a rate shopper to guarantee the correct application of your pricing policies in all your distribution channels. Whatever your objective, the current distribution of your sales share and the percentage relationship between your intermediated sale and your direct sale. That is, does your hotel distribution need a price intelligence platform like Price Seeker v4?
Below, we present different examples of possible variants of hotel distribution, explaining their particularities and trying to answer the question posed in each case.
Your distribution depends mainly on Booking, you need to get to the details. It is essential to know what rates Genius is applying, the latest rooms available, the cheapest rates, etc. All this information is offered to you by Price Seeker v4, helping you throughout the process.
You have a very varied distribution and it is very difficult for you to control all these channels and give them the attention they deserve. With Price Seeker v4 you can do it. We monitor more than 200 distribution sites, including dynamic package sales channels and tour operations.
Your hotel depends largely on third parties, which requires greater analysis of these distribution channels and, in addition, your main reservations come from tour operators or vacation packages. Price Seeker v4 monitors your competition on these channels so that you don't miss even the slightest difference.
Direct sales are the means by which you are receiving the most income and, of course, you want to keep it that way. Price Seeker v4 not only helps you keep this happening, but it also helps you manage your channel better. Real Time Parity, Opportunity Cost, etc. You want to know more? Ask us!
Conclusion: a rate shopper, the best possible ally
As you can see, all roads lead to… Price Seeker v4 . There is no cat in the bag. The conclusion you must reach is that, regardless of the drawing that outlines your distribution, a rate shopper or a price intelligence platform, is undoubtedly one of those basics that we alluded to in the first lines of the article. What may vary is the use you make of this tool, as well as the indicators that are most relevant to your establishment.
But control your prices and those of your competition throughout your distribution network, know the opportunity cost of your disparities and the evolution of your parity index, do not lose sight of the commercial strategies of the OTAs or know the general state of the position in which you work, is essential. This is unquestionable.
At Paraty Tech we know that not all hoteliers have the same needs. That's why we have reinvented the concept of rate shopper. Price Seeker has mutated into a comprehensive price intelligence platform and is now marketed through three different packages (Professional, Advanced and Enterprise). Starting from just €49 per month, they go from less to more in terms of the volume of data they include and contribute.
Do not hesitate to contact us for further information. We also invite you to try Price Seeker. It's as simple as filling out a short form and we will provide you with a 14-day Free Demo. Quick and easy.
We are pleased to announce the direct integration of the Paraty Tech booking engine with Duetto , one of the world's leading revenue management solutions, with the aim of simplifying the distribution of hotels in Spain.
The association was made public during the recent edition of FITUR and has been designed to help hoteliers streamline the reservation and pricing processes. The direct integration connects the booking engine with the revenue management system (RMS) without the need to go through a channel manager, and allows the seamless transfer of data on:
Minimum length of stay (MLOS)
Closures on Arrival (CTA)
Closures on departure (CTD)
And other restrictions
This helps revenue teams to better dynamically price and distribute their room rates in real time:
The integration between Paraty Tech's booking engine and Duetto will allow hoteliers to automate more processes within their pricing and distribution strategies. Duetto now sends rates and restrictions directly to Paraty Tech's booking engine, helping teams eliminate unnecessary manual work. This simplifies the distribution path and allows hotels to dynamically set prices, ensuring they are selling the right room at the right rate at the right time. Guido Salvatori, Senior Director of Duetto Integrations
With this direct integration between Paraty Tech and Duetto, hoteliers can send their prices and business rules directly from their RMS to the booking engine, helping them create a unique strategy for their direct channel. This allows hotels to drive a higher conversion rate through their direct channel, leading to a reduction in commissions paid to third parties such as OTAs. Daniel Sánchez, Chief Revenue Officer of Paraty Tech
The integration features are now available to all joint customers of Duetto and Paraty Tech .
Like before what? Well, you can imagine... The Pandemic was a drastic turning point in many ways, but without a doubt, any face-to-face activity was affected to a greater extent. Events, in particular, suffered greatly. Fitur too, despite the efforts of his organization, determined to row against the tide and public opinion, for not surrendering to the devastating power of the virus. A stubbornness as laudable as criticized , which they have shown off for two eternal years and which, in the end, has been, in some way, rewarded.
Contrary to what happened with other major international fairs, this one never fell into easy temptation, it never bit into the poisoned apple of cancellation. Because, no matter how hard it might be to resign yourself and let yourself be swept away by the avalanche of caution, the comfortable (prudent?) would have been to follow in the footsteps of the majority and wait for better times to come. However, they never did. This quote is different, it is made of a different material.
They created Fitur Live Connect, their virtual platform, aware that the hybrid format, as with cars, offered greater guarantees. They also established strict security protocols, implemented a host of preventive measures and made payment and "no-show" policies more flexible (revenue management in its purest form). They stayed that way until the last moment. Trembling, surely, but firm, with your head held high.
In the end, they had no choice but to postpone, but even doing so, they had set a precedent and sent a message that went very deep: Fitur does not wrinkle. The 2021 edition was reduced to a kind of ghost edition, exceptionally celebrated during the month of May, unanimously remembered as a sad and devastating encounter. However, above all, it was an unmistakable symbol, perhaps the first, of the process of recovery of world tourism. We did not dare then to appear as exhibitors, but we understood that the right thing to do was to attend. To be, had to be .
Just eight months later, in January 2022, the picture was already quite different. In our country, the worst of Covid-19 was behind us. While people lost count of the number of waves surfed, the Coronavirus lost lethality. The vaccine had done its job and society learned to live with this uncomfortable companion, exchanging fear for respect. And Fitur returned to the cold of the capital in winter. It was still easy to find the seven differences between that fair and its pre-pandemic version, but there were clear signs of normality. Once again, Ifema distributed the right dose of optimism that the sector demanded to metabolize so much hardship and impotence.
Last year ended up being a record year in many ways. It would not be fair to say that it has been a bed of roses, but the truth is that nobody seemed willing to turn the other cheek after such a slap in the face. Thus, despite the innumerable crises derived from the war in Ukraine, despite inflation, despite the recession... The whole world has traveled again. No matter who likes it. And at Paraty Tech, we finally returned to a Fitur like before.
With booth. No masks. With sweets. Without hydroalcoholic gel. With quotes. No screens. With desire. No hard feelings. The figures for this edition, recently concluded, have exceeded all expectations: 66,900 net exhibition m2, 222,000 attendees, 136,000 professionals, 8,500 companies, 131 countries, 755 main exhibitors. We are talking about parameters very close to those of his historical record. Something unthinkable weeks ago.
The 40 m2 of our stand have fallen short to satisfy the agendas of the 16 colleagues who have traveled to Madrid. There wasn't room for one more coat in the warehouse, you practically had to take a number to fill one of the six available jobs, and both the cups of coffee and the bottles of water have been gradually gaining ground as the seasons have progressed. journeys.
They have been three intense, exciting, exciting and emotional days, in which we have taken the opportunity to sow, but also to collect. To discover and to spread. To establish new alliances, strengthen relationships and consolidate positions. Except for an alien invasion (the only thing that remains for us to see now), we predict a great 2023 and a long life for the queen (of fairs).
Back to the routine after these festive days, and it's time to catch up. In order to help you shape your marketing plan for this new year, Paraty Tech has gathered 5 digital marketing trends that will be present in the hotel industry during 2023:
Meta Search Engines
You might be wondering, Meta Search Engines, what is that? But let's summarize it in a few words: they are metasearch channels that allow comparing the price of a hotel across different distribution channels, whether it's the official website or various OTAs.
Some examples of these platforms include: Google Hotel Ads, Trivago, Tripadvisor, Kayak, Skyscanner, etc.
Once again, Google is on the podium, gaining a very competitive advantage that others don't have. It is the most used search engine in the world, and with Google Hotel Ads, metasearch results appear directly when conducting a search on Google.
If your hotel's official website does not appear in the metasearch results, you are losing sales to OTAs. Google allows you to be in these results for free (free booking links) and paid, through ads (Google Hotel Ads). However, for either option, you need a company that is an official Google Partner, as is the case with Paraty Tech. If you want more information, feel free to ask your account.
Mobile Marketing
Leaving home without your mobile is unthinkable now, isn't it?
In just a few decades, mobile phones have become an indispensable object in our daily lives, and some even classify them as an extension of the human being.
If they were once just a means of socialization and connection, today, mobiles allow access to services, banking apps, work tools, tickets (plane, concerts, events), GPS, etc.
It is up to companies, in this case, hotels, to make the best possible use of mobile devices to add value to the guest's journey. Examples of how we can use mobile marketing include: sending pre-stay SMS, online check-in/check-out, mobile keys, booking a service directly from the mobile, apps that allow room control, remote TV, and geolocated notifications, etc.
CX – Customer Experience
Customer experience is the qualitative sum of all touchpoints between the brand and the guest, before, during, and after their stay. If the booking process on the website is stressful for the customer, it will add negative points to the quality of the experience. Conversely, if there is extra attention after the stay that makes the guest feel special, it will add positive points to the experience.
Basically, we have to see the customer experience as a whole, not just the experience during the stay (the famous "operation"), as this is only one phase.
By mapping the customer's complete journey, we must pay special attention to customer frustration points, such as queues or long waits, and develop more comfortable solutions for the customer through process digitalization. Mobile marketing, as we saw in the previous point, is one of the resources that allows this consumer-focused digitalization.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing will continue to grow, not only in the market for large companies. For small and medium accommodations, turning to digital influencers is an excellent way to expand brand reach and awareness. And although there is still some reluctance to this type of collaboration, it is a trend that will be present in 2023.
When inviting an influencer or saying "Yes" to a collaboration, it is important to study the influencer and ensure that their followers align with the hotel's target audience, and the values they convey are in line with the brand. Only then can the hotel ensure a strategic position in the markets of interest and, consequently, achieve the appropriate profitability.
Video Content on Social Media
It is a fact that the trend of sharing video content has been with us for a few years. But this year, it has taken on a new dimension. Because, if before the production and editing of videos depended only on experts, now this process is carried out by content creators and everyday users on Reels (Instagram) and TikTok.
These short, vertical videos are increasingly consumed on social media and, in turn, increasingly valued by social media platforms, giving them greater reach.
Integrating this type of content into your accommodation's social media planning to capture and inspire your audience is an important step to gain visibility and boost the desire to visit. If you need support in this creation, you can always collaborate on photo and video projects with influencers in exchange for content to use!
Does your hotel already follow any of these digital marketing trends? Keep them in mind when developing your hotel's marketing plan for 2023 to maximize your value proposition in line with your establishment's resources.
The year is ending and it's time to take stock. As always, our blog has been the epicenter of our communications, and the posts it contains, the best possible thread to recapitulate the highlights of our activity. The ideal place to consult the latest launches and improvements to Paraty Tech products and services, but also to learn about everything related to the hotel sector and the Paraty World ecosystem. Will you join us on this walk?
We start 2022 by catching up on the most important news from Google . The famous “Google Rate” gave a lot of talk and had to be updated to be able to explain it clearly. We learned and, at the same time, we continued to train, sharing tips and advice associated with the main tools used in our daily lives: we have talked about Instagram , Metasearch engines , Google Analytics 4 , Google My Business , Google Ads ... It is essential to be aligned with our clients in terms of knowledge, and we are always willing to write an article to promote this trend.
As usual, we also wanted to put the focus on our customers. From there emerged the Success Stories Series , a space dedicated to publicizing their success stories , which we inaugurated with Vik Hotels. A different way of knowing the tricks and strategies that, with our help, have led them to make their hotel establishments as profitable as possible.
Renew or die, another of our mottos, which has managed to find its best scope of application in the development of new tools to continue contributing to the increase in direct sales of hotels and hotel chains. Call Seeker arrived stomping. A new product that emerged from active listening to the sector, with the aim of simplifying the arduous task of quoting reservations, but which also includes a wide range of very useful functionalities for the reception, sales, etc. departments.
During the first months of the year, we boosted our presence in Mexico with the opening of our office in Cancun and the establishment of a permanent team there to offer better service to clients in the area, and make our technology reach as many people as possible. hotels in Caribbean destinations. In fact, our spin-off focused on the voice channel, Ring2Travel , also crossed the pond, determined to raise awareness there of the importance of implementing a Customer Experience Center. A turning point in our international expansion process that experienced great progress with this milestone.
With the arrival of spring, like flowers, events bloomed. Own and others. Fairs, loyalty events, training meetings... We were especially excited about the parties celebrating our 10th anniversary , both in Spain and Portugal . In both we were able to meet again with clients and collaborators, enjoy with those closest to us, in wonderful environments. Unique opportunities to chat and toast in confidence for these 10 years. And let there be another 10 more!
Internally, it is always important to foster relationships between colleagues. Something that the Pandemic had worked hard to avoid, forcing us (among many other things) to cancel our traditional Christmas lunch in 2021. The best vaccine we were able to find to alleviate this side effect of the virus was the #ParatySpringParty or “Non-Christmas Meal.” . A meeting in which our large family had a great time at a cocktail event at the Hotel La Barracuda.
At Paraty World we are committed to our employees and their well-being. Following the path of offering a healthy and pleasant work environment , we implemented our Paraty World All Inclusive project, which complemented the in-house English classes, with the inclusion in March of a free daily buffet and, just a couple of months later, Wellness activities: nutrition, yoga and breathing sessions taught by Lidia Cruzado from @liluonthemat . A great success to make the work environment a more complete and healthy experience.
The heat was brought by the arrival of summer, and the warmth came from our partners. Companies made up of great professionals with whom we share a client-centric approach and philosophy. Incredible alliances that have helped us offer more to the hotel establishments with which we collaborate. PayNoPain , Asksuite and Hotelverse have contributed to making our tools more complete and efficient solutions. In addition, we became the only booking engine to integrate Transfers & Experiences , offering the possibility of booking transfers and excursions directly during the booking process , with immediate confirmation and without the need for third-party intervention. Gold for hotels.
September is always a decisive time and we decided to prepare our particular “Back to school”. From the signing of the collaboration agreement with Turiscool,Paraty Academy was born. A virtual space, free for our clients, with more than 50 courses on the most varied topics. Learning has never been so easy!
An initiative that added to other indicators of our unquestionable commitment to training, such as our status as sponsors of Travel Tech , one of the most important free discussion forums worldwide, with specific sessions for each geographical area: Brazil & Portugal , USA & Canada, APAC, EMEA and Spain & LATAM. In all these meetings we had the pleasure of participating twice (discussion table and pitch session).
At the end of the year, a very special Christmas gift arrived... The launch of Price Seeker v4 and the possibility of being able to enjoy the tool for 14 days completely free . This version represents a comprehensive renewal of our acclaimed rate shopper, which in this update has undergone its most ambitious reform and its mutation into a price intelligence platform. It was already extraordinarily powerful, but now it is also a more intuitive and complete solution: new functionalities, visualization formats and indicators, more in line with current times and current work methodologies.
Recovering old pre-covid customs, in 2022 we have been able to celebrate our #ParatyChristmasParty . If our impromptu spring party was a success, this one, steeped in the Christmas atmosphere, has been even better. Cocktail, invisible friend, photo booth and a rap to remember, put the finishing touch to the group's internal events. We're already looking forward to the next one!
Finally, we cannot stop talking about the exponential growth we have experienced at Paraty World. The 4 companies that make up the group and its 3 offices spread around the world have not stopped expanding. The team has suffered the same fate. We have gone from 71 people in 2021 to more than 120 today, integrating talent as young as it is necessary.
Incorporations that have led us to expand our headquarters in Torremolinos (Málaga), whose offices now exceed 600 m2 in area. Now we have more meeting rooms, 3 kitchens, elevating office tables for those who want to work standing up, a grass area to disconnect and an endless number of open space workstations, which help us all feel more united and connected.
In short, it has been an intense year in terms of work and activity, during which we have enjoyed, learned and evolved. But this wheel does not stop turning and we can now anticipate that 2023 will come full of surprises , like the Three Wise Men.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
We are excited. We already told you about it a few weeks ago and, finally, the day has arrived. After months of work, we launched Price Seeker v4 and you can now contract it directly online, from €49 per month + VAT (exclusive launch offer). Furthermore, if you want to try it first to convince yourself of its potential, you have a free 14-day demo at your disposal.
Our rate shopper has undergone a comprehensive renovation to become a comprehensive price intelligence platform and adapt, once and for all, to your needs as a revenue manager.
We have no doubt that Price Seeker was already one of the most powerful tools on the market in its segment. But we have always been very open to listening to those who are called to be its main users, and we are aware that certain aspects required a rethinking.
The keys to change
The Price Seeker update has been undertaken from different sides. The objective, in addition to making it a more intuitive and “hotel friendly” solution, was fundamentally to incorporate new functionalities, visualization formats and indicators, more in line with current times and current work methodologies. Below, we detail some of the keys to the change.
User experience
A simply fundamental point. And although you will have tutorial videos and user manuals, it was important that, from the first moment, you were able to move freely through the different dashboards, and that the reading of the data was clear and simple. We've reordered elements, changed nomenclature and expressions, and introduced new display formats, such as calendar view. We hope you love the final result as much as we do.
New features
This point would deserve a separate article and, in fact, it will come. But, for now, we will limit ourselves to highlighting some of the most interesting new features.
Opportunity cost
A proprietary algorithm, which takes into account different variables, will be responsible for telling you how much revenue the detected disparities are costing you. Because knowing that you have disparities is not the same as knowing how much they cost you.
Real Time Parity
One of the fundamental advantages of all our tools being developed internally is the fluid communication that is generated between them. In this case we use Rate Check, our metasearch engine inserted into the reservation process of your official website, to detect disparities in real time and monitor them through Price Seeker.
Last Rooms Available
Knowing the availability status of your compset is a great competitive advantage that can greatly help you refine your pricing strategy. Now, with Price Seeker v4 you will be able to detect when your competing hotels have only a few rooms available and use that information to your advantage.
New indicators
In the first position of the ranking of new indicators we highlight the data related to flight + hotel. To do this, we have implemented a module from our destination intelligence platform that extracts information from any tour operation channel. We are talking about more than 200 websites, understood as data sources!
3 different packages and online contracting
Without a doubt, one of the great novelties of this new version of our rate shopper is the bundling of functionalities. And each hotel or chain has specific needs. A vacation resort is not the same as an urban boutique hotel, to give two examples.
Therefore, now you have three different packages, Professional, Advanced and Enterprise, and you can enjoy Price Seeker v4 from €49 per month (VAT not included). A more than competitive price, within the reach of any type of establishment.
In addition, you can request your free 14-day demo or contract the tool directly online, by filling out a simple form. Once your user has been created, you will be able to access it to start consulting and analyzing data.
Price Seeker v4 will be one of the main novelties that we will bring to Fitur 2023 , a fair where we intend to give a live presentation of the tool and offer you resources to test it in situ at our stand. You can find us in Hall 8, Stand 8D15.
For any questions or further information, you can contact Cindy Johansson directly, Sales & Project Manager of the tool: cindy@paratytech.com
The first hotel in which it will be possible to verify the result of the integration between the Paraty Tech booking engine and Hotelverse will be the Amare Beach Hotel Ibiza by Amare Hotels , belonging to Fuerte Group, which has already created its digital twin and will be operating soon.
That technology advances by leaps and bounds is unquestionable. But in this process, first there are those who open the way, and then those who take advantage of the clear path to follow the marked path. Hotelverse is undoubtedly part of the first group. In fact, they have achieved something as complicated as creating a solution that, in some way, represents a reinvention of the wheel of hotel reservations. A new dimension of direct sales from all possible sides. On the one hand, the guest will now be able to book exactly the room they want, through an immersive interface based on a digital twin of the establishment, which will allow them to move around the facilities practically as if they were there . On the other hand, it will change the traditional way of making revenue, by enabling the option of setting prices by specific room number , instead of doing so by the usual types or categories.
For its part, Paraty Tech , a company with more than 10 years of experience, specialized in the development and implementation of technological solutions aimed at increasing direct hotel sales, has always been characterized by getting on the bandwagon of innovation. So it is not surprising that it has become one of the first booking engines in the market to integrate with them.
In the words of Fermín Carmona, CEO & Co-founder of Hotelverse, "if anything characterizes Paraty Tech it is its functionality and ease of use, essential requirements for us, as a brand and as a product promise". Paraty Tech continues, "complete its proposal to generate reservations with the digital twin, thus taking a giant step in technological transformation and sales conversion”. The Amare Beach Hotel Ibiza , belonging to the Amare Hotels (Fuerte Group) chain, has already planned its digital twin and will be the first establishment in the Paraty Tech client portfolio to implement Hotelverse in its reservation process. Fuerte Group is a clear example of direct sales at a national level, which has always been characterized by its innovative attitude, as Martin Aleixandre, Chief Commercial Officer , explains to us, for whom this initiative represents a new opportunity to continue differentiating itself and setting trends: "Anything that adds value in terms of direct sales and in relation to the guest experience, we value internally and try to implement it. Especially if it is a disruptive and useful solution, such as Hotelverse, with the peace of mind of having a partner like Paraty Tech, always ready to undertake any project or suggestion for improvement that we propose”.Gina Matheis, CEO and Co-founder of Paraty Tech is aware of the potential of this integration, especially for hotels and vacation resorts, where the location of the room can make a big difference : “ having the ability to decide to sleep on foot the beach, having views of the pool, being close to restaurants or far from the facilities for children, supposes a great differential value for the traveler, who will surely be willing to pay more in exchange for enjoying the power of choice and know exactly where your room will be located. In turn, hoteliers must understand that an integration of this nature will help them increase the price of certain rooms, the average ticket and the total revenue , paradoxically, also improving the accommodation experience of their guests, despite the probable increase in their bill. . With Hotelverse and Paraty Tech we all win ”.
Last Wednesday, September 28, we participated in the Online Conference The direct channel in the Islands: objective of maximizing income ; organized by the Acelera SME Office of Ashotel and Paraty Tech .
A morning in which we talked at length about hotel direct sales, together with our usual collaborators, Smart Travel News , and the Landmar Hotels tourist complex.
The day began with the presentation of our CRO, Daniel Sánchez Adarve , who focused on the keys to optimizing the direct channel; and continued with the use case of Landmar Hotels, with Francisco Quintero Rodríguez , Sales Director at Landmar Hotels , who presented the “Experience & Loyalty” initiative applied in the establishments.
Then we moved on to the discussion table moderated by Juan Daniel Núñez, Editor of Smart Travel News , made up of our CEO & Co-Founder, Gina Matheis , Francisco Quintero Rodriguez, Director of Sales at Landmar Hotels and Enrique Padrón Fumero , Director of Innovation at Ashotel.
Below, we leave you with an article that summarizes the most important points that were discussed and with the full video of the day.
How do you encourage hoteliers to opt for Direct Sales (DV)?
Gina mentioned that the Canary Islands are a different case from the rest of the national territory, due to the large number of tour operators (TTOO). I mentioned that selling directly does not mean eliminating the rest of the channels , although I am a faithful defender of direct sales, since TTOOs offer guarantees that are a good cushion.
Even so, a balance must be found between direct sales and tour operations. Canarian hotels are betting on direct sales according to the figures, but for it to work, they need: strategy, the best technology, knowledge and training, and investment in human resources and marketing.
Do you think the increase in Direct Sales is temporary or will it last?
Our CEO & Co-Founder recalled that during the months of the pandemic due to Covid-19, in the Canary Islands there has been a 40% increase in direct sales from hotel establishments, although it is true that we came from very low to compare (it did not exceed 20% of the share in the best of cases). He stressed that the data has improved and not only in the Canary Islands, but in all destinations. Clients and hotels have realized that they can operate by betting on direct sales .
What weight does Direct Sales have for Landmar Hotels?
Francisco Quintero Rodriguez, Sales Director at Landmar Hotels, commented that direct sales are just another client. For Landmar Hotels, intermediaries are fundamental, they are a showcase, they give visibility. The billboard effect also reaches tour operations. He commented that direct sales have a high cost when it is the first customer, when loyalty is established that cost drops. Even so, they are committed to direct sales since that client becomes theirs, they speak directly with him, but for Landmar Hotels, tour operations are important.
From what point is Direct Selling profitable?
After Francisco's intervention, Gina confirmed his words, arguing that direct sales require investment in human resources and online marketing, which, without control, can become a bottomless pit. He recalled the importance of keeping Direct Selling costs below 15%, since if not, it will not be profitable. Furthermore, he added, intermediary channels also generate traffic to the direct channel, and if the hotel is not properly distributed, high occupancy will not be achieved only through the official website.
What new technology or technologies could be most important to enhance Direct Sales and what is the degree of digitalization of Canarian hotels?
Enrique Padrón Fumero, Director of Innovation at Ashotel, recalled that the competition is fierce and the Canary Islands are a unique place due to their isolation . They are in a medium or advanced state of digitalization, and they know that it is easier for large companies, while small companies feel overwhelmed by the excess of information and solutions. He admitted that he could not stay with a specific technology, since each company is a world and each business model must find a way to function in its environment. More than technology, it is also about people. They are in the process of transformation, of continuous improvement and from Ashotel they want to contribute their grain of sand. To do this, they are trying to get in touch with those who design the instruments and gather the needs of the companies. I mentioned that the Digital Kit entails a slow process, but little by little it is arriving.
How do you approach the choice of tools for Direct Selling and how do you manage them?
It is key to optimizing staff time, according to Francisco. They rely on well-integrated technologies, which help them make future forecasts. They work with test banks, test environments, to implement strategies and see if they work. He said that there is no better advisor than experience: it is important to analyze everything and for the team to assume any tool they implement.
Is there any technology that you have installed and have seen that has impacted Direct Selling?
Francisco commented that they have implemented an RMS that allows them to control a series of business rules to differentiate by channel, and thus, favor Direct Selling from the management of the rest of the channels. An important decision that has brought peace of mind to the team and the automation of processes.
From Ashotel, what do you do to train hoteliers in this type of technologies?
Enrique highlighted that Ashotel has a training department in full transformation , it is digitalizing to improve its training model and make it more versatile . In addition, throughout the year they hold around 50 conferences/webinars on technological, regulatory, operational, etc. dissemination. Many of them, related to Direct Sales. Between the training program and the dissemination through these sessions, they cover a good dissemination of all these subjects. On the other hand, they have stable business support programs (SME acceleration office, digital challenges program, intelligence, competitiveness and sustainability observatory) to capture and organize all the information in the sector and turn it into a valuable service.
Talent crisis, to what extent can it affect when finding profiles? Have you noticed it?
Enrique commented that there is demand for this type of profiles, hence they want to adapt the training offer, but they have the feeling that the market is finding the profiles it is looking for .
For Francisco, these profiles are arriving, although it is becoming more and more complicated, but they are very technologically oriented profiles, a very positive factor for the line of personal and company development. In the services part, he commented that it is becoming much more difficult to find the right candidates.
In the case of hotels on the islands, is there a standard for that distribution mix?
Strong response from Gina, who stated that there is never a standard, you have to look at each product: typology, location, number of rooms. Although he recommended developing a global Direct Selling strategy, online and offline, which must be part of the business culture, differentiating 3 fundamental elements: website, voice and interns (who are disappearing due to current last-minute reservations through the mobile).
Gina reminded that they must also be accompanied by the in-house strategy. Since, once the client enters the hotel, it is no longer TUI, Booking, etc. It is your client and you must redirect their next stays to the official website. Through information, through staff, through Internet access that requires going through the web... It is a transversal strategy of all departments that combines technology and HR.
At Paraty Tech they think that there is no common strategy and that direct selling is not an exact science. They believe in trial/error. You have to test based on the trends shown by the establishment to identify which channels convert and, then, it is essential to measure and rely on the data to make decisions.
You have made an important commitment to the voice. There was talk of Siri, Alexa, etc. but it turns out that no, it is the traditional call center that prevails. Results?
The CEO of Paraty Tech stated that the results, to date, are very satisfactory. They try to implement human2human, people2people. Since there are still many guests who prefer to talk to a person , and many hotels do not have the necessary investment capacity to implement their own call center. Hence, they have opted for this line of business, incorporating qualified personnel, focused on conversion, who knows how to provide adequate attention, including interacting with technologies such as a CRM, which will help offer the client, in real time, what they know they need. likes.
Do you think there will be a strong balance towards mobile reservations?
The Director of Innovation at Ashotel, Enrique, said that it is something that is already happening, that it is a latent and obvious change for years. And he warned: anyone who is not adapting will be losing an interesting sales quota.
Francisco, in fact, confirmed that they have more mobile reservations (60%) than desktop reservations (40%).
Does this trend affect Direct Sales more or does it also happen in intermediary sales?
A tactic that the Sales Director of Landmar Hotels commented on is the ability of intermediaries to introduce discounts that were not seen in desktop versions and greatly influenced mobile reservations. Currently, they still see it on OTAs, but they can also apply this practice on the web. The intermediaries that use it make it very difficult to detect disparities, which has caused mobile phones to become a flight of reservations to other channels.
How does the customer face this price difference, not only between channels, but between devices?
Gina commented that Paraty Tech is undertaking developments mainly by and for mobile phones, due to the increase they are seeing in reservations through these devices. No one is surprised anymore by these price differences by channel, device, which can be said to be even part of the travel booking culture. To the point that Paraty Tech is investing in integration with the Whatsapp API to be pioneers in this sense , and Whatsapp is an almost exclusive mobile app, although it has a desktop version. The objective is for the confirmation to reach WhatsApp directly.
For Enrique, this would constitute a great step, the solution, since many travelers have the habit of downloading the reservation from email and sending it to WhatsApp.
Does it make more sense for WhatsApp to develop more features instead of other applications emerging?
Francisco is clear about it and stated that they are implementing WhatsApp a lot for communications with clients and that is where they believe the shots will go. Everyone has WhatsApp and it is logical that this platform evolves.
What about the data? How do you get them? What weight do they have?
In Francisco's words, the basic idea is to capture a lot of data when the client is here and transfer it to the CRM. Surveys per stay, but also surveys for cancellation of reservations, with the aim of being able to respond and build loyalty even after a cancellation. Let's not harass. We customize and get to the point. The key is data and optimizing resources .
For his part, Enrique added that technology allows us to create that link that is being sought with loyalty . We all like to feel linked to the brand we like, those incentives are what technology will allow us to apply.
What are the chances of independent hotels and small chains creating a profitable loyalty program?
Gina recalled that obviously, the strategy is different for each product. Nobody doubts that the level of loyalty of a large chain has nothing to do with that of an independent hotel. You have to get the data, but also analyze it and know what to do with that data. It is not about collecting for the sake of collecting. He also commented that it is essential to have a good CRM that organizes all this information. They are working on detecting repetitive customers on the web to channel them towards loyalty clubs, which more and more hotels are implementing. It speaks, beyond the traditional ones, of clubs designed to offer different services adapted to the needs of each type of client.
Should we opt for more direct communication channels with the customer, beyond cookies and so on?
We have the voice there, right? More direct than that... They were Gina's words. The tools collect public information and automate tasks that were previously done manually. As long as the information is public, they will not have any problems accessing it. If you have exposed information, why can't it be compiled in a dashboard citing the source? Gina thus predicted a long life for web scraping.
The CRM, where would you place it within loyalty?
Enrique believed that it is vital and would place it in the center, understanding it as the key to everything. Both for the design of the product and the experience.
Francisco recalled the importance of this CRM data being accessible to anyone in the hotel, recognizing that what does work very well is the CRM at the level of the marketing strategy, but not so much at the hotel level, a field in which it is still They can improve a lot.
Apart from the economic benefit of Direct Selling, what other benefits does it provide?
The person in charge of Paraty Tech said that if managed correctly, with strategy, technology and investment, it is the channel that offers the highest profitability per occupation, offers commercial autonomy, increases customer satisfaction (more direct treatment), and is also , a generator of treasury and diversifies risk. The hotels that have traditionally been more tour-operated have suffered much more than the rest. He insisted on the importance of finding the balance between direct and intermediated sales, and from there, focusing on increasing the Direct Sales share.
How is the season expected in the Canary Islands?
The Sales Director at Landmar Hotels is positive. In this sense, he commented that they have done prior work that is leading them to have a positive pickup rate. He recalled that they live in a bubble with few competitors in winter and are very positive about the immediate future , although it is true that the advance booking period has been reduced (the long term now does not exceed 2 months). They continue to have a high cancellation percentage (30%, 10 points more than usual) and average stays have also been reduced. This implies that they need more reserves, more fundraising potential. Landmar Hotels pays a lot of attention to segmentation. Families, for example, go on specific vacation dates, with a greater advance notice of purchase, etc.
The goal of this innovative and technological loyalty program, designed in collaboration with Paraty Tech, is to reward guest commitment, build community, and understand the travel habits of the hotel chain's customers. This aims to continually tailor their offerings to match the preferences and needs of their guests.
After a successful summer season, the thematic hotel chain Casual Hoteles has kicked off autumn with a significant innovation: the launch of the BeCasual Club, its revamped loyalty program, whose new version has been designed in collaboration with its key technological partner, Paraty Tech.
This is a groundbreaking proposal, much like the Valencia-based company itself, including very unique differential services that add significant value to its members, fostering a sense of belonging and community.
Because, according to Juan Carlos Sanjuán, president and founder of Casual Hoteles, this is one of their main objectives, "to deeply understand the guests staying in our establishments, allowing us to continuously adapt our offerings to their tastes and needs."
This sentiment is shared by Daniel Sánchez, Chief Revenue Officer of the technology firm, who adds that this club exemplifies their "ability to adapt to the needs of each establishment or chain, as it has been designed from scratch, 100% tailored to a client who continually pushes us to join their innovation journey."
So, in addition to generating benefits from minute 0, despite its free nature, as users receive 5 euros for free upon registration, redeemable for hotel reservations within the chain; users also enjoy other perks such as accumulating redeemable euros for every 10 euros spent on the group's website or receiving money as a birthday gift.
These perks are complemented by other details such as welcome gifts upon arrival, ranging from a 10% discount on accommodation reservations to extra services offered by the hotel, participation in several annual draws, and the option for a late check-out, subject to availability.
A Scalable Program That Rewards Loyalty Like None Other
According to Juan Carlos Sanjuán, "the BeCasual Club stands out for being personalized, scalable, and flexible." In this sense, he explains, "it's a loyalty program designed to measure by Paraty Tech, our technological partner. It's very intuitive and is designed for both the end customer and our employees, who can benefit from all the advantages on equal terms." It's also scalable, he adds, "because it adapts the benefits to the level of commitment shown by each member, generating 3 categories: BeCasual (available with just registration), BeCasual Fan (for customers who have booked between 4 and 6 stays), and BeCasual Lover (from 7 stays onward)."
Finally, he concludes, "technologically it is very flexible, and that, internally, means that we can manage content and other functions autonomously and be very agile in creating new promotions. For example, in 2023, we plan to incorporate new benefits such as earning free euros for every friend BeCasual members successfully enroll in the program, and the possibility of converting accumulated points into charitable contributions, among other things."
BeCasual stands out for rewarding its members from the get-go and for rewarding their loyal commitment with additional benefits
About Casual Hoteles
Casual Hoteles is a Valencia-based hotel company founded in 2013 by Juan Carlos Sanjuan with the aim of becoming the benchmark for thematic urban accommodations in Spain. All its hotels feature personalized decoration inspired by their locations and offer quality standards and central locations at affordable prices. They are fun, surprising, and provocative, making Casual Hoteles a disruptive chain that was recognized with the Hostelco Award for "Best Hotel Concept" in 2018.
The group also stands out for its strong social and environmental commitment through its own Code of Ethics and collaborations with NGOs such as Save the Children and Unicef, among others. Currently, Casual Hoteles has 22 hotels and 848 rooms in 11 cities in Spain and Portugal, of which 1 is owned, 15 are operated under a rental arrangement, and 6 are franchises.
Technology, like the needs of hotels, is in a process of permanent change. Business strategies, revenue, marketing, etc. They are almost exclusively based on data, and these, in turn, are like an entity with a life of its own that does not stop integrating new indicators, formulas, display formats and analytical variants, in response to the constant proliferation of the most varied requirements. by the professionals called upon to exploit them.
What in the past could have been an A, may now barely touch the pass, and the only valid path for tool developers is to adjust their cruising speed to that of this wheel that does not stop turning. Even more. Overcome it to be able to anticipate and overcome unexpected obstacles or sudden changes in direction.
Spoiler alert! We are going to reveal some details of the most recent episode in the history of Price Seeker, our rate shopper, and its mutation into a Comprehensive Price Intelligence Platform.
We like to define the next and imminent launch of Price Seeker v4, and that everyone understands it that way, more than as an evolution, as a true revolution of this product, flagship of our brand. This version, the most ambitious to date, has led us to rethink, even its categorization. And it is that, perhaps, the concepts of rate shopper and rate checker, already fall short.
A bit of background
Before getting into the matter, let's take a look back. It is important to know that Price Seeker arose from the concern of our own colleagues, revenue and account managers who felt the need to automate certain processes in order to carry out more exhaustive monitoring of the growing number of hotels they managed.
In other words, like so many other solutions that we have developed in-house, Price Seeker was originally conceived as a tool for internal use, an ally that would allow us to continue increasing direct sales from our clients through price control. , and those of its competitive set, in its distribution channels. It didn't take us long to realize its potential... The rest came alone, backed by an unwavering argument: if it's useful for us, it will also be useful for any hotel establishment, regardless of its degree of involvement with direct sales. A star was born and his role was none other than to monitor, generate and boost sales in the channels of greatest interest , whatever they were, according to the commercial strategy of each accommodation.
Throughout almost a decade of production, Price Seeker has passed through the hands of revenue managers from leading hotel chains and groups, such as Meliá, Barceló, Blue Bay, Eurostars, Iberostar, RIU, Fuerte or Best Hotels, which It certainly constitutes a guarantee of its reliability.
But it has been by identifying actions or discount programs implemented unilaterally by the large OTAs, to the detriment of the interests of the hotels, when it has hit the table. For example, the detection of the Booking Early Payment Benefit comes to mind, even before its arrival in Spain. Expedia would later follow in his footsteps and, once again, the exclusive was carried out by our tool.
Price Seeker v4, what's new mate?
Now yes, we leave the past behind, we place ourselves in the present and look to the future. As we already mentioned, Price Seeker v4 is the definitive twist. A (r)evolution attacked from all possible sides. From the redesign of the UX, to the implementation of a wide range of brand new functionalities, through the inclusion of new indicators, a vocabulary and a more "hotel friendly" nomenclature, up to three different packages and the possibility of contracting and starting it. directly online. All this, focusing on the management of the establishment, but, above all, on its profitability. Let's see it in detail.
User Experience : We won't dwell too long on this point. Just to say that we have listened to you and we will continue to do so. We are taking note and the new look & feel will reflect this. In any case, the best thing you can do is try it. By the way, we are going to launch a Price Seeker Beta Testers campaign. Do you want to be part of "The Chosen Ones"? Stay tuned.
Monitoring of the vacation package / flight + hotel : One of our main objectives is to grow hand in hand with projects in which the flight + hotel is of vital importance. Price Seeker v4 monitors the competitiveness of hotels in more than 200 distribution points, including tour operators and highly relevant platforms, such as Jet2Holidays or TUI. Remember that we work with hotels in multiple destinations, so we can apply this criteria to any channel with which you may be interested in making comparisons.
Control of disparities taken to the highest level :
You will receive real-time alerts of disparities in the direct channel, identifying as priority those with a high probability of abandonment .
Price Seeker v4 indicates the opportunity cost , because it is not the same to know that you have disparities, than to know the real cost that they imply for you in each channel.
Specific dashboards for hotel chains.
Competition : detection of functionalities and promotions, including aspects such as the "last available rooms".
Market data : online reputation of the destination, prices of the place, tour operators, flights...
And also : all the advantages of a pricing tool aimed at providing information in an agile and reliable manner, but with a degree of detail prepared to satisfy the highest levels of demand:
Competition monitoring.
Parity monitoring.
Maximum reliability and solidity of the data, supported by screenshots.
Personalized alert system.
Competition and parity report generator.
Events and notes.
Daily updates.
Selection of your competitive set.
Free setup.
Free personalized training.
Online support.
Up to here we can read... Follow us on our usual communication channels to be aware of new steps. Price Seeker v4 is coming very soon .
As we have already commented on more than one occasion throughout 2022, this is a year that is giving us many reasons to be very proud. After a decade of experience, at Paraty Tech we wanted to celebrate this milestone with our clients, partners and friends, holding a series of events that have served, above all, to thank them for their support, trust, and loyalty.
If on June 9 we convened in Malaga, more specifically, in the mythical Baños del Carmen, in what ended up being a party full of emotions and good memories, on September 15 we did the same in Portugal. The place chosen was the Hotel NAU Sao Rafael Atlántico , belonging to NAU Hotels & Resorts, one of the first chains that opted for Paraty Tech when we decided to start our journey through Portuguese lands. A location, therefore, charged with symbolism for us, which undoubtedly contributed to raising the level of emotion of the meeting.
Being able to organize something like this implies many things. It means that we are still in the market, that when we decided to bring our services and our collaboration model to the neighboring country, because we were clear that we had a lot to contribute here, we were not wrong. It also means that the team has done and continues to do a great job , also in terms of loyalty, because the company has grown, of course, but, above all, the Portuguese delegation, led by its Country Manager, Diana Costa, has managed to relationships with clients are becoming closer and closer, in many cases exceeding the strictly professional scope, forming solid teams in which the borders of the supplier-hotel relationship are increasingly blurred.
Show-cooking, a cocktail of height, cake with candles and sparklers, broadcast of videos, speeches of thanks, reunions, anecdotes, laughter... Everything that could be expected from the party was more than fulfilled.
Words from our CEO, Gina Matheis
Throughout 10 years many things happen and it is difficult to choose between so many anecdote, challenge, victory, etc. However, there is no doubt that our CEO, Gina Matheis, has a very special memory of the first reservation that came through our booking engine, at the hands of a Dutch family that she says will always be remembered. This is how he wanted to convey it to all the attendees in his thank you speech, highlighting the nerves that invaded his body while he made sure that the reservation was well priced. He also took the opportunity to recall that Portugal is the first great success story of our international expansion process, thus opening the door to other markets, such as Latin America, with the peace of mind of knowing that our model and our strategy do not understand countries or borders. .
The fragment of her speech dedicated to Diana Costa deserves a special mention, who practically in tears listened carefully to how Gina was full of praise for her work and her management, elevating our Country Manager Portugal to the position of main architect of the place she occupies currently Paraty Tech in Portugal, generally recognized as one of the best booking engines on the market .
The round of interventions was completed by Diana herself, in charge of opening the event and welcoming attendees, and Sancha Pina, Marketing & CRM Executive of NAU Hotels & Resorts.
Awards Ceremony
Finally, as the culmination of the celebration, an awards ceremony took place in which we wanted to reward good work in different plots of some of the establishments with which we collaborate. Everyone picked up their smiling statuettes, posing proudly for the photo, and showing their appreciation for the recognition of their work:
Paraty Tech at the Innova 2030 Urban Agenda Conference
Last Friday, September 9, the Urban Agenda Innova 2030 Conference was held in Torremolinos. It is an agenda in which the town sets specific goals to achieve the objective of becoming a more sustainable, fair, intelligent and balanced city by the year 2030.
Our CEO & Co-Founder, Gina Matheis, participated in the second round table organized for the occasion, together with Javier Hernández, Executive Vice President of Aehcos (Association of Hotel Entrepreneurs of the Costa del Sol), to talk about Tourism, Commerce and Digitalization , moderated by Ignacio Lillo, editor of Diario Sur .
During the morning, there was extensive talk about digitization in the tourism sector, focusing on the city of Torremolinos, emphasizing a key fact: the role of the tourism sector , a pioneer in its digital transformation through the incorporation of technological platforms.
"Digitization should help solve needs in an easy and useful way" , are the words of Gina Matheis, who insisted on the importance of promoting initiatives that favor the application of digitization techniques in the city's commerce sector. Everyone knows that the pandemic has unexpectedly and abruptly accelerated the digitization processes. Nowadays, we do any management with the mobile. A reality that forces us to promote the use of digital supports in the tourism sector, being clear that their contribution is decisive for the increase in direct hotel sales.
For his part, Javier stressed the need for the hotel sector and the destination to work together to sell more and offer more and better information. On the other hand, Gina recalled the importance of always having the hotel's official website ready, a channel of growing importance due to the distrust that the closure of various agencies has generated in the tour operation in recent months. The traveler, in the event of any incident with the reservation, can contact the hotel directly and resolve it, which translates into a great opportunity in terms of loyalty.
Ignacio Illo, moderator of the table, asked what was the current degree of digitization of the Costa del Sol , to which Gina responded by recalling how well prepared the hotels on the coast are thanks to the use of a complete technological mix: pms, booking engines, chat bots, etc. Nevertheless, he highlighted that there is always room for improvement and that work is being done actively in this area:
“It is about technology optimizing processes, so in hotels people will dedicate themselves to people” Gina Matheis
Regarding the overcrowding of the city, Javier commented on the problem that coexistence between the resident and the tourist staying in holiday apartments constitutes. Today, with digitization, it is even easier to migrate an apartment to the vacation rental format and get it booked. Therefore, new proposals should be put forward to regulate this situation and promote a peaceful and sustainable coexistence between the different parties. He also highlighted the need to work together with Urban Planning to alleviate the overcrowding of destinations.
Gina Matheis gave some ideas on how to combat the consequences of overcrowding with simple actions: warning of traffic to avoid traffic jams, reporting queues at a certain monument/experience, even offering a lower price during "dead" hours are some examples. In addition to promoting other types of tourism , such as sports, cultural or gastronomic and attracting travelers outside the summer season of sun and sand. In this sense, it was emphasized that Torremolinos has much more to offer than just sun and sand and that this offer could contribute to the seasonality of the destination, thus avoiding overcrowding from June to September.
“The hotel floor of Torremolinos is reformed, passing the majority of the hotels to be 4*” Gina Matheis
Both Javier and Gina agreed that the heart of the Costal del Sol can attract higher quality tourism. With a well-kept hotel base and most of the establishments renovated, Torremolinos can afford not to lower prices and not be tempted to attract budget tourism.
The CEO of Paraty Tech also recalled that before lowering the price of the establishment due to the lack of reservations, the reason must be carefully studied, understanding the demand and the cause of not reaching the objectives. Lowering prices is easy, but unfortunately, this step will lead us to attract a tourist profile that the city is not interested in. Javier added that the municipality and the hotel must be on the same page in order to improve the attractiveness and general perception of the Torremolinos destination.
“Talk more about the cost of the impact of the real tourism activity than about the number of overnight stays” Javier Hernandez
Traditional markets will change the perception of destinations and improve the visitor's profile. Another topic addressed was the possible digital divide that may exist in the municipality. In this sense, Gina Matheis stressed the need for the City Council to promote training in technology. Paraty Tech develops user-friendly tools, but it is true that even if they are intuitive, training must be increased so that users have at least a basic starting level.
Also, it must be taught that the digital environment is a trustworthy environment , as Javier commented, so that these people feel safe when using the different tools.
Finally, they spoke of the uncertainty that seems to reign in the face of autumn and, although they stated that due to factors such as inflation, the war between Ukraine and Russia, or the Breixit situation, we will experience this time of year with more anxiety than usual Gina recalled that national tourism is giving very good results and that current trends indicate a predominance of last-minute reservations in the international market.
They ended by talking about next year and expressing their optimism, predicting a probable increase in reserves in Spanish territory due to the foreign context. Thus concluded a morning of presentations in which ideas, improvements and projects were shared to continue making Torremolinos a tourist destination of 10 .
September arrives, the last month of summer, and with it the engine of the business fabric of the tourism sector roars again, which, after the general slowdown in its activity during the summer season, returns to recover its usual cruising rhythm for autumn .
In this sense, at Paraty Tech we already have our particular "back to school" prepared, and we do it with a calendar full of events and, above all, with a novelty of great relevance to the interests of our clients: the launch of Paraty Academy , our training platform, developed hand in hand with TuriSCool, in what constitutes a further step within the framework of collaboration that we signed months ago.
Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech, tells us:
We have always insisted on the importance for the success of our collaboration format that the hotels with which we work are duly trained and aware of direct sales, and we believe that it is also our responsibility to promote and facilitate access to this knowledge. Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech
The Paraty Academy content program has more than 50 courses in audiovisual format, with a focus on topics as varied and enriching as revenue management , hotel management , online marketing , the main technological tools , leadership , management of people or accounting and finance .
A training offer that, however, does not stop there and we will gradually update and increase it, as Daniel Sánchez, our Chief Revenue Office, tells us:
The courses developed by TuriSCool constitute, without a doubt, a very important part of the offer of this platform, but we already know that they will not be the only ones, since we intend to periodically upload new content, available exclusively through Paraty Academy, developed by our team thinking about the particular needs and interests of our clients, who through their username can also consult our calendar of events so as not to miss any of our actions. Daniel Sánchez, CRO Paraty Tech
For some time here, at Paraty Tech we have worked hard to convey the idea that the website and the booking engine are only the first step to boost direct sales. Hence, over time we have been increasing our portfolio of services, increasingly promoting online marketing ( Paraty Digital Suite ), giving the voice channel the importance it deserves ( Ring2Travel ), developing our own revenue management tools and, now, also offering a free training platform:
The only way to continue differentiating ourselves and adding value to our clients is not to stand still, showing them that we go far beyond giving them a rod and waiting for the fish to come in... We also want to teach them how to fish, discover where the best fishing grounds are, tell them which is the best bait and which techniques are most effective. In short, we want to continue fishing with them, as a team, for many years, enjoying the art of fishing in the seas and oceans around the world, and enjoying the resulting banquet together. Gina Matheis, CEO Paraty Tech
Paraty Academy is available from September 1 and hotels and hotel chains in Spain and Latin America will be able to request access, for now. Those establishments interested in accessing the platform should contact their assigned account manager, who will be the person in charge of creating the relevant license(s).
Today we want to talk to you about Performance Max , the new campaign format launched by Google , which aims to maximize performance based on a specific conversion objective (online sales, leads, etc.), using all your inventory to do so:
Search
Display
Youtube
Gmail
Discover
Google maps
What is Google Ads Performance Max?
The first thing you should know is that it is a campaign format based on artificial intelligence and automation . In other words, Google will show all the ads to the users of the different channels of its network that it believes are more likely to convert for the specific objective marked. Even so, the configuration of the campaigns makes it possible to provide indications in this regard. Therefore, when deciding which users the ads will be shown to, the behavior is very similar to display or YouTube campaigns, in which custom audiences provided by Google are used.
In essence, this is equivalent to running most of the Google Ads advertising formats in a single campaign , therefore, without the need to create separate campaigns for each channel. And it is especially suitable for clients who generate conversions in all the channels of the Google network and are interested in using and exploiting all their inventory in a single campaign .
It is worth knowing that, gradually, Google's intention is for Local and Smart Shopping campaigns to become Performance Max campaigns.
What benefits does Google Ads Performance Max bring?
It is a comprehensive automated solution that will allow us to fully track the customer journey , supported by an attribution model based on multi-channel data. In addition, it brings a whole series of new statistics , such as increasing search trends, which will allow us to accelerate the achievement of results.
It also offers complete visibility into auction data across all Google properties , allowing you to optimize retail bids to maximize campaign performance.
In short, Google Ads Permormance Max makes the most of Google's automation possibilities , including campaign segmentation and delivery.
Comprehensive automated solution
Full customer journey tracking
New performance statistics
Accelerating the achievement of results
Complete visibility of auction data
When to use Performance Max according to Google
According to Google's opinion, this campaign format is especially indicated in the following cases:
When you have specific advertising and conversion goals
When you want to maximize the performance of your campaign without limitations regarding channels
When you want to access all channels without creating separate campaigns
When you want to maximize reach and conversion value
What do the Paraty Tech experts think?
According to the specialists at Paraty TechPerformance Max, it is a format that they would include within the "visibility" objective and not short-term reservation conversion. The main advantage of this model is that by using artificial intelligence with different types of campaigns at the same time, you can get better results in terms of visibility than if you launch display or YouTube campaigns separately.
According to this argument, the recommended time to use this type of campaign would be around a month before the start of the high season for accommodation , maintaining it throughout the season (as we do with display or YouTube).
For example, at this time, in peninsular destinations it could be an interesting option for snow and mountain hotels, and not so much for sun and beach hotels, since it would not make much sense to invest in visibility in the coming months. The opposite would happen in markets such as the Canary Islands or the Caribbean, where the high season is about to begin.
What do you need to launch a Performance Max campaign?
For this campaign format we need to have as many resources as possible (images, videos, audiences, texts, etc.) so that Google can use them in the different distribution networks. If you do not have videos, Google will take care of generating a high-quality one from the available graphic resources. The rest is up to us, you don't have to worry about anything.
Max Performance campaign settings. Both the added resources and the selected audiences are grouped into "Resource Groups". On the left we see all the added resources and on the right the selected audiences. At the top it is indicated on which networks the ads are being shown.
We do not stop! This time, we partnered with Asksuite , the first omnichannel service platform for hospitality . Specialists in hotels, their customer service tool generates direct reservations . A more productive and intelligent function for the hotel, serving customers, optimizing its reservation center and increasing its sales.
Reservation systems have evolved a lot, but even so, the time has come to lead a new significant change, which is why Paraty Tech and Asksuite have decided to advance further in integration with the aim of leaving obsolete methodologies behind and continuing to contribute. to the growth of its hotel clients.
Both companies share the objective of providing innovative solutions to hotel establishments of all types and sizes. This integration agreement is intended, therefore, to come up with new formulas that continue to make it easier for hotels to attract a growing number of reservations.
“We are very proud of our solution, and connecting with other like-minded companies is the boost we need to address everything from the most basic to the most challenging needs for hotels. By adding this integration to Asksuite's growing network of technology providers, we easily get exceptional delivery from both.” Rodrigo Teixeira, CEO of Asksuite
Here are some of the benefits you can expect from the Asksuite and Paraty Tech integration :
Instant price quote on different messaging channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram Messages, webchat and Google Business Messages.
When the AI Booking Assistant doesn't find availability for a specific period, it suggests the closest available dates, and when the same is the case with groups, it suggests nearby properties.
Integration of the booking engine to make smart quotes via email and WhatsApp.
Centralization of the main communication channels.
Easy sending of massive WhatsApp campaigns to answer common questions, with calls to action that go directly to the Paraty Tech booking engine .
Conversions and tracking data to power the most effective and profitable marketing channels and increase direct bookings.
«Asksuite is much more than a chatbot and we are sure that the fusion of our technologies constitutes a winning bet, both to favor our expansion in new markets, as well as in relation to the increase in direct sales, but also in everything related to alleviate the workload of hotels, which will be able to focus more and better on offering an even more rewarding experience to their guests, while the technology takes care of automatically solving tasks in parallel that do not require human intervention.” Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech
Asksuite
With 2,000+ customers in 40+ countries, Asksuite's AI Booking Assistant is linked to a powerful omnichannel service platform, ensuring hotels can respond to all customer inquiries (both during and after business hours). , also helping teams to organize the workflow with a unified inbox that includes all communication channels.
Why Asksuite?
Communication channels turned into sales channels
Increase in direct bookings
performance metrics
100% Omnichannel
High productivity of reservations and sales agents with reduced task deadlines
Natural language in more than 35 languages
Easy-to-navigate AI booking assistant with CTA buttons that keep potential customers from getting lost
Paraty Tech
With +3000 clients, Paraty Tech is a leading technology provider of solutions aimed at optimizing online distribution and increasing direct bookings for hotels , hotel chains and other tourist accommodation. Paraty Tech, a company characterized by having 100% in-house technology, offers a booking engine, revenue management and price control tools, custom web page design, without templates, and a wide range of digital marketing services with the Focus on optimizing investment and maximizing revenue from the direct channel, the hotel's official website.
Official website of the hotel 100% customized, with a clear focus on sales and user experience
Intelligent and flexible booking engine optimized for a decade for all types of hotel establishments
Revenue management tools, including a powerful rate shopper , price comparison, and real-time price matcher
Preparation of the online marketing strategy and a wide range of services to execute it, working tirelessly to reduce the dependency of hotels on OTAs and brokered sales in general
Active retargeting platform integrated with the booking engine
Up to 5 loyalty programs suitable for the different types and sizes of establishments
Average increase of 30% in direct sales of hotels and hotel chains
It's not too late to step up the game
A Google study reveals that 69% of online consumers agree that the quality, timing and relevance of a company's message influence their perception of the brand.
Covering different phases of the purchase process, both Asksuite and Paraty Tech strive to offer quality communication to hotels , help them consolidate their brand message, improve productivity and focus on response speed. The union of both companies creates the complete coverage that hotels need so that travelers choose them.
Through Paraty Tech's Paraty Digital Suite (SEM management, metasearch engine management, emailings, social network management, etc.) it redirects the user to the booking engine of the hotel's official website , while Asksuite offers on-time availability to respond to the new demand.
The heat and sun continue to accompany the beach, the mountains and the urban centers. It's August and we all know what this means: madness. But it is also synonymous with opportunities . Are you prepared to make the most of direct sales? We are going to help you “make your August”.
August, key month for European markets We are entering a key period of the summer: August. Disowned by many, the preferred choice of so many others, the truth is that it is probably the most representative month of this time of year.
It is also the moment chosen by many companies to close, forcing their workers to go on vacation during this period of maximum influx and massive mobilizations.
Hotel pages are fuming, as there are still too many travelers who leave everything until the last minute.
A circumstance that you can, and should, take advantage of as the owner or manager of a tourist accommodation.
Under the title of Summer Tips , with this series of documents in the form of recommendations we hope to provide you with support to give your summer reserves one last push. While we focus on 6 key actions that you should implement, we take the opportunity to remind you of the tools and solutions that we put at your disposal to implement them.
It is evident that all these initiatives are valid throughout the year, but it is important to understand where the potential buyer or guest is at. Those who plan to stay during August, but have not yet selected a destination or hotel, are very receptive, almost desperate, we dare say.
Attract
More than ever, it is time to be where your potential guests are searching: Google Ads, goals, networks... In each channel, specific things are sought: inspiration, opinions of other travelers, reviews, destination information, the best price, services complementary, flash or last minute offers... Give them what they want, when they want, and you will have taken a giant step.
Retain
Once on your website, you must deploy your entire arsenal to retain the user. It is as difficult for it to arrive as it is for it to stay, and the price will be a very good first argument. Use tools like Rate Check and Parity Maker to make it clear that only you offer the best price.
Seduce
But it doesn't all come down to price. In fact, that can be considered a lost battle no matter how many efforts you make to combat disparities. From the moment those intermediaries with whom you sign can sell their inventory to third parties or sacrifice a part of their succulent commissions for the benefit of the end client, you lose control. So advocate seducing your guests with the most exclusive web benefits. Those that only you offer and lead you to generate positive disparities.
Convince
During the booking process, there are also many potential leaks. Use resources that convey urgency, the need to close the reservation as soon as possible and secure it. To do this, you can use what we call boosters, 100% configurable mini-popups with messages such as "There are 20 people viewing this hotel at the moment", "Last available rooms", "Prices may change, secure your reservation", etc. . With them you can enhance impulse purchases.
Convert
Even if the user reaches the last step of the booking process, there is still risk. Something may come up that forces you to get out of your chair, you may reconsider your choice, you may encounter some technical or usability complication, etc. At this point, the guest cannot escape you. You can rely on Rescue Seeker, our active retargeting platform, which tracks user activity and responds to it in different ways. For example, offering an incentive in real time if you express your intention to leave the page, or offering you the possibility of saving the reservation to return to it later if you detect a certain period of inactivity.
Loyalty
This does not end when the user closes the reservation. The other way around. You have probably achieved the most difficult thing, it is true, but a repeat guest is much more profitable than one who is staying at your establishment for the first time. Now it's time to build loyalty and there are a thousand ways: pre- and post-stay emails, loyalty clubs, satisfaction questionnaires, birthday greeting module, etc. All these solutions will help the guest choose your hotel again.
The Booking.com algorithm is capricious and that is why it is sometimes not easy to detect certain functionalities that they implement and that can generate disparities of various kinds with the direct channel. Today we understand as common in the OTA an initiative that they began to put into practice selectively two or three years ago, which consists of offering the guest a free taxi from the airport to the hotel.
This measure is significantly painful for the hotel , especially in those destinations where tourists from certain source markets can only reach by plane. Even more so taking into account the general shortage, and high cost, of rental cars , as a result of the drastic reduction in their fleets as a result of the pandemic.
Paraty Tech, the only engine that allows you to package reservations and transfers in real time, without hotel intervention
Today we are the only booking engine on the market that allows us to head-on combat this type of disparity that both OTAs and tour operators cause. The first, as we have already explained to you, the second, for example, giving away the shuttle bus to their clients.
The Paraty Tech engine enables the option to package transfer (from the guest's arrival point to the hotel and vice versa) and room within the reservation process . The real difference with respect to other engines lies in the fact that direct integration with destination suppliers makes the reservation “fly by itself”, allowing the hotelier to not worry about managing the service.
With a wide range of vehicles available, ranging from standard or executive private cars, to minibuses of different capacities, the cost of this service can be configured depending on the value or duration of the reservation, and even offer it free of charge , as long as the hotel is willing to assume the cost of this added value for its client.
How Booking.com does it
We already told you that they don't always do it, but when the Booking.com algorithm decides that this option comes into action, within the "Your options" column, and in green, so that it is free of charge, they add a tick with the message “FREE taxi from the airport to the accommodation” (see screenshot).
Free Taxi from Booking.com
How we do it at Paraty Tech
As simple as purchasing any additional service:
The guest performs a search.
In the first step of the process, you select your room/rate/plan.
In the second step of the process, you have the possibility of adding the transfer, at the cost previously determined by the hotelier.
As can be seen in the following screenshot, a banner informs the user that, once the reservation is completed, they will receive a link to close all the details of the transfer.
Hiring a transfer in the Paraty Tech booking engine
Benefits for the hotelier
The benefits for the hotelier of implementing this option are many. Fundamentally, it will match forces with certain intermediary sales players , but not only that. You will also improve your guests' experience:
Match the conditions offered by tour operators, which normally include free transfers.
It matches the conditions offered by some OTAs, such as Booking, which gives away taxis to certain clients.
Improve the web shopping experience.
Boost sales in international markets.
Generates extra income (commission for the hotel for each completed transaction), without having to add or modify operations, or serve the client directly. It is a sale that is automatically generated by the web, in real time and immediate confirmation.
As we have already mentioned, although when the word “disparity” is mentioned it tends to be assumed that we are talking about prices, the truth is that they can be of many more types: payment methods, diets, rates or , as in this case, of extras or additional services.
In fact, it is in these categories that the official website has it easiest to differentiate itself from its competitors , taking into account the economic power of the large OTAs , which allows them to sacrifice part of their commission to try to position themselves as the most cheap, and how difficult it is to identify opaque disparities , a consequence of their agreements with third parties.
We already talked about all this in our article “Against disparities… disparities!” . Now, the topic comes up again due to this improvement that we make available to you quickly and easily. Contact your account for full details.
Marketing, like cotton, doesn't deceive. For every unit of currency invested, you receive "x" units of return. It's that simple. Obviously, the goals of such investment can be many and varied, and quantifiable to a greater or lesser extent. You can aim for greater visibility, increased brand awareness, or an increase in the number of bookings in the strict sense, to name three common examples. In short, and pardon the insistence on this matter, the strategy, as in any field, should always be the starting point, setting the tone and guiding, when it comes to reading and interpreting the results.
Investment vs. Expense
It never ceases to amaze us that there is so much talk of "investing" in stocks, in housing, or even in gambling, and yet we tend to talk about "spending" on marketing. The stock market, real estate, cryptocurrencies, or the gambling market are much more volatile and unpredictable than the digital marketing space in which hotels operate.
No one assures you that you will get a return when you buy stocks, purchase a house, or bet on a team or athlete to win a game (unless we're talking about Real Madrid or Rafa Nadal, of course). These activities have earned the right to be labeled as "expenses" or, at the very least, "risky," due to the lack of certainties surrounding them.
On the contrary, hotel digital marketing can only be understood as an "investment" because, properly managed, with a good strategy, it always yields benefits.
Let's go with the 7 myths
Talking to customers and actively listening to the industry in general provides valuable information. This is how we have compiled the most common reasons hotels give when justifying their reluctance to have a presence on metasearch engines or to activate paid campaigns.
What worries hoteliers so much and holds them back? What are their arguments for not wanting to be present? What makes them doubt the suitability of advertising on Google Ads? And, alternatively, why do they insist on putting a cap on the budget allocated to these platforms? Below is a list that we have called "Goals, Myths, and Certainties."
If I hadn't invested, I would have sold the same
The favorite excuse of the non-empirical, those who measure the direction and intensity of the wind by licking their index finger, pointing it to the sky, and winking for precision. It is a recurring argument among utopian, idealistic hoteliers, who may not be wrong in thinking that they would have sold the same, but are wrong in assuming that these sales would have come through the direct channel.
We often counter this argument by pointing out that more than 70% of travelers use metasearch engines to look for accommodation. Not investing in them is equivalent to not being there, and not being there gives too much advantage to their competitors and, above all, to OTAs, which do dedicate huge amounts of money to improving their positioning on metasearch engines and search engines.
In summary, not investing in SEA and metasearch engines doesn't necessarily mean selling less, but it will drastically reduce the weight of direct sales in favor of intermediated sales.
Commissions are too high, and my direct selling costs skyrocket
Again, a very biased reading. Too high compared to what or whom? Compared to not selling? Compared to OTA commissions? Let's revisit the topic of strategy here.
The goal of digital marketing investment is to ultimately sell more, that's clear. But you can't go from A (investing) to B (selling more) all at once. There are many intermediate steps, hundreds of details to take care of.
Proper and responsible management of metasearch engines inevitably involves bid optimization. Obviously, it is essential for the hotel to do its homework and have its prices controlled and well-worked. Then, with proper monitoring, surprising results can be achieved. For example, we have managed to reduce certain clients' commission from 10% to 5%, without compromising their visibility, positioning, or sales. If anything, the opposite.
We are talking about a reduction of 5 percentage points from the commission that is understood on that platform.
I can't afford to spend so much
If someone you trust completely told you that for every euro you give them, they will give you back three, wouldn't you find a way to get euros even from under the stones? Well, this is more or less the same. That someone is us, your trusted provider, your strategic partner. We share interests and goals because our work is based on a win-win model, meaning we only eat if you eat.
And we'll tell you something... We still don't know of any case where the hotel lost money as a result of its investment in digital marketing. It may not have received the expected return initially, perhaps. But losing money, definitely not. In fact, for informational purposes, the ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) we generate for our clients ranges between €10 and €30 per euro of investment.
Current metasearch engines don't convert for my hotel
We can understand if you have doubts about which metasearch engine (or engines) is more convenient for your establishment. And there is no definitive metasearch engine, anyone who says otherwise is lying.
What does exist are your audiences, your main source markets, your preferred segments, and, once again, your goals and needs. And, based on all these variables, it will be easier to define your ideal mix. But it's not up to you to do it; that's what we're here for.
The CPC bidding model is a waste of money
Just as it happens with the choice of metasearch engines, the bidding model to choose is closely linked to strategy.
For example, in Google Hotel Ads, undoubtedly, CPA Guest Per Stay is the most popular model, partly due to the pandemic, during which the cancellation rate rose to unprecedented levels.
Other metasearch engines, like Tripadvisor, have also adopted this model, which guarantees the hotel only pays for materialized reservations. Their minimum commission is 10%, but one week is enough to know if this bidding model is profitable or if it is better to opt for CPC. To understand it better, the commission for a €2000 reservation in France will be €200. However, if we detect that this market has a low CPC, high demand, and competitive pricing, we might end up paying only €56 to get that reservation.
That's why we insist that the decision to opt for one bidding model or another will be conditioned by numerous factors: having a competitive price, average ticket, average length of stay... Still, with a good reading and interpretation of the data, we will never talk about wasting money.
Free booking links are enough; it's not worth paying
As Google integration partners, the moment you start working with us, your hotel will appear directly in Google's Free Booking Links, and this, like everything else, adds up. But thinking that it's enough is going too far. Let's think from Google's perspective... Wouldn't it be shooting themselves in the foot to create a free feature that undermines one of their current most important sources of income?
Behind this initiative is simply the intention to have the highest number of data possible, the highest number of connected hotels, which has a very positive impact on the reliability of the results they offer and also promotes the transition of these hotels to their paid advertising models.
But Free Booking Links always appear below paid results (see screenshot). That is, their visibility is limited. However, appearing well-positioned in them reinforces the belief that a hotel that has a good organic ranking is really a good option, beyond the position it occupies as a result of its investment.
Do Free Booking Links contribute? Without a doubt. Are they enough? Not at all.
My hotel is too small / urban / boutique to invest in digital marketing
And is it not too small to be on Booking? This argument, very common, is also one of the most common mistakes. Again, a matter of strategy.
Just as depending on the type of marketing, distribution, and management you apply, you will be interested in some technological tools or others, depending on the segment, the type of establishment, or the size, some channels will be more appropriate than others, and the investment will also adapt to those circumstances.
Your hotel may be very special and well-positioned for a certain market niche, but far from being a reason not to invest, it can be the best argument to do so. Less competition and better positioning also mean needing less investment to achieve fantastic results. We cannot forget that everyone competes in their league, and some leagues are more demanding than others.
It is not equally easy to become a professional football player, something that millions of people in our country aspire to, as it is to become one, for example, in badminton, a less popular sport, where you will probably find less competition.
And now, some certainties
Metasearch engines and digital marketing, in general, help you boost your direct sales at the expense of intermediated ones. However, as the saying goes, a shoemaker to his shoes. It is essential to have a partner that:
Gets involved from the beginning, actively participating in the strategy definition phase. Maintains "good relationships" with the platforms. At Paraty Tech, we are Google integration partners, Tripadvisor Premium Partners, and we work with the most powerful tools. Carries out daily monitoring and analysis of the evolution and status of campaigns. Converts what you understand as an expense into an investment within a reasonable period.
This way, we know for sure that it is possible to:
Optimize / reduce investment
Optimize / reduce commission
Identify new markets
Discard channels / bidding models
Maximize return
We design websites, integrate the booking engine, and provide you with multiple price control and revenue management tools. But this is just the first step. We are also your partner for managing digital marketing. If you want to know more about Paraty Digital Suite and Paraty Metas, contact your account.
On Thursday, June 9th, Paraty Tech celebrated its 10th Anniversary. An event designed not only to mark a decade of achievements but also to express gratitude to those who have contributed to our success: the hotels and other tourist accommodations we collaborate with. The evening exceeded all expectations, with a perfect setting, a relaxed atmosphere, and magical weather.
The sun, an impromptu protagonist
The chosen venue was El Balneario, at Baños del Carmen, a location known for offering some of the city's best sunsets. The sun became an impromptu protagonist, not only for shining as usual in Malaga almost year-round but also because Daniel Romero's opening speech revolved around this star, stating, "In addition to giving its name to our planetary system, the solar system, and to our coast, the Costa del Sol, it is at the very center of the activity we develop."
Paraty Sunglasses, our new corporate symbol
In line with this theme, it's no surprise that the gift chosen by the team for attendees was personalized sunglasses, a new distinctive element of Paraty Tech's corporate identity. These sunglasses now carry symbolism beyond their material value as merchandise. In a "Caiga Quien Caiga" style, our communication manager invited everyone to wear them during his speech, where he acknowledged the challenges faced by hotels over the past two gray and cloudy years, praised their extraordinary resilience, thanked them for their unwavering commitment to our technology, and gave them a well-deserved applause.
Paraty Sunglasses
Gina Matheis, emotion, and professionalism
One of the most anticipated moments was the appearance of Gina Matheis, Co-founder and CEO of the company, likely its most visible face. And she didn't disappoint. Gina added an emotional touch by recalling the origins of Paraty Tech, sharing anecdotes about proposing the idea to her brother Franz (Co-founder and CTO), the origin of the company's name, the first reservation from Hotel Puente Real, and how establishments like Gran Hotel del Coto and Hotel Pradillo Conil trusted their word. "None of this would have been possible without you," she concluded, announcing the projection of a video summary of Paraty Tech's journey.
The cherry on top: public entity support
The speeches concluded with two women who, despite their busy schedules, not only attended but also spoke to us. A gesture for which we will always be grateful.
We're talking about Margarita del Cid, Mayor of Torremolinos, and María Rosa Sánchez Jiménez, Deputy Mayor Delegate for Tourism and City Promotion and Investment Attraction. Each, in her own style, emphasized the importance for Torremolinos and Málaga of having technology companies like ours, capable of completing a decade of activity, employing over a hundred people, and generating a sense of belonging, a group, almost a family feeling, despite Paraty Tech's exponential growth over the years. They congratulated the company founders and extended their congratulations to the entire team.
Awards ceremony: congratulations to the winners
The party continued, and people stayed with us, enjoying the positive atmosphere and the good relationships we always seek to build with our clients. As the night progressed, another highlight approached... the awards ceremony.
Our unique way of recognizing the excellence and loyalty of certain clients, without diminishing the efforts of others, was to present awards in six categories. Here are the recipients:
·Premio Honorífico en Agradecimiento a todo el Equipo
·Hotel Puente Real
·Premio a la Fidelidad
·Gran Hotel del Coto
·Hotel Pradillo Conil
·Premio al Hotelero Más Innovador
·ON Hotels
·Premio al Mayor Exponente de la Venta Directa
·Hotel Blaumar
·Premio a la Paridad de Precios
·Hotel La Barracuda
·Premio a la Mejor Progresión en Venta Directa
·Best Hotels
More External Collaborations Than Ever Fill the Pages of Issue No. 9 of En Línea
The first issue of En Línea in 2022, Issue No. 9 overall, is filled with external collaborations: Jaime Chicheri, Paloma Cambero, Miguel Eaktai, Santi Migueles, Elena Mateos... Unpublished articles and all the activity of Paraty World during the first quarter of the year.
The first quarter of the year has been intense. Between the opening of our new office in Cancun, our participation in countless events, the organization of Sales & Tales Caribbean Hoteliers Summit, and the launch of 75 new booking engines, we have barely been aware that four months of 2022 have already passed. When you enjoy what you do, time flies.
There is a significant change in this issue. A few months ago, we decided to open the doors to professionals from various tourism fields, giving them the opportunity to express themselves through an article on the topic they considered appropriate. On the one hand, this initiative adds even more value to the publication by including unpublished and exclusive content. On the other hand, it provides a showcase for multiple players visible to an audience of around 10,000 people, including social media, newsletters, blogs, and other usual communication channels.
As expected, many have taken up the challenge and provided us with truly interesting texts on economics, revenue management, direct sales, distribution, and more. We are very grateful to them and hope they benefit from their collaboration.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Feature: Sales & Tales Caribbean Hoteliers Summit
Expert Insights: Economics, Revenue, Direct Sales, Distribution
Paraty World Blog: Most Read Articles of the Last 4 Months
Current Affairs: Other notable news from the first quarter of 2022
New Websites and Engines: 36 new websites and 74 new engines in production
Latest Features: Paraty Hotel Manager continues to add improvements
Success Stories Series 1: VIK Hotels
Paraty World Live: Return to the old normal
As always, you decide: read it online on our Issuu channel or download it to your device in PDF format to take it wherever you go.
Some time ago Google announced the new version of Google Analytics 4 (hereinafter, GA4). However, it has not been until very recently when they have ventured to set and communicate the final date of this migration: on July 1, 2023 Google Analytics Universal (the one of a lifetime, hereinafter GAU) will stop processing data.
The first thing we want to do is invite you to calm down. If you work with us, you don't have to worry or do anything, because we are already on it and there is no possible data loss. In fact, in this article we will tell you the reason for the launch of this new version, the advantages that it brings with it and how we are managing this change of scenery that mainly addresses respect for privacy and the suppression of third-party cookies, a an issue that Chrome has promised to settle once and for all by the end of the year. Nothing will ever be the same again in terms of data analytics and marketing campaign attribution, and GA4 is nothing more than Google's response to a cookieless world, which threatens to steal its advantageous position and hegemony in this field.
Why Google Analytics 4?
Said bluntly, the traditional version, Google Analytics Universal, has become obsolete in its approach. Designed in a context in which the bulk of online traffic came mainly from web pages and desktop devices, its configuration had been designed to count independent sessions, and relied heavily on cookies to carry out its measurements.
Today, the user "travels" through the most varied platforms: web, mobile web, mobile apps, progressive web apps, single page applications... Therefore, the original approach, based on the concepts of "pages", "hits” and “sessions” began to make less and less sense. We could say that GA4 is an update that Google has been practically forced to undertake in order not to be left behind.
Main differences between GA4 and GAU
Two years ago, Google already saw the ears of the wolf and began to develop in GA4 a totally different approach to the one it had been working on, focused, on this occasion, on measuring the traffic of "web + apps", with the aim of offering a much more accurate reading of a user profile whose habits had changed radically.
The most relevant difference refers to a change in the measurement model . While GAU was always supported, as we said, on a model based on user sessions and the hits it generated (page views, events, transactions), GA4 is built around the events themselves . In fact, the event has been established as a unit of measurement , to the detriment of the concepts of "page" and "session", which are already meaningless due to the multiple current sources of Internet traffic, in which the event does allow carry out more effective measurements.
In addition, GA4 incorporates important advances in automatic learning (what is known as machine learning ), favoring much more reliable, precise and revealing predictions and conclusions .
As expected, this structural change is accompanied by a revamped interface , in which the data visualization model experiences a notable qualitative leap.
Summarizing:
Events replace pages and sessions as the unit of measure.
Incorporation of advances in machine learning.
More reliable and accurate predictions and conclusions.
Revamped interface.
Qualitative leap in the data visualization model.
Advantages of Google Analytics 4
If Google had just responded to a problem, I think we would all have been pretty disappointed. Fortunately, this has not been the case, and GA4 also brings certain advantages over its predecessor:
New prediction metrics, such as the probability that a user will convert or stop visiting us.
Centralization and unification of the measurement of user behavior in web and app environments.
Greater protection of user privacy.
Better analysis of the behavior of individual users.
More facilities to export to Big Query.
New metrics for measuring user engagement or interaction with our website, such as scrolling, file downloads, etc.
Easier to manage and measure custom events from GA4 itself.
More facilities to correct and debug errors in measurements.
Obviously, not everything is rosy, and we could alarm you with certain disadvantages of GA4, which mainly address the discontinuity between the traditional measurement model and the new one. But the truth is that we are sure that they will be corrected soon and that the change, in global terms, will provide greater control over the behavior, habits and trends of our users and potential customers.
How are we proceeding at Paraty Tech?
Raise awareness : We are investing efforts in highlighting the importance of configuring the GA4 to start recording data now, and have a history in the near future, when GAU stops recording or disappears forever.
Accommodations with which we already worked : In those accommodations in which we already had the "Web+App" property active and configured, basically there is not much more to do, it could be said that they already have GA4. In those that we had not activated this property, we are gradually configuring a GA4 property, and we will maintain both versions for a recommended prudential period of time.
New housings : Since GA4 was launched, in all the new housings with which we started to collaborate, the team is configuring both versions by default, GA4 + GAU, in order to enjoy the maximum measurement width while we have this option.
Until when will we have the information from GAU?
Although, as we announced at the beginning of these lines, Google Analytics Universal will cease to exist on July 1, 2023 , Google will continue to keep the historical data of each account for at least 6 more months from that date.
In any case, do not hesitate to tell us about any concerns that may arise in relation to this topic. Your assigned account and our experts will be happy to assist you.
Discussion tables, presentations and networking, the keys to the Sales & Tales Caribbean Hoteliers Summit, the prelude to the Tourist Tianguis
With the focus on Caribbean destinations, the event is free and has limited capacity
Hotels, hotel chains, technology providers and other players in the tourism sector come together in this free, virtual event with limited capacity organized by Paraty Tech. The first edition of Sales & Tales Caribbean Hoteliers Summit is already underway and will take place between April 21 and 22, 2022, between 09:00 AM and 02:30 PM GMT-5 (from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Spain).
The prelude to Tianguis Turístico
Organized by Paraty Tech , in collaboration with various companies and entities, this event was born with the intention of becoming the prelude to the next Tourist Tianguis, and puts the focus, therefore, directly on the Latin American market and, more specifically, on the Caribbean destinations. In the words of Daniel Romero, communications director of the technology company based in Torremolinos, «Sales & Tales Caribbean Hoteliers Summit constitutes the perfect opportunity to establish the first contact between hoteliers and technology companies, which will precede the face-to-face meetings that will take place only one month later in Tianguis Turístico.
" The perfect opportunity to establish the first contact between hoteliers and technology companies, which will precede the face-to-face meetings that will take place just a month later at Tianguis Turístico"
Daniel Romero, communications director, Paraty Tech
More than a day of webinars, a virtual fair
In this sense, its creators are keen to highlight that, although the event will have an enriching program of informative content, far from being just another day of webinars, it should be understood rather as a virtual fair in which the participants They will also have the opportunity to build a one-to-one short appointment agenda.
As Gina Matheis, CEO of the company, comments, "the idea at all times has been to create an environment in which to lay the foundations for future conversations and negotiations, while offering a 360º vision of the destinations in the area, based on the opinions and experience of large hotel chains and technology companies.
Paraty Tech, which has recently opened an office in Cancun, after more than 5 years operating in the Latin American market, seeks to become there, as Omar Guardia, Director of LATAM Expansion, tells us, "a technological reference and clear exponent of training and reactivation of the tourism sector”, involving as many players as possible.
Partners and collaborators
Not in vain, hotel chains such as Barceló Hotel Group, Hilton Hotels & Resorts and Karisma Hotels & Resorts, represented respectively by Jaume Vidal (Chief Revenue Strategy & AI in Revenue & Commercial Planning), Rodolfo Gómez (Director of Revenue Management) and Daniel Lozano (Vide President Operations), will take center stage in the two discussion tables of the event, which will take place on April 21 from 09:00 AM GMT-5.
Along with them, companies such as Beonprice, Hotelverse, Roibos, Sojern, Travel Tech, Ring2Travel, Turobserver, Wihp and Paraty Tech itself will complete the lineup of panelists at the tables and subsequent presentations.
Since last April 11, all interested people can register now for the event, begin to discover the rest of the participants and make their appointment schedule through the Sales & Tales Caribbean Hoteliers Summit website.
Gina Matheis , CEO of Paraty Tech , participated today, Thursday, April 7, in the Business Colloquium Table of "Málaga Next '2022: Meeting on digital transformation of tourism in Málaga" organized by the Málaga City Council. Joining her were Felix Zea , director and CEO of Ruralidays , Javier Mendoza , Strategic Sales & Partnerships Manager of CoverManager , and Boris Heister , CEO, CTO & Co-founder of Masteryield .
The table was preceded by speeches by the Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre Prados , and Rosa Sánchez Jiménez , Deputy Mayor Delegate of Tourism, Promotion of the City and Attraction of Investments, in charge of presenting the new tourism website of the province and the new Malaga Smart Tourist Destination System, designed by and for the professional tourism sector, which will provide tourism indicators and analysis with the aim of facilitating decision making (it should be noted that Turobserver, a company of the Paraty World group , partially nourishes this platform by providing data, together with other entities).
For his part, Jorge Carulla , director of marketing and communication at TravelgateX , gave an interesting presentation on Digital Transformation .
«In addition to knowing how to handle data, we have to ensure that companies are prepared to know how to interpret it and take advantage of it»
These are the words of Don Francisco de la Torre, Mayor of Málaga, who stated during his speech that "talking about digital transformation seems very appropriate" at this time, when Málaga is above the Spanish average in terms of digitalization in all sectors, not just tourism. However, he also stressed the importance of "knowing how to handle data and ensuring that companies are prepared to know how to interpret it and take advantage of it", in addition to ensuring that the data we have is really all that we need or that others are needed. He also referred to the reputation of the destination almost as an obsession with "knowing what those who visit us think and continuing to strive to be the best, the first." Not in vain, Malaga is the Spanish city with the highest number of tourist quality certificates for the destination, a condition that it valued very positively, although it clarified that "in the end, what matters to the client is having all the information to be able to plan properly." your visit". Finally, he said goodbye, hoping that the attendees "leave the event with renewed spirits to move forward in this direction, since it is the tourism sector that, to a greater extent, is lending its support to the economic and business reactivation of the city of Malaga."
«We have a world with new needs and we have to adapt to serve all people»
Jorge Carulla, director of marketing and communication at TravelgateX, began his presentation “Digital transformation from a human approach. Leadership and business culture as keys to success" providing very revealing data:
Andalusia is the second region in the world that has received the most reservations in the last week and the first in Spain, with a growth of 20% compared to the previous week and more than 370% compared to 2019.
However, it also echoed the complexity of the current context, a VUCAH environment (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous and hyperconnected), which leads us to face a "global panorama with new needs, in which we must adapt to "be able to provide service to all people." A statement that he completed by adding that “we have a complicated tourism sector because there are many players and we have to ensure that everyone connects in a simple way.
What is digital transformation and what factors cause it?
Darwin said that it is not the strongest that survive, but those that adapt best. With this quote he was referring to the importance of generating value, of helping the client, whose needs we sometimes forget, when in reality we should ask ourselves questions like "what am I going to solve for them, what headaches am I going to save them, what benefit?" "I'm going to contribute." He then listed precipitating factors for digital transformation, such as "customers, the economy, technology, competition, etc."
Pillars for the success of digital transformation
People
Above all, the people. He then used the words of Peter Drucker, who said that "culture eats strategy for breakfast", to emphasize that "culture must be aligned with the company's strategy, since it is people who drive digital transformation." ».
Strategy
The only valid strategy is to provide value. To do this, we must ask ourselves "why are we undertaking digital transformation, what type of digital transformation are we going to carry out, for whom and with whom." Therefore, unfortunately very common errors must be avoided at all costs:
I do it because yes | I do it because the competition does it | I do it because they asked me to | I do it without specifying | I do it without counting on people
Execution
According to him, this is the main challenge for all companies, and it involves people, data (that really help make decisions), knowledge, action, results and feedback.
Responsibility of companies and people: "When you point at someone, ask yourself how many fingers they are pointing at you"
The correct execution of a digital transformation process "improves efficiency, productivity, management, resilience, decision making, agility, commitment, etc." But it also entails possible "side effects, which always happen... in the end it is about the positive being above the negative", something in which the responsibility of companies and the people who make them up has a lot of weight:
COMPANY RESPONSIBILITIES
PDP
Personal formation
OKRs
Culture and values
Purpose
Communication
Agile and light structures
RESPONSIBILITIES OF PEOPLE
Sense of responsibility
Focus on value
Autonomy
Communication
“Vision without execution is only a hallucination” Henry Ford
Gina Matheis opened the Business Discussion Table with this phrase from Henry Ford, thus answering the first question, related to the importance of information analysis. Once again, people and strategy came to the fore. Gina revealed that the first thing she asks her clients is "what their strategic plan is and if they have the time, money, training and people (most importantly) to execute it." Listen, in short. Because the reality, he added, is that we live in a "globalized world, in which not all information is useful for everyone and excess data is not good."
His fellow members expressed themselves along these same lines: While Boris Heister said that "it is useless to have too much data, nor to have people who do not know how to apply it, from the highest to the lowest of the business scheme", Felix Zea highlighted that "data is everything, but you have to know how to distinguish the important ones, what is happening now, but also see the evolution, because the needs have changed a lot," and Javier Mendoza concluded by emphasizing the importance of "its vocation for service original is not lost, it must be sent to all new additions, to differentiate useful data from that which is not.
But digital transformation processes are, without a doubt, a great challenge, and companies encounter barriers. One of them has to do, precisely, with the difficulty of business DNA remaining intact as teams grow and renew themselves. Something that, according to Gina, "is worked on from the first moment with each incorporation, since the team must feel the company as theirs and be able to transmit that culture." Not in vain, he continued, "in all the known success stories, everyone was very clear about how to do things."
For his part, the CEO and founder of Masteryield recognized that "uncertainties exist... and excess data is undoubtedly a barrier, but we must be able to move from big data to small data to satisfy the different information needs." In turn, Zea highlighted as the main challenges "the centralization and accessibility of data, and the humanization of technology or inclusive technology, which does not leave aside those who do not know or do not want to use it." A concept that Mendoza, from Covermanagers, exemplified very well when he revealed that "50% of reservations are online, but that the remaining 50% still arrive by phone or from people who are passing through", without ignoring the fact that "restaurants have gone from a poorly digitized profile to reaching a point where it is the restaurant itself (large, medium and small) that suggests ways of connection."
Maximum unanimity when addressing the issue of connectivity or the interconnection of tools to promote access to data and its correct application: there is still much to do and it is, undoubtedly, one of the great pending issues. Specifically, Matheis spoke of "non-existent fusion and obstacles when connecting, even though accumulating data, today, does not cost money", and, in contrast, Boris recognized the "challenge of responding to all requests of connection".
What is clear, and it is comforting that this is the case, is that although technology will always accompany us, the demand for personalized attention, at least in the short term, will cause us to understand technology as a complement and not as a substitute element. . The pandemic, among many other things, has taught us, according to the CEO of Paraty Tech, that "the need to be able to serve customers by telephone has grown, because people still like to talk to people." And he provided a curious fact, to say the least...Ring2Travel , his group's call center, was born in the middle of the pandemic and, since then, has maintained constant annual growth of around 50%. Boris Heister was convinced that "although digital transformation is here to stay, we must be able to continue welcoming guests with a smile."
What does the future hold?
We speak with entrepreneurs, not with visionaries. But everyone agrees in predicting a great summer season and, in general, a great year for tourism:
"I am very optimistic... Málaga is no longer behind, it has become an important technological hub, people want to live here, come here. We are going to have a very good year." Gina Matheis
"Good prospects. Because it is a region in full growth, but also because of the opportunity to adapt to new trends." Felix Zea
"Optimistic. We have survived, we have adapted. We can say that this has happened and we are looking forward to getting out. And if another problem comes, we will do it again." Javier Mendoza
"People still want to travel. Malaga, Andalusia, Spain, are benchmarks. I am very optimistic if nothing more serious happens, and I predict a panorama of great challenges." Boris Heister
Ring2Travel , customer experience center of the Paraty World group, following in the footsteps of Paraty Tech , incorporates new resources in the area with the double objective of improving its service to existing customers and increasing its portfolio of hotels in the Caribbean.
Renewed technology and pioneering solutions
Renewed technology and pioneering solutions constitute the great asset of Ring2Travel Caribbean, the customer experience center of the Paraty World group, called to revolutionize telephone service and enhance direct sales of hotels and hotel chains in the Caribbean, offering comprehensive support to those establishments that decide to outsource. this service, and a unique tool in the market for those who, on the contrary, opt for implementing it in-house.
Recently, Ring2Travel's specialized agents exceeded 20,000 hours of telephone service. Conversations that have resulted in an unquestionable reinforcement of hotel brands, which have seen their guests receive personalized treatment, while their direct reservations have increased. A high figure that, however, they hope to multiply over the coming months with this new commitment to the Latin American market and, more specifically, the Caribbean. And, as Julián Alcolea, the company's Operations Manager, tells us, at stake is a target of around 700 million potential customers, in 30 different countries.
"At stake is a target of around 700 million potential customers, in 30 different countries" Julián Alcolea, Operations Manager Ring2Travel
The journey of the voice channel in terms of direct sales and loyalty, which has also gained momentum as a result of the pandemic, increasingly demands its consideration as an independent entity within hotel distribution, capable of accounting for almost 25% of direct reservations. In this sense, its opaque nature has a lot to say, which well deserves a tailored revenue management strategy, and its contribution to omnichannel, which makes it an essential resource to respond to the needs and booking habits of an audience. very heterogeneous in terms of digital maturity. Therefore, Julián continues, the question is not whether or not hotels should have a call center, but rather whether they will outsource this service or decide to implement it in-house.
"The question is not whether or not hotels should have a call center, but rather whether they will outsource this service or decide to implement it in-house" Julián Alcolea, Operations Manager Ring2Travel
For those looking to not worry and avoid making investments, Ring2Travel Caribbean puts at your disposal specialized agents who, from their jobs, present themselves and operate, for all purposes, as internal hotel staff, answering incoming calls, in up to 5 different languages. , 24 hours a day. of the day, 365 days a year. In addition, they carry out outbound call campaigns, especially effective as reinforcement on certain significant dates, or to recover from cancellations, and they can also take charge of the management of the establishments' mailboxes or chats.
Incoming Calls 24 H. / 365 D.
Attention in 5 languages
Cancellation Recovery
Pre-stay calls
Call Overflow
Click to Call on the official website
SMS and Newsletter campaigns
Chat Service
Mail Management
Satisfaction surveys
Call Seeker: quote for reservations and generation of pre-reservations
One of the main novelties they introduce, however, is aimed at those hotels and hotel chains with the intention and financial capacity of setting up their own telephone reservation department. A procedure that, although it entails significant costs in technology, training and facilities, constitutes an equally valid alternative. For hotels that choose this option, Ring2Travel has developed Call Seeker, a unique tool on the market to quote reservations and generate pre-reservations that, according to the statements of Gina Matheis, CEO of Paraty Tech and Ring2Travel, is intended to become a great ally of the sales staff, the reception team, etc.
"It is not common for companies of this nature to make available to clients the same system that their own agents use to carry out their work" Gina Matheis, CEO Paraty Tech & Ring2Travel
Until now, reservation quotes have been a headache for hotels. With the arrival of Call Seeker, on the one hand, they will be able to start quoting with guarantees, ignoring aspects such as minimum stay or availability, and filtering by date, occupancy, market, device, language or promo code. On the other hand, and here comes the really interesting part, you can generate and send directly by email to the guest, both the quote and a pre-reservation link, configuring its validity, blocking the space and the price (which can even be modified manually), and respecting the offer for the desired time. A complete revolution, Gina tells us, since it is not common for companies of their nature to make available to clients the same system that their own agents use to carry out their work.
The Ring2Travel Caribbean team, Julián concludes, is already trained and prepared to start answering calls, and hotels can incorporate their services immediately and without investments, regardless of the booking engine they currently work with.
Since its creation in June 2014, Google My Business has become a very popular tool due to its usefulness for all businesses and, especially, for hotels. The numbers speak for themselves: 49% of company listings on Google My Business receive more than 1,000 visits per month . In this article, we tell you why Google My Business has become so popular and we give you reasons to integrate it into your digital strategy if you have not already done so.
What is Google My Business and how can it improve the positioning of my hotel?
Google My Business (GMB) is a Google service that displays relevant information about any business on the results page based on the user's search.
This information is stored in files that each owner manages and fills out. On many occasions, our hotel listing is the first point of contact with our potential guest. Our audience will be able to easily obtain information such as the hotel's telephone number, email address, a link to its website, and will have access to reviews from former guests.
These factors make Google My Business automatically improve your positioning on the Google results page:
You can exploit your main keywords in this additional commercial space. This will make you gain visibility to your target audience.
You generate traffic to your hotel's website , which will mean an extra influx of traffic and an increase in the number of visits.
It is essential for local SEO as it is linked to Google Maps. 86% of users find the location of your hotel on Google Maps. With a GMB listing your guests will find you much more easily.
Positive reviews from your guests attract the attention of Google, which values them highly.
How does Google My Business work?
Signing up for Google My Business is very simple and fluid. You only need a Gmail email account to have access to the service. To create your Google My Business listing you must follow these steps:
Fill in some basic information such as hotel location, categories, contact information, etc.
Choose a verification method for your GMB account. You can verify it by email, phone number and even through Google Search Console.
Once verified, Google will take a maximum of two weeks to display your GMB listing. We recommend that you do not modify the initial data you entered while waiting, as the verification process could take even longer.
The best thing about Google My Business is that all its features are 100% free, so you won't have to take out your credit card at any time. Once Google has completed the verification process for your hotel listing, your target audience will be able to easily find it and write reviews about their experience at your hotel. For your part, you can continue perfecting the content of your GMB.
How to optimize Google My Business for SEO?
The first trick to maximizing your hotel's GMB listing is to complete, complete and keep completing. Take advantage of all the space you have to provide relevant data for Google and your potential guests. Don't leave any gaps unfilled as long as you can provide something of value that can help position your hotel.
Keywords
Don't forget to include the keyword your audience is searching for you with in your H1 header (the title) and in the description. If you do not include your keyword, the city where your hotel is located or the name of your hotel establishment in the title, you risk losing visibility.
Avoid keyword stuffing or excessive accumulation of keywords at all costs. Abusing keywords in your posts, descriptions and titles can lead to a penalty from Google. In some cases, your Google My Business may choose to delete your listing directly if it detects this violation.
Images
It is highly recommended that you upload attractive photos of your hotel and its facilities to brighten the eyes of your future guest. Your audience is more convinced by a photo of the rooms and breakfasts than by any list of services and products.
When uploading images of your hotel to Google My Business, we advise you to do the following:
The ideal size is 720 px high and 720 px wide for mobile and computer of any size.
Your images must be of high quality . Use a good camera and photograph the most attractive corners of your hotel. Upload them in PNG or JPG format preferably.
Add categories to your images . These can be exterior, interior, services, products or personnel.
Encourage your guests to attach their own images to their reviews after enjoying their stay. Google rewards when your guests publish images of your hotel establishment and its services.
Linked
Place the url of your official website to increase your visits and guide users. Google My Business also implements a functionality to redirect your users to a booking page. By enabling a button to check availability, you will speed up this process and your customers will be able to book rooms at your hotel more easily.
Services and prices
If you want to take the price war one step further and cajole your client with your best price, in Google My Business you can indicate your best price on your hotel listing. This functionality is activated in Hotel Ads, also for free. In this sense, we take this opportunity to remember that at Paraty Tech we are Google integration partners and that the mere fact of working with us implies appearing directly in sections as interesting as the Free Booking Links.
Details
The “Hotel details” section lists all the features of your hotel, its facilities and services, namely:
Payment policy.
Restaurant and beverage services.
Car and bicycle rental.
Parking.
Spoken languages.
Health and security.
Frequent questions
Google My Business reserves a space for you that you can dedicate to answering the questions written by users who visit your listing. This way, you will be able to complete your file with information that was previously missing. This also makes it possible for you to engage with your audience and show a more human side of your hotel.
Do reviews influence Google My Business?
The more positive reviews you have, the better. User reviews that contain words with positive connotations such as “phenomenal”, “perfect”, “the best hotel”, etc. They help Google to consider that your brand and your services are valuable to users. In turn, if you get your guests to use keywords from your business, you will further enhance your positioning. Remember that Google trusts your customers more than you.
This is why you should encourage your guests to write reviews on the hotel's Google My Business listing after their stay. Google recommends that you frequently interact with your customers on GMB by responding to their reviews, as it shows special attention to your customers and your company. Customer satisfaction is one of the best means of promotion.
This dynamic can work in the opposite direction, as negative reviews can damage your reputation and ranking. To combat fake and malicious reviews, Google has been adopting stricter measures. Last year, Google removed 55 million reviews and 3 million fake profiles.
Google My Business Metrics
Google My Business also offers metrics so you can measure and analyze your users' interactions chronologically. With this data you will be able to know your audience better and improve the positioning of your hotel on Google.
The most interesting metrics are:
How users find your hotel : This graph shows the proportion of users who search for you by your commercial brand, who find you when searching for a category or product, or who come from other related brands.
Where they find your hotel : They can reach your listing through the Google results page or by searching for a location on Google Maps.
Actions of your users : the data is divided into the interactions that users have made on your hotel listing. These may include calling you, accessing your website, or looking up your address.
Photo Views : Google My Business also analyzes the number of views your photos receive and comparative data on image views from other establishments.
What your hotel is known for : Google aggregates and interprets your guest reviews based on term repetition. From this set of data, a graph is extracted that shows what your guests highlight most about your tourist service.
Conclusion
As you have seen, Google My Business is a tool extended to any business due to its ease of use and its free nature. It helps improve your traffic, your web positioning and provides valuable information to search engines and your users.
The best way to optimize your hotel's GMB listing is to fill out all possible fields using keywords and obtain positive reviews from your guests. Google My Business provides you with valuable information by analyzing in detail all user interactions with your hotel listing.
If you liked this article about Google My Business, do not hesitate to leave a comment and share it on your networks so that your contacts discover how wonderful this digital tool is.
The debut of Paraty Tech as a sponsor of Travel Tech, one of the largest online educational events for the tourism sector, leaves very good feelings after the conclusion of Travel Tech USA & Canada, the first of its five annual forums
At Paraty Tech we have had the pleasure of being part, as sponsors and speakers, of Travel Tech USA & Canada , the first of the organization's five annual forums, which will be followed by the EMEA, APAC, Spain & LATAM editions. and Portugal & Brazil, in which we will also be present.
Daniel Romero , our communications director, was the person in charge of representing us, also twice, first in the Pitch Session (March 9) and then in the debate (March 10) «How to increase the profits of luxury hotels to through revenue management, direct sales and digital marketing.
Pitch Session Paraty Tech
Fifteen minutes go a long way, it's true, but 10 years of experience and summarizing them in a quarter of an hour is not a simple mission. Our intention went far beyond limiting ourselves to presenting a list of services and solutions. We were very interested in getting to know a little more about us, about our work philosophy, about the pillars on which our constant growth and the successes achieved during the last decade are based.
For this reason, we focused directly on three fundamental concepts, which define us perfectly: Technology (100% in-house), customer service (our hallmark) and team (the family we constitute is, without a doubt, a of our main strengths). Up to here we can (want to) read. We invite you to enjoy this intervention through the following video:
Debate: How to increase the profits of your luxury hotel
Our client portfolio includes hotels of all types. Perhaps this is also one of our distinctive signs, the versatility of our technology, its ability to adapt to the most varied needs. From vacation establishments to charming boutique hotels, passing through the urban segment, the mice, the rural segment, the apartments and, of course, the luxury resorts.
When it comes to this last category, we are clear: experience rules . And if there is a channel capable of offering a genuine, complete and enriching tailored experience, it is undoubtedly the direct channel. Wow, more than ever, it was time to talk about "our book."
Moderated by Paula Carreirão (Asksuite Hotel Chatbot) and accompanied by great professionals such as Calvin Stovall (president of EV Hotel), Craig Carbonniere (senior sales director at Milestone), Carrie Ell (market director at The Hotels Network) and Theodoros Katsimpras ( COO at Book Online Now), during almost two hours of debate, the arguments we put forward revolved around key concepts such as the aforementioned guest experience , personalization , loyalty , the adaptation of technology to the habits of the target audiences , upselling and cross-selling techniques, the need to internalize excellence as a premise, meticulous control of distribution , big data as an essential source of knowledge, or the importance of the voice channel (Ring2Travel ) which, due to its characteristics , plays a fundamental role in increasing ADR and revPAR.
Does the luxury segment really require different treatment?
Price strategy
Yes and no. That is to say, everything stated above could really be applied to any type of establishment. If anything, the difference lies in the fact that in the luxury segment, hotels simply cannot afford to fail. We are probably talking about the only target willing to pay more if the experience is really worth it.
In this sense, the pricing strategy does differ greatly from that applied in other establishments, which usually find their best asset in offers and discounts. On the contrary, the regular guest of luxury hotels and resorts may understand a price drop as a reduction in service and identify in a very high rate the guarantee of living a unique experience. Therefore, it is more about keeping an eye on the competition, carefully controlling distribution to ensure that intermediary sales do not harm the perception of product quality, and not being afraid to charge more if you are really providing the value you deserve. justify it.
Personalization
In-depth knowledge of the guest here becomes even more important, if possible, in order to offer a 100% personalized experience (market of origin, booking window, language, preferred channels and devices, tastes, needs, hobbies, etc.). To do this, it will be necessary to have the appropriate technology, properly integrated, to make the most of every possible source of information, always being aware that a wealthy millennial (more reluctant to human interaction, more fond of technology) has nothing to do with , etc.), with a business woman, a senior couple moving in their natural environment, or a family that has saved for months to afford that luxury getaway. The hotel must be able to meet the expectations of each of its potential audiences in each of the phases of the conversion funnel.
Communication
Everything, absolutely everything, communicates. Let's see if we accept this once and for all. From the photos on the Google My Business listing, to the descriptions of the establishment in the OTAs, through the way to respond to a review, the design and usability of the website and the booking engine, the actions that are carried out In terms of sustainability, social networks, banners, emailings... EVERYTHING. And we can assure you that failures are paid dearly. Hence that phrase that said something like "it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but only five minutes to destroy it."
The guest experience does not begin with check-in or end with check-out. It starts at the moment you start dreaming about traveling and can extend to the point where you decide you want to repeat. The guest should feel special before, during and after their stay.
To do this, you will have to find many motivations in the establishment itself, but also in the destination. That's why it's good to look at what competing hotels are doing, but in reality, any company, whether in the industry or not, can be a source of inspiration.
It is necessary to identify what really differentiates your establishment from the rest, complement those strengths with the main attractions of the area, and build a solid value proposition that will probably have to be renewed periodically to avoid becoming obsolete. And then, focus all communication on that value proposition, aligning the messages in each and every one of the media and communication and dissemination channels.
Direct sales: official website and voice
Well managed, direct sales will always be more profitable. But if we talk about luxury hotels and resorts, taking proper care of direct channels can multiply the benefits exponentially. And note that we are talking about "the" direct channels, because the voice must necessarily be linked to the web. No one, ever, will be able to offer a more personal treatment and experience than the hotel itself and its reservation agents, and this technology-human treatment tandem is, without a doubt, a winning bet. Believing this is a great first step.
Finally, it is essential to assume that each member of the team can contribute to increasing direct sales: a waitress, the reception team, the restaurant maitre'd, etc. Direct selling is much more than having a booking engine and a website. It is a way of understanding hotel marketing, a philosophy that every worker must internalize.
First came Spain (Málaga), then Portugal (Albufeira) and now, after five years of increasing direct reservations from hotel establishments located in different parts of Latin America, we opened an office in Cancún (Mexico) and established a permanent team there.
It has been 10 years since the great crusade for direct hotel sales began by Paraty Tech , parent company of the Paraty World group, our conglomerate of technology companies that operate primarily in the tourism sector. From our headquarters, located in Torremolinos, we were then able to revolutionize the world of hotel reservations, thanks to a pioneering reservation engine, exclusive revenue management tools and a complete range of online marketing services.
Only five years after our birth, after consolidating our presence in the Spanish and Portuguese territories, in which we are leaders in the segment, we decided to take our technology and solutions to more distant lands, entering the Asian continent through Japan, and in Latin America via Colombia, Argentina and Mexico. Our expansion process thus continued on a firm course.
Today, coinciding with our tenth anniversary and fully established on this continent, we take one more step in our internationalization, and not just any one, establishing a permanent team in Mexico, made up of salespeople and account & revenue managers, and led by Omar Guardia , expansion director for LATAM.
A decision that addresses, in the words of Gina Matheis, our CEO, the obligation to offer even better service here:
“Our Latin American clients deserve even more, they have earned the right to have us closer, closer at hand, in order to receive the treatment that we know they expect, and that we want to offer them, faithful to our customer-centric philosophy, one of our unequivocal signs. of identity". Gina Matheis, CEO at Paraty Tech
Paraty Tech has more than 3,000 clients around the world and, thanks to our business model, based on a win-win relationship, we are able to guarantee the increase in direct sales of the hotels and chains with which we collaborate, and with whom we strive to form “solid and supportive work teams, in which both parties are always very clear that we are fighting for the same objective.”
Some of us have traveled to Cancún, where we are currently finalizing all the details (CORPORATIVO MALECON AMERICAS, Av. Bonampak Sm. 6 Mz. 1 Lt. 1, 5th Floor, +52 99 8341 4897). We face this new stage with great enthusiasm and convinced that we can continue contributing to an exponential increase in direct sales of hotels and hotel chains in the area.
From left to right, Daniel Sánchez (CRO), Gina Matheis (CEO) and Omar Guardia (LATAM expansion)
"The potential of Latin American hotels in terms of direct sales is enormous and our technology, optimized to the maximum over a decade, is more than prepared to face this challenge." Omar Guardia, director of LATAM expansion at Paraty Tech
Transfers & Experiences has been present at H&T 2022 Hospitality Innovation Show, held from February 7 to 9, where it has signed a collaboration agreement with Activacar, which represents a clear joint commitment to sustainability in experiences.
The participation of Transfers & Experiences in the H&T Hospitality Innovation Show , a national reference meeting and an unmissable event for companies in the HORECA channel, the tourism industry and gastronomy, is already beginning to bear its first fruits. Good proof of this is the agreement signed with Activacar , which represents a declaration of intentions and a great first step to make the experiences on the Costa del Sol adventures much more sustainable.
«Can you imagine the environmental value of being able to visit the Caminito del Rey, to cite an example, in a 100% electric vehicle? Now it is possible and it could not come at a better time, because sustainability is a core and obligatory subject for all companies in the tourism sector, but also a commercial claim of great value for a traveler profile that is increasingly aware of environmental commitment. », comments David Gil , CEO and Founder of Transfers & Experiences.
Caminito del Rey Promotion, Transfers & Experiences and Activacar
Transfers & Experiences is a B2B and B2C platform with the most complete and competitive catalog of the Costa del Sol and other national destinations, booking excursions, hiring transfers, creating exclusive tailor-made experiences, purchasing tickets for festivals and theme parks. , vehicle rental, etc. A point of purchase for the tourist, but also a point of sale and an additional source of income for the hotelier and travel agencies, prepared to integrate with their systems and with the reservation engine of the direct channel, under the protection of the brand of the establishment thanks to the white label service they offer. As David comments, “the hotelier, without effort or investment, has an infinite range of services with immediate confirmation, 24 hours a day. of the day, forgetting about maintaining arduous negotiations with different suppliers, and improving the experience of their guests, while increasing their bottom line.
For its part, the Malaga startup Activacar was born with the mission of being able to provide a comprehensive electric mobility service to companies, offering, on the one hand, the installation and management of charging points and, on the other, the aforementioned mobility service. electric, with 0 emissions, through its carsharing application. In the words of Eduardo Medina , CEO and Co-Founder of Activacar, "agreements of this magnitude are, precisely, those that will allow us to continue growing and raising awareness, becoming leaders within the sustainable mobility sector, hand in hand with companies that they value the cultural heritage and the recreational offer of Andalusia, such as Transfers & Experiences.
Now, the agreement reached between these two companies from the Tourism Hub of the Costa del Sol, within the framework of the H&T Hospitality Innovation Show, represents a great step in terms of sustainability, and an important precedent that should serve as an example for others. Andalusian companies in the sector continue working with the aim of achieving a sustainable tourism model, respectful of the environment and the local population.
Julián Alcolea, operations manager at Ring2Travel, and Cindy Johansson, project manager at Turobserver, participate in the forum “Optimizing the new tourism marketing”, organized by the AEDH within the framework of the H&T Hospitality Innovation Show”
Yesterday, February 7, the H&T Hospitality Innovation Show began which, for three days, has once again turned Fycma into a meeting point of reference at a national level for companies in the HORECA channel, the tourism industry and gastronomy. As it could not be otherwise, the AEDH Spanish Association of Hotel Directors was there, in what constituted another example of its unconditional support for hotels and the sector, in this 2022 in which, in addition, they celebrate their 50 years of activity.
Within the complete agenda of the event, the AEDH was in charge of organizing the forum "Optimizing the new tourist commercialization", inaugurated by its president Manuel Vegas , who made a brief tour of the work of the entity, stressing the determining role that the new generations play, present and future of the association.
For his part, Isidro Tenorio Meseguer , responsible for communication and events at the AEDH, was in charge of introducing the participants of the two round tables that made up the forum program, and in which we also had the pleasure of participating, for Double match. While Julián Alcolea , operations manager of Ring2Travel , appeared on the panel of the first one as a member, in the second it was Cindy Johansson , project manager of Turobserver, who joined the poster, with Julián adopting the role of moderator on this occasion .
Table 1: Latest trends in intermediation and marketing
After the opening ceremony, the first table began, moderated by Isidro Tenorio , and made up of Fernando J. Fraguas , director at Playa Miguel Beach Club & Aparthotel, Julián Alcolea , operations manager at Ring2Travel, and Carlos Rentero , director of Bookassist in Spain. and Latin America.
On the agenda, the latest trends in intermediation and marketing , within a context still marked by the pandemic, in which "we are faced with a guest who increasingly demands more, who goes far beyond the stay", as Fraguas affirmed, and in which "although direct sales have grown a lot, we must not lose sight of the income statement, which is what ultimately really interests the hotelier", as Rentero pointed out. For his part, Julián added that, more than ever, "the trend is towards putting the focus where the guest is, listening" and, in this sense, he referred to the voice "as a very powerful distribution channel".
"The trend is towards putting the focus where the guest is and, in this sense, voice is a very powerful distribution channel." Julián Alcolea, operations manager Ring2Travel
Isidro then redirected the debate towards the trends within intermediation at the technological level , and launched the following question into the air: “Are we prepared for the “increased traveler”, the new traveler profile?”. The consensus in the responses of the guests was summed up in the central idea that technology without strategy is not effective . A statement that, somehow, took us to the famous slogan of a well-known brand of tires, when it said that uncontrolled power is useless. In this sense, Rentero also expressed himself by suggesting that "despite the fact that it is true that we are living in a moment of democratization of technology, we should not allow ourselves to be closed by it, since there is no technology that can fix a bad strategy."
Totally in agreement with this statement, Alcolea asserted that "there are clients who do very well in terms of direct sales and others who do very poorly, using the same technology, and those who have been surprised by the pandemic without having defined a strategy, at least five years from now, they have had a very bad time”. What does seem clear is that, for the OTAs, clear exponents of the effective use of technology, hotels are mere suppliers of raw material and the reality is that they allocate the bulk of their resources and developments to whoever is really interested, the customer. Along these lines, the director of Playa Miguel Beach Club & Aparthotel stressed that "recognizing a customer by their last name, knowing their recent behavior and offering them exactly what they want, has great potential in terms of conversion."
All the members of the table were somewhat skeptical with what seem to be the technologies of the most immediate future , differentiating between a technological innovation and the fact that it really settles in the market. They alluded to recent examples, such as the limited number of reservations made through virtual voice assistants (such as Alexa, Google or Siri) or the arrival of cryptocurrencies as a method of payment, both of which were considered authentic technological revolutions at the time and which, for the moment, , have remained more a mere commercial claim than anything else.
However, Fernando Fraguas did sense a certain potential in augmented reality for, for example, the choice of a certain room, Rentero was convinced of the decisive role that artificial intelligence will play in increasing conversion, and Alcolea saw in Big data is the real winning bet, while he added, laughing, that “what is not going to be a trend is the robot behind a hotel reception, I don't see the human factor disappearing”. Fraguas concluded and closed the table with the following headline: “intermediation changes, but tourism prevails”.
Table 2: Innovation and technology for the new commercialization
Leakage and shortage of developers, blue oceans, the importance of adapting technology to specific needs, the true definition of innovation... Many were the topics that were discussed at the second table of the day, moderated by Julián Alcolea and integrated by Cindy Johansson (Turobserver), Marian Ruiz (Incubadora Revenue), Javier Martín (AEDH), Toni Mascaró (e-Mascaró) and Marta Anego (Profitroom), who opened with a delicate question: Is it difficult to make hoteliers understand the need for innovation?
"They have wanted to sell the motorcycle many times to the hotelier," said Toni, who qualified that "you have to see what innovation really is, a concept that goes far beyond having a website and a CRM, present in all processes... there are to bet on the talent that executes it”. Johansson claimed to often run into "people who come to see big data as a complication." Hence the challenge of “knowing how to identify who we are dealing with and being able to adapt the technology to the point of being able to clearly convey the way in which it will improve their day-to-day management”. Something in which, according to Marian Ruiz, the degree of technological maturity of the hotelier greatly influences: "many times the hotelier has the website he deserves... if he is not mature, we will not be able to convince him, because it depends a lot on what he understands by necessity, and it is important to assimilate that digitization does not come to replace people, but rather monotonous jobs”.
"The challenge is knowing how to identify who we are dealing with and being able to adapt the technology to the point of being able to clearly convey the way in which it will improve day-to-day, management, etc." Cindy Johansson, Turobserver project manager
An idea with which Javier Martín agreed, adding that "technology should not eradicate professions, but reconvert them to offer a better guest experience" and that, in this sense, "innovation is already part of the hotel's action plan" .
When asked about the most widely implemented technological innovation in distribution today , Marta Anego was clear: "Everything related to the direct channel, without a doubt, which is the one that is really adding value to the market." For his part, Mascaró was referring to machine learning, convinced that very soon “we will talk to a machine without knowing it, for example, in call centers”. In any case, the crux of the matter, he added, "is in strategic innovation, technology may take one or five years, but it will eventually arrive."
Once again, the strategy made an appearance , and statements such as the one that defends that "technology without control is useless" were repeated. These were the words of Cindy, who referred to big data as "the true revolution", but insisted on the fact that, sometimes, "not everything works for everyone... there are those who feel comfortable with your sophisticated cloud platform and its thousands of of KPIs, and there are those who value a simple PDF report much more, easy to share, which also saves time and headaches, summarizing the key ideas and proposing specific lines of action... Keep data simple... The content is the same, what changes is the continent”, he concluded.
The debate progressed and the idea that "innovation is already the base" and that the key now lies in "differentiating oneself, in being disruptive" was becoming more and more established, as Martín said. In any case, in the words of Marian Ruiz, "there is no single answer to this question, a specific innovation cannot be singled out, it is rather the sum of many of them, there are many variables that influence". And he was referring, as an example, to the way in which a rate shopper with whom he has recently started working, a solution that has been widely implemented for decades in the day-to-day life of revenue managers, continues to save days of work with just a couple of clicks .
Perhaps, therefore, it is not a question of constantly striving to invent, but of finding the most appropriate use , because as Toni said, "blue oceans no longer exist, only little puddles... we must avoid continuing to dedicate efforts to identifying them, when in reality everything is as simple as seeing what works and implementing it, even improving it”.
Julián Alcolea invited them, then, to move to the future , specifically to imagine where we will be in eight years, in 2030. Cindy aroused a smile in the audience when she wondered "if there will ever be a time when family or friends will not have to Call for a hotel recommendation. Mascaró spoke more of a question of "attitude than aptitude", referring to the fact that "machine learning and robots will be there, but the important thing is the talent of the professionals... in 10 years, whoever doesn't work will stay outside… when the tide goes down, we will see who is not wearing a swimsuit”. For her part, Marta Anego spoke of "a change in the consumption model", referring to "personalization" as a fundamental key.
The last point of the debate focused on the comparison between the big technology companies, the OTAs, and us, the hotels . While Mascaró once again alluded to the brain drain that is taking place in small companies, defining it as “the great resignation”, Javier Martín raised and answered the following question: “who really has the power? We have the power to differentiate ourselves.”
We launched the "Success Stories Series";, an initiative through which we will periodically publish stories with a happy ending, the product of our collaboration with hotels and hotel chains, sometimes also through technological or strategic partners.
This is the case, for example, of this first installment, dedicated to VIK Hotels , a client very dear to all of us and with whom we have been collaborating for many years, in which we will see how direct sales have increased thanks, also, to our alliance with Sojern . And it is that the interesting thing about different technology providers venturing to join forces are the results, and not so much the news itself, as it might seem at times.
At Paraty Tech we always strive to close agreements with companies whose tools really add value to the hotelier and constitute a strengthening complement to our services. Thus, we have undertaken integrations with the main channel managers and pms, incorporated the payment platforms of the different markets in which we operate, and added solutions such as chatbots, crm, rms, cancellation insurance, etc.
VIK Hotels is a hotel chain, with six properties (from 3 to 5 stars) in the Canary Islands, Andalusia and the Dominican Republic that, in the words of Antonio Segura , E-Business Manager, "we needed to attract more traffic to our website and keep visitors there to increase direct bookings.” All this taking into account that each hotel has its own personality, unique to the place where it is located. An objective that they consider fulfilled to date thanks to the merger of our technology and that of Sojern.
"We needed to drive more traffic to our website and keep visitors there to increase direct bookings." Antonio Segura, E-Business Manager VIK Hotels
Below, we share the download link of this success story, endorsed by those responsible for VIK Hotels, who ensure that "Paraty Tech and Sojern are experts in their respective fields. They have been a fantastic help to our direct channel, thanks to which we are generating an increasing number of reservations. It is, without a doubt, a winning alliance.”
A new year has begun and two of the main players in hotel distribution, such as Google and Booking.com, present interesting news that can help you boost your direct sales.
As expected, sustainability gains weight and becomes an important filter, which can make the difference between being the establishment chosen by the tourist or not. But there is more…
Before getting into the matter, we take the opportunity to inform you that the famous "Google Tax" little by little begins to be reflected in the invoices that you are receiving. As many of you will remember, in October 2020 the Digital Services Tax was approved in Spain and, as Amazon also decided at the time, Google directly passes it on to its advertisers, something that it had already been doing in other countries such as Turkey, Austria or the United Kingdom. .
Although it began to be applied last May, it has not been until very recently when, in fact, it has gradually begun to be reflected in invoices, affecting any company that wants to display its ads in our country (the percentage of tax ranges between 2% and 5% depending on the country in which you decide to advertise). Below, you can see an example:
Invoice example with UK "Google Fee" aplied
This brief paragraph is only for you to take into account that, if your intention is to maintain your current investment in advertising, you will have to consider increasing it by 2% (or the corresponding percentage depending on the countries in which you advertise) so that your CPA and ROI are not affected.
Rates and availability in Google My Business
Google's March 2021 announcement of the launch of Google Hotel Ads Free Booking Links created quite a stir. In essence, it meant that any connected establishment would become likely to appear in search results, regardless of whether or not it had an active advertising campaign. Undoubtedly, a great competitive advantage for many accommodations, which all our clients began to enjoy imminently due to our status as Google Integration Partners , as we already told you then.
Now comes another very interesting novelty, available at the moment only for a limited number of hotels, which allows the loading of rates and availability in the Google My Business tab . Those who do so will become visible to the millions of users who search for hotels on Google every day, and the results will be displayed, again, in the Free Booking Links section. Through these free links, travelers who click will directly access the direct channel to complete their reservation.
How is this different from the Free Booking Links we already knew?
Fundamentally, in that the Google Hotel Ads Free Booking Links work via integration and are subject to having a Google Integration Partner. For their part, these are uploaded manually, which is more work and forces you to be very aware of possible changes or updates so that the results shown are always faithful to reality, but in exchange, all hotels can enjoy these free links that they have a Google My Business tab, which is a very important differential nuance. To check if you already have this functionality at your fingertips, all you have to do is:
Access with the Google account with which you manage your business
Find your hotel
Click on Edit Profile and select Rates and Availability
What information will you be able to upload?
Although at the moment the configuration parameters of the rates and availability that you upload are somewhat limited, this functionality allows content to be uploaded up to two years in advance and users will obtain results when they carry out searches up to one year in advance and a maximum of 30 days of occupancy. Google, of course, recommends making sure you're loading the best available offer at all times to boost booking probability. You can:
Charge a single rate per night
Charge rates for double occupancy only
Charge Taxes or additional fees of the fee
Redirect traffic to your direct channel
Charging multiple rates for different room types is not available. Nor will you be able to establish minimum stay restrictions, or charge discounts or long-stay promotions. For now, this is what it is...
Sustainability, on everyone's lips
When a topic appears repeatedly in each debate, it is for a reason, and sustainability is on everyone's lips. We are facing a traveler profile, especially international, increasingly aware of good practices in terms of sustainability and, furthermore, willing to pay more for a hotel that does its homework in this regard and strives to reduce its environmental impact. .
It is not surprising, therefore, that both Google and Booking.com already offer the possibility of highlighting this characteristic of the establishment through an ecological certification label. It is very important that those hotels that are working on this facet communicate it, because otherwise, they will be losing an opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competition.
In the case of Google, accessing your Company Profile you will find a list of four categories to indicate if you have received some type of ecological certification. According to its website, “ecological certifications are granted to hotels that meet the sustainability criteria of an independent certification agency. Green certifications also serve to let guests and the rest of the world know that your hotel is actively working to achieve a positive environmental impact on the planet.”
Google Certified Green Label
When a hotel has the “Cert. Green” on Google, means that you affirm that you have been certified by an agency that Google recognizes and that it meets the following standards:
The agency uses internationally recognized and renowned criteria to evaluate the hotel.
The assessment focuses on the environmental impact of at least these 4 categories:
Energy efficiency
water conservation
waste reduction
sustainable sourcing
The agency conducts an audit on the hotel premises in order to verify its sustainability practices or uses an independent third party to carry it out.
Booking.com goes even further, and claims to have detected that its "Eco" certification label has come to confuse the traveler, as it relates it to a possible decrease in the service received and in the general experience of the stay, crashing thus his interest in making a contribution to the planet with his fear of being harmed by it.
For this reason, as Smart Travel News publishes in the interview with Marianne Gybels , director of sustainability at Booking.com, the OTA has launched the "Sustainable Travel" program, which will provide useful information to all those interested in more travel options. sustainable, something they claim to have been working on for more than eight years. From his point of view, the traveler does not have to give up anything and, in turn, the hotel deserves to be rewarded for its good work.
Through the "Sustainable Travel" program, Booking.com asks establishments to record their actions in terms of sustainability, through a simple questionnaire (just answer yes or no) that includes up to 32 points, including which include waste management, water, energy, gases, support for the local population, protection of the natural environment, etc. You can provide this information through your extranet, all with the aim of having access to the sustainable travel badge, already granted to more than 62,000 accommodations, and which will accompany the user during the different steps of the reservation process, allowing them to expand information. In addition, soon it will also appear as a filter, to be able to search only among accommodations that are part of the program. As always, in accordance with the OTA philosophy, guests will be in charge of validating these good practices, once they have stayed and can give a good account of them.
As we already know, both Google and Booking.com constitute an extraordinary showcase for the direct channel and a lot of traffic to your official website comes directly from them. That is why it is important to take advantage of their developments to continue planting seeds that contribute to boosting direct reserves.
2021 is not going to end exactly as we would have liked... But the truth is that, with its lights and shadows, it did not exactly start off on the right foot either.
The Pandemic, unleashed, continued to force us to give everything, not to lower our guard, while the different Autonomous Communities, still baffled, did not stop trying to come up with formulas to encourage demand , especially international demand.
The postponement of FITUR, despite our efforts , was a severe blow to the sector. Its celebration on the usual dates, without a doubt, would have constituted a more than necessary dose of optimism, but, probably, also imprudence. We, in any case, manage to make a "plan b". If Mohammed could not go to the mountains, the mountains would have to go to Mohammed, and the organization of the Pavilion 8 virtual fair came to fill the gap left by the suspension of all activity at Ifema in a very timely manner, and allowed us not only to promote the reactivation of tourism, but also to present new developments for the first time. Its reception was such that, just two months later, the BTL was also cancelled, it would have its replica in Portugal with equal success.
Although the pre-summer outlook was not particularly encouraging, we had high hopes for the summer season that was yet to come, and we were going to put everything on the grill so that our clients could adequately satisfy the needs of their guests, still mired in uncertainty. His demand for closeness and empathy was a golden opportunity that hotels had to take advantage of to strengthen their brand and build loyalty .
Alliances, exhaustive monitoring of the main competitors , strategic integrations ... We have made many friends whose contribution to strengthening direct sales is indisputable. Not surprisingly, this leg of the distribution has gained market share, even when giants like Booking have continued to deploy their entire technological arsenal to avoid it.
Inertia led us to complete the first four-month period of the year with figures well above those of the same period of the previous year. All was not lost and new marketing opportunities continued to emerge to continue consolidating the direct channel, beyond the fact that certain hotels seemed not to want to find out that it is this channel that, when well managed, provides them with the greatest margin of profitability.
We reached the month of June by building our booking engine with security solutions that are pioneers in the market. If it was finally going to be possible to travel, the question was, on the one hand, to make it easy for tourists to comply with all current prevention protocols. And on the other, to favor that the hotelier had the necessary resources to show himself to the general public as the best available online offer . It should be remembered that sanitary traffic lights rose to fame to play a determining role and, why not say it, also to confuse the traveler a little more. We responded to your questions with a free professional service , courtesy of specialized Ring2Travel agents, who have not stopped talking all year.
With the covered telephone service, the optimized booking engine and booming domestic tourism, we allow ourselves the license to recover and enjoy our Motivation Day. We had done our homework, the hotels felt very well cared for and they were finally breathing again. We could not neglect ourselves , but there were clear signs of recovery.
So much so that, inevitably, we began to focus on the next big event that the sector would have to face: FITUR 2022. Our wish was that those who decided to attend would do so prepared as never before. To this end, we launched the ITV of booking engines , an initiative named PreFitur Paraty Academy, consisting of 7 training sessions, during which we reviewed each and every one of the functionalities available to our engine customers: module for travel agencies , Paraty E-Payments collection system , different types of bonuses , loyalty clubs , Business Intelligence , upselling and cross-sell ling , offers and packages , etc.
Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold and, once again, the most popular International Tourism Fair in the world will once again have Covid-19 as the protagonist. The contagions are, as the media strive to highlight, skyrocketing. The Omicron variant is already the dominant one and we are once again facing a Christmas holiday marked by the Coronavirus. Everything indicates that in January things will be better for us than they are now. If anything, worse.
Now let's be very clear. It is up to us to act responsibly. Whether Fitur is a success or a failure depends on us. Ifema is clear about it: they are going forward. And the rest? We will be doing the union, and the exhibitors who have ventured to invest in this new edition (like us), a disservice if we stage a mass fright. It is possible to hold a face-to-face event with guarantees, adopting the relevant preventive measures. You just have to want. Let's make it possible together.
Be that as it may, at Paraty Tech we will continue to adapt, train, create, and inform. Thank you all very much for this year as complicated as it is fascinating.
After a month of training, PreFitur Paraty Academy comes to an end. Today, starting at 11:30 a.m., David Madrigal will give the last webinar: "PreFitur Academy: Offers and Packages". Register now!
Seven formations distributed throughout a little less than a month. That is the balance of PreFitur Paraty Academy, an initiative that comes to an end today, leaving us with a very good taste in our mouths. We know that day to day consumes all of us and, despite this, attendance at each of the sessions has been more than respectable. If we have managed to make it clearer to you now what resources you have just for being clients of the Paraty Tech booking engine, then we have fulfilled the objective of this initiative. You still have almost 2 months to get your engine ready for FITUR, the first big event of 2022. This year, by the way, we are opening our new location and you can find us at Stand 8C04, in the central corridor of Hall 8.
In today's session, David Madrigal will explain why with the Paraty Tech engine you can sell exactly as you want, thanks to the novelties, and the usual functionalities, of our offer and package modules, the latter being unique in the market.
In addition, it will present two new functionalities that make the creation of offers the easiest of tasks, in addition to turning them into an interesting incentive for sales. We are talking, on the one hand, about the pre-designed offers module and, on the other, about offers with a built-in countdown. The first of them allows you to activate recurring offers, with the highest level of configuration, in a few clicks. The second, activate a countdown in the offers to urge the guest to book. A very especially useful resource in campaigns characterized by an attitude of compulsive buying, such as the recently concluded Black Friday campaign.
We do not extend much more, we prefer that you see all this in action. Don't forget to register for the latest PreFitur Paraty Academy webinar. Do it now through this link . It will be today, in an hour, starting at 11:30.
Thank you all very much for your attendance at the different training sessions of PreFitur Paraty Academy.
The main source of income for a hotel is the sale of rooms. But we are not revealing the wheel by stating that it is not the only one and, depending on the hotel, the complementary services can make a very important contribution.
In addition, the moment of purchase can condition, and a lot, the choice of the guest at all levels. Thus, the type of room you choose, the diet that accompanies the accommodation or the additional services that complete the reservation will often be determined by the buyer's mental, economic and personal situation. It is not the same to book at the beginning of the month than to do it at the end, nor is it the same to book in January, when we have just made a large outlay during the Christmas season, than to do it in March. And what about the sun? We handle data that confirms that good weather translates into optimism and this favors the willingness to buy.
As we already saw in the "PreFitur Academy: Business Intelligence" webinar, the booking engine is a valuable source of information that can contribute, and a lot, to the success in developing our upselling and cross-selling strategies. For example, we can easily identify which boards or rooms are most in demand based on the market of origin, the lead time of our different targets, which segments are more likely to consume extras, etc., and based on all this data, propose actions that help us increase the value of reservations before, during and after the stay.
The moment chosen by the guest to book his vacation, his getaway or his business trip, is not the only sales opportunity that we must exploit and, the better we know him, the easier it will be to make him feel special and understood. Valdas Tverijonas, Key Account Manager, will talk about all this on Thursday, November 25, from 11:30 a.m., in the penultimate PreFitur Academy webinar, “Upselling, upgrades and cross-selling. We start in a while, which means you still have time to register.
How does it work?
Let's start by differentiating concepts to fully understand the topics that we will address in this new training session:
Upselling: we offer the customer who has already booked a service the possibility of booking a better service. For example, if you have booked a Standard Double, we invite you to exchange it for a Superior, paying the difference. Or if you have chosen AD, we can try to get you to change the regime to MP.
Cross-selling: we offer associated services to customers who have already booked a service at our hotel. For example, if you have already reserved a room, we can invite you to buy parking, a spa session or breakfast. Additional services, in other words. It is common to offer them in the second step of the reservation process, after choosing the room.
Upgrade: we must understand upgrades as a type of offer, that is, a technique to encourage purchase and build loyalty, through which the guest will enjoy a better service than what they have paid for. We will be doing an upgrade if we leave you a Superior at the price of a Standard Double or we offer MP at the price of AD.
Therefore, in short, they are all marketing techniques that, according to a certain business rule, seek to increase the value of the reservation and the total income of the establishment. And, as we already mentioned, we can use them before the purchase (by communicating the promotions we have in force on our official website), during the purchase (in the step corresponding to the choice of additional services or through the implementation of active retargeting tools), during the stay (being the hotel staff, or some type of automated communication, in charge of offering a certain service), and even after it, as a loyalty mechanism, seeking to build a repeat guest profile.
With the Paraty Tech booking engine you can put these techniques into practice to sell what interests you the most, how and when it suits you best:
Additional Services: you can use the second step of the booking process to upsell, cross-sell or upgrade. There is room for everything you want: from a box of chocolates, to the entrance to visit a monument, through a room or diet upgrade, a spa session, parking, theming, a transfer, etc. You decide what to sell, how far in advance, in what range of dates, at what price (per stay, person, night, free, etc.), the space available, etc.
Newsletters: Take advantage of the segmentation of your database to offer each segment what you know they like. Newsletters are very effective for informing, but the opening and click rates improve a lot when you communicate offers or discounts. Make use of them to remember certain additional services available to you, but, above all, so that your potential guests can benefit from your promotions. Upgrades, for example, work very well in newsletters and their segmentation capacity is very high.
Pre-Stay Email: probably the most effective resource at your disposal for upselling. You decide the periodicity of this shipment (7, 3 and 1 day(s) before arrival, for example), in which you can configure the additional services or upsellings that you consider appropriate. Thus, if the guest booked a Standard room in January, a few days before their stay, planned for July, you can suggest changing it for a Superior room, or invite them to complete it with an excursion. Probably, a few hours after enjoying your vacation, your mood is skyrocketing and you are more willing to spend.
Birthday greeting email: we all love to be remembered on our birthday. Use the birthday greeting email to lower the price of a certain additional service (downselling) or offer an upgrade, via promocode, for the next reservation. Your guest will highly appreciate this initiative and will probably spend more when they stay at your hotel again.
Online Check In: online check in, due to the Pandemic, has gained many followers, opening a new door for sales. Take advantage of the fact that your guest accesses your online check-in system to up-sell and cross-sell.
Loyalty Clubs: you have gotten them to join your club, a great first step. Now you must take advantage of that segmentation to do preferential upselling and cross-selling. Reward loyalty to offer upgrades, additional services with limited availability or at a better price, etc. You can do it via login (once the guest is identified as a member of the club) or with a simple newsletter.
As you can see, the options are endless. During this training, we will not only tell you everything you can do, but we will teach you how to configure it yourself, so that you acquire the degree of autonomy that you demand. The benefits of implementing a good upselling and cross-selling strategy are many.
Benefits for the hotelier
Ultimately, upselling and cross-selling aim to increase the total revenue of the establishment. But there are more implicit benefits:
Build loyalty: when applied properly, all these techniques will make your guest perceive your interest in improving their experience, encouraging them to repeat.
Strengthen lines of business: launch new lines of business and use your direct channel to boost sales, helping to increase the value of reservations.
Improve the guest experience: the more variety, richness and quality you are able to offer the guest, the better their experience in your establishment will be.
Increase ADR: a correct upselling and cross-selling strategy will help you increase your ADR.
Increase your revenue: the higher the ADR, the more total income. Exploit the profitability of your establishment.
Don't you have additional services? Remember to ask us about Transfers & Experiences, the latest member of the Paraty World family. Integrate your catalog of products and services with your booking engine and get ready to see how your income grows without worrying about anything: excursions, tickets, transfers, car rental, exclusive experiences, etc.
Do not miss the webinar "PreFitur Academy: Upgrades, upselling and cross-selling", on Thursday, November 25 from 11:30 a.m., with Valdas Tverijonas. Register now!
You already have our booking engine and you know that it converts very well. Up there, everyone agrees. But surely we also agree on another fundamental issue: there is always room for improvement.
And for this, we are very aware of the importance of having data: in real time, in the future, by periods, year over year, sales, demand, segmented, etc.
Probably the main contribution of our Business Intelligence (BI) system has to do with the degree of optimization of the booking engine that it makes available to you. This is of extraordinary value because it directly translates into an indisputable increase in direct reserves.
All the activity of the booking engine is collected in the BI, which facilitates the detailed analysis of the behavior of the users on your website: what they are looking for, what room, occupancy or regime they reserve, when and for when, through what device, how far in advance, from what market, benefiting from what offer or promocode, etc. Information is, ultimately, knowledge. From your potential buyers, from your guests.
In addition, a feature that we always highlight in any of our tools also plays a leading role in our BI: flexibility. Starting from a common base, we could talk about multiple BIs, understood as dashboards and varied readings, tailored to your interests, your needs and your product. Each hotel, hotel chain, is unique. The BI, somehow, too.
Sales and availability
We tend to give our full attention to sales. It's normal, we can't blame ourselves for it. But… what about what is not sold? What about the unsatisfied demand? Through its study, it is possible to achieve the goal that every hotelier, web and engine pursues: non-availability equal to zero. For this reason, from the moment we decided to undertake the renovation of our BI, we were very clear that sales and demand had to be equally important. And it is that making changes that, gradually, reduce the searches that do not offer results, exponentially multiplies the conversion of the booking engine.
Next, we will list the main indicators reflected in the different views of the BI. To find out more, we invite you to register for the webinar that David Madrigal will give this afternoon, starting at 4:30 p.m., within the framework of the PreFitur Academy. Last call! You can register here.
Main KPIs of Paraty Tech Business Intelligence
If you represent a hotel chain, the first thing you should know is that you can consult all the data that we present below by hotel or as a whole, for the specific period that you decide. If, on the other hand, you represent an independent establishment, you will only have to go to the trouble of setting the date range.
Main Dashboard: at a glance, the most relevant information.
Bookings
Revenue
Room nights
ADR
Conversion rate
Cancellations (number and value)
Sales and On the Books: we are going into a little more detail, analyzing these same data, but also paying attention to On the Books and the travel window of all the reservations made in a certain period.
On the Books: understanding navigation through the BI as a delving into different depth layers, in this view On the Books would be analyzed in detail by month, and making a comparison with the previous year, which also includes cancellations.
Markets: Where do your guests and the searches of your potential customers come from? Different tables and graphs provide us with this information, relating it to ADR, sales and Lead Time.
Other data: a bit like a mixed bag, this view collects data of great interest such as: Device or channel (call center, web, mobile, Tablet, goals, agency, etc.)
Offers
Promo codes
Room typology
Nutritional regimen
Demand and Pick Up: Tables that include the searches carried out 60 and 365 days ahead, establishing a relationship between the satisfied demand, the unsatisfied demand and the Pick Up, and comparing these figures with those of the previous year, influencing whether the non-availability was due to:
The absence of fees charged
Stay restrictions
Etc.
Unsatisfied demand due to stay restrictions: once again, the origin of the non-availability is delved into, in this case focusing on the minimum stay restrictions, compared with the immediately previous month.
As we were moving forward, this would just be the base. From here, the BI goes as far as you want it to go:
Additional services
Detailed analysis of offers
Control of the minimum stay
Control and analysis of rates
Daily monitoring of sales
Conversion funnel
Call center performance
Performance of tools like Parity Maker
Non-availability due to capacities
Etc.
Benefits for the hotelier of having our Business Intelligence system
Talking about the benefits of having a Business Intelligence system may sound like listing evidence, but the truth is that many clients do not fully exploit their potential as we do, for example, the entire team of Paraty Tech revenue managers, for whom this BI is a mandatory tool in our day to day.
Identify demand trends
Get to know our potential client in depth
Identify strengths
Correct weaknesses
Exploit or discard markets or channels
Improve our product
Segment at the highest level
360º vision
Optimize revenue strategy
To achieve, in short, offer a solution to each request so that, ultimately, our potential guest always has the possibility of staying. Whether you decide to do it or not, the goal is to get them to depend on him/her, not on the shortcomings of the booking engine.
If you want to know more about our Business Intelligence system, we are waiting for you this afternoon at PreFitur Academy, with David Madrigal, starting at 4:30 p.m. Sign up!
Loyalty is a trend. The Pandemic has undoubtedly provided an opportunity in this regard.
Those hotel establishments that, despite the difficulties, have been able to live up to the task, showing themselves to be flexible, understanding and empathetic when it comes to offering solutions to the problems and concerns of their guests, in many cases, beyond their control, have taken a giant step in terms of loyalty.
But this actually comes from much earlier. Traditionally, loyalty clubs have been associated, fundamentally, with large hotel chains. We are referring to the classic programs for accumulating points or nights per stay. However, gradually they have been extended to all types of establishments, to the point of making their implementation almost an obligation.
Loyalty clubs are an effective resource for generating positive disparities, justifying preferential booking conditions and direct channel privileges, and maintaining a one-on-one relationship with guests, making them feel special before, during, and after their stay. The key is to have an affiliation operation and mechanics appropriate to the characteristics of each establishment. Not all hotels require, nor does it work for all, the same loyalty program.
Not only is it much more expensive to get a new customer than a repeat customer, but the figures that the latter leave behind speak for themselves:
The repeat customer spends up to 23% more
Repeat customers book stays up to 30% longer
The repeat customer buys up to 10 times more
Repeat customers, or what is the same, loyal guests are a growth locomotive and exponentially multiply profits. It is worth giving them as much attention as possible and allocating resources to ensure that every customer who stays at our hotel, wherever they have arrived, leaves the door wanting to come back and convinced that the direct channel is the most appropriate to satisfy their interests and needs.
At Paraty Tech we have 5 predesigned loyalty programs, designed to meet the needs of the vast majority of establishments. Even so, we also have the ability to complete them with suggestions for improvement or additional features, and even design them to measure. They all pursue the following common objectives:
Segment
Strengthen ties
Differentiate
Foster feelings of loyalty and commitment
Increase profitability
Below, we will briefly tell you what they consist of, as a preview of what you will be able to see in detail tomorrow, November 18, starting at 11:30 a.m., in the webinar "PreFitur Academy: Clubs and Loyalty Programs", given by Silvia Muñoz. You can sign up here!
PRIVILEGE CLUB
Designed for those who offer privileges designed to be enjoyed during the stay.
CLUB PROMO PLUS
Reward your guest's reservation by offering them a discount promocode, sent on the day of checkout, for use in future reservations. You can establish different discounts according to the value of the original reservation.
CLUB RATE PLUS
Create a special rate for members and display it in a separate tab in the search results of your booking engine. The user will only need one click to join and be able to complete the reservation benefiting from the best price.
CLUB POINTS PRO
The user registers and from that moment begins to accumulate points with each reservation.
You decide the equivalence in euros of each point and the guest will be able to use that virtual money in hotel services or allocate it to the use that you decide when defining the club's operating mechanics.
You can establish levels based on the number of points and associate different benefits to each level (reservation discounts, discounts on hotel services, courtesy gifts, etc.)
Countdown to reset points
Microsite
virtual wallet
Customer Area (guest) and Management Panel (hotelier)
CLUB NIGHTS PRO
The classic program of accumulation of nights, taken to the maximum level of personalization.
You can establish levels based on the number of nights and associate different benefits to each level (reservation discounts, discounts on hotel services, courtesy gifts, etc.)
Countdown to the reset of the nights
Microsite
virtual wallet
Customer Area (guest) and Management Panel (hotelier)
Benefits for the hotelier of having a loyalty Club
Definitely, the customer who adheres to a loyalty program is a potential repeater. He has shown interest in the brand and wants to continue to be part of it, which translates into a great opportunity in terms of profitability.
Promotes the acquisition of new customers
Promotes the consolidation of repeat customers
Makes the guest feel special before, during and after the stay
Provides segmentation and customer knowledge
It allows generating positive disparities with the OTAS
Increase guest spend
Increase the revenue of your establishment
If you want to know more about our Loyalty Clubs, we remind you that you can register here for the webinar that we will give tomorrow, starting at 11:30 a.m.
Perhaps the only two things that the functionalities we will see below have in common are, on the one hand, the inclusion of the word "bonus," and on the other, their contribution to the increase in direct sales.
Enough to gather them in an article that explains their benefits and how to configure them. After all, they all add value, enhance the guest experience, and offer alternative ways to travel under the best possible conditions.
Gift Vouchers: giving experiences is a trend
Allowing the gift of a stay or a specific service from your establishment is, in essence, offering the possibility of giving an experience. Increasingly, people seek to surprise others on occasions such as birthdays, holidays, Valentine's Day, anniversaries, etc. Turning your hotel into the perfect gift is straightforward by adding the Gift Vouchers functionality to your engine. This opens the door to new ways of boosting direct bookings, expanding your potential customer base to people who might not have been considering traveling.
Can you imagine how many people could visit your hotel's website if a section of it were properly positioned in search engines for keywords like "unique gifts," "special gifts," "gifting experiences," or "Valentine's Day gifts"? Gift Vouchers also serve as a mechanism to generate quality traffic, increase the visibility of your establishment, and exponentially multiply the likelihood of generating new sales. If you can meet the expectations of both the "gift giver" and the "recipient," you will have gained two potential future guests and, in the process, two new advocates for your product. Word of mouth is a powerful loyalty resource.
How it works
It all starts with creating a specific section on your hotel's official website, properly promoted throughout the site. The buyer fills in the recipient's details, following the normal booking process, and both receive the confirmation email. That's how simple it is.
In addition to those looking for an original or special gift for their partner, family, or friend, ensure that anyone arriving at your direct channel, for whatever reason, leaves knowing that your product is also available as a gift. From there, the configuration parameters allow you to customize this marketing method to the fullest:
Two-step purchasing process
Custom design
Economic amounts of predetermined or free-choice reservations
Custom validity date
Separation of the buyer's and recipient's confirmation emails
Text field for a congratulatory message
Possibility to add incentives (e.g., x euros gift for every euro spent)
Possibility to gift stays and/or services
Scheduled delivery of the gift voucher to the recipient
Compatible with payment gateways, Bizum, etc.
Benefits for the hotelier
Another way to increase direct sales: appeals to both travelers and gift buyers
Differentiating factor: stand out from the competition with this functionality
Destabilizing element: can enable this functionality for low-demand dates or seasons
Direct channel traffic generator: your hotel will gain visibility for a broader spectrum of potential customers
Spontaneous advocate generator: both the buyer and the recipient will recommend your establishment if satisfied with the experience
Refundable Vouchers: build guest loyalty without facing financial refunds
Developed during the pandemic to cope with the surge of cancellations, this functionality has not lost its utility and remains of great interest to hoteliers. We face a strange scenario where the reasons for travelers to cancel can sometimes be beyond their control. However, the hotel should not be forced to make refunds that it is not entitled to, nor should it risk losing a guest forever due to dissatisfaction with poor cancellation management. This is where Refundable Vouchers come into play.
How it works
Let's consider the following situation. A customer makes a non-refundable reservation. In theory, they cannot cancel it because they have benefited from a better price by choosing that rate. However, restrictions in their country of origin or the destination country prevent them from traveling on the scheduled dates.
The hotel faces a difficult decision here. It can wash its hands, stick to the conditions of the contracted cancellation policy, pocket the reservation money, and deal with a dissatisfied customer who probably won't return to an establishment that did not offer alternatives to a problem beyond their control.
Or, on the contrary, it can be flexible and opt for an intermediate approach. That is, not refunding the money but offering the possibility to postpone the trip by providing a voucher for the same economic value as the amount paid, for use in a future reservation. This way, everyone wins. The customer doesn't feel like they've wasted money, and knowing that no refund was due, they will be very satisfied with the hotel's stance and highly value its willingness to help. Maximum-level loyalty.
Moreover, the hotel ensures the payment of the reservation, avoids having to refund money it had already counted on (crucial given the current cash flow needs of establishments), and has a resource to minimize the impact of possible waves of cancellations, as they have already experienced. Of course, the configuration parameters of these vouchers allow the hotelier to plan according to their needs and interests:
Custom design
Language selection
Amount
Discounts (percentage or amount of the total, percentage or amount per night of the reservation, etc.)
Single-use Promocode
Validity date
Applicable rates
Location, query, and modification
Location and detailed query of the reservation where it has been applied
Benefits for the hotelier
Avoid facing refunds
Maintain direct contact with the customer
Ensure revenue from canceled or postponed reservations
Minimize the impact of cancellations
Loyalty by adopting a flexible attitude
Tourism Vouchers: benefit from your community's tourism vouchers
The lack of demand due to the pandemic has led many destinations to launch tourism vouchers as an economic incentive to promote travel reactivation. The protocols imposed by different autonomous communities vary greatly, making it a cumbersome process for both the hotel and the tourist in many cases.
At Paraty Tech, we have done everything possible to integrate these protocols with the official website's booking engine. Thus, if the Andalusian Voucher required the intermediation of a travel agency, we quickly reached an agreement with a local company. This allowed guests to book normally through the hotel's direct channel, even though the reservation was being managed by an agency internally, complying with the legal requirements to benefit from the voucher's associated privileges.
Automating and facilitating such processes favors hotels that decide to implement this functionality, placing them ahead of others when guests decide on accommodation. In this regard, communication becomes more important than ever to ensure that all potential customers are aware that a particular hotel supports or encourages the use of tourism vouchers.
Even in cases where it is not possible to fully integrate the protocol with the booking process, it is useful to employ social media, newsletters, or website banners to direct guests to where they should register and inform them clearly of the requirements their reservation must meet to become eligible for the voucher (e.g., the Valencian Voucher requires a minimum of two nights' accommodation and a maximum half-board regime).
How it works
As mentioned earlier, the configuration and implementation of this functionality depend on the autonomous community where the establishment is located. It's best to get in touch with us to explain how it specifically works in your destination. In some cases, it simply involves informing that the establishment is affiliated and facilitating the registration process for voucher use. In others, it involves configuring and activating certain parameters, but don't worry; we take care of everything. Some of the vouchers we have worked with include:
Andalusian Tourism Voucher
Viatgem Comunidad Valenciana
Bonus Turístic per a Residents Illes Balears
Tarjeta Turística “Quedamos en Galicia”
Euskadi Turismo Bono
Bono Turístico Aragonés
Bonos Turísticos de Extremadura
Bono Canario
Benefits for the hotelier
Stimulate demand
Helping always leads to loyalty
Destabilize by increasing occupancy in low or mid-season
Increase traffic by becoming a reliable source of information
Increase direct sales by offering all facilities for booking
If you want to expand this information and see some examples, don't miss the webinar:
"Pre-Fitur Academy: Refundable, Gift, and Tourism Vouchers", November 16, 11:30 a.m. You can register by clicking here!
Compliance with PCI DSS and PSD2 Regulations, Rise of Flexible Rates over Virtually Extinct Non-Refundable Rates, Rapid Acceleration of Digitalization...
We have experienced many changes, too fast, and having a payment management system that responds to a range of new needs has become practically essential for any hotelier.
For each functionality, there are undoubtedly multiple providers. However, if you are looking for a single provider capable of offering them all, that's a different story. At Paraty Tech, we strive daily to embody that partner profile, capable of adapting to market changes in real-time through the implementation of adaptive technologies.
So, when circumstances required it, we got to work to launch, in record time, our own payment system, integrated with our Paraty Hotel Manager extranet, and compatible with any payment gateway. This system ensures transaction security, compliance with current regulations, reduces the likelihood of fraud, and facilitates the management and monitoring of the overall payment status. We call it Paraty E-Payments, a resource at your disposal as a customer of our booking engine.
How It Works
Paraty E-Payments is, in five words, a payment management system. Nothing more, nothing less. Fully integrated with the booking engine, it allows you to check all reservations and their payment status (total amount, amount paid, and pending amount).
On the other hand, it allows you to create payment rules with multiple configuration parameters, based on various criteria:
Payment on the website or scheduled payment
For specific rates or cancellation policies
By date range or number of days before arrival
Full or partial payments (number of nights or percentage of the total)
And more.
Finally, it allows comprehensive management of pending payments and refunds. The status of each reservation is always available at a glance, with multiple filters to locate one or more reservations (reservation ID, name and surname, booking window, travel window, etc.).
Paraty E-Payments is compatible with any payment gateway that has a tokenization system and strictly complies with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2) regulations, minimizing the risk of fraud and chargebacks.
Here are some of its main features:
Creation of payment rules: you decide how your guests can pay for reservations based on the selected rate, cancellation conditions, reservation timing, etc.
Check the payment status of reservations: easily review the amount paid and the pending amount for existing reservations.
Generation and sending of payment links: at any time, you can generate a link for the payment of the total or a part of the pending amount. Use it to expedite processes during check-in.
Processing of payments: thanks to card tokenization during the booking process, you can make payments at any time, especially useful if the guest contracts any services after the reservation or if you need to charge a penalty for a no-show or late cancellation.
Processing of refunds: given the widespread use of flexible or semi-flexible rates, you may have to deal with refunds for cancellations within the deadline, which you can manage very easily with Paraty E-Payments.
Check the payment history: see when, and by what method, payments for a specific reservation were made.
Benefits for Hoteliers with Paraty E-Payments
Flexibility, security, agility, centralization, and process automation are the main benefits for hoteliers with a payment system like Paraty E-Payments, integrated into the extranet of their booking engine. But let's delve into the details:
1. Flexibility
You, and only you, decide how and when your reservations are paid.
2. Security
Forget about complying with PSD2 and PCI DSS.
Minimize fraud and chargebacks.
Stay informed with email alerts.
3. Agility
Streamlined and simple processes within a system with a look & feel you're already familiar with.
4. Centralization
Payments, refunds, inquiries, etc., within the extranet of your booking engine.
Reduced number of providers.
5. Process Automation
Paraty E-Payments automatically integrates with your booking engine.
Simplifies the work of the revenue manager.
Reduces the workload for staff in certain hotel departments.
Saves time and resources.
Want to see Paraty E-Payments in action? Don't miss tomorrow's webinar, as part of the PreFitur Paraty Academy training sessions.
Because that is, above all, what telephone service represents: loyalty in the strict sense.
A little less than two years have passed since the happy Coronavirus decided to break into our lives to turn everything upside down. Fear and uncertainty took over the sector and settled in the traveler's mind, changing their habits and transforming the way they had been relating to tourist accommodation. The OTAs, especially those in the second line of battle, lost weight, and the direct channel became the main source of consultation and reservation.
At a time of unprecedented overflow for hotels, given the avalanche of cancellations and inquiries, a tourist profile was imposed that demanded, more than ever, first-hand information, trust, closeness and security. A very hard time, but also a unique opportunity to win guests for life. And there we were, giving the call, doing the coverage, showing ourselves patient, giving off empathy and imparting encouragement. Because it is much easier to answer a call from a happy client, eager to travel and determined to book, than to face a demand crisis like the one we have been through. And, without a doubt, we have lived up to it.
It is not surprising, therefore, that at Ring2Travel we are celebrating. Not even in our most optimistic predictions could we have guessed that as of today, November 9, 2021, we would have reached the beautiful figure of 20,000 conversation hours with our (your) customers.
Sometimes we release data, but we do not stop to reflect on it. On this occasion, we wanted to do a nice calculation exercise to understand and explain, in a very graphic way, the magnitude of this figure. And the truth is that the results have been, to say the least, surprising.
20,000 hours of telephone service is equivalent, for example, to spending 833 days talking non-stop. To swallow more than 13,000 classics (Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona) without getting up to go to the bathroom. To go around the world almost 300 times in a Boeing or to read Don Quixote up to 900 times. Almost nothing.
20,000 hours of unprecedented requests (this is for a separate book), information and reservations. But above all, it has been 20,000 hours of hotel brand reinforcement, personalized support for guests, for whom we dedicate ourselves and to whom we aspire to offer, every day, an excellent, unique booking experience.
20,000 hours of work that have automatically translated into a constant flow of data inputs of extraordinary value, essential to better understand our customers. Can you imagine the millions of data that are extracted from each call? From the reason, to the source of the same, going through the city of origin of the interlocutor, their motivations and interests, or such basic and important issues, such as simply knowing if they have contacted us for a specific campaign that they have seen on a social network. Pure gold. Big Data. Big words.
Still, this wheel does not stop. There are still days to end the year and very relevant dates for direct sales. In fact, we've been preparing for the November and December events for weeks. We are referring, obviously, to the Black Friday, December Bank Holiday and Christmas campaigns. Very demanding milestones that inevitably lead us to review our “to do list”:
Do you have a well-segmented database of your potential guests?
Have you evaluated any email marketing or SMS action for the Black Friday campaign?
Have you already communicated to your guests the New Year's Eve Menu?
The data: since mid-September, we have already begun to receive the first requests for Christmas, so the most advanced hotels have achieved conversions above 30%, beyond the reach of any other channel.
We want to take this opportunity to remind you that we are still here, that we are at your entire disposal and that we can help you close the year in the best possible way, and also start selling 2022 like never before, as always: in advance and with guarantees. But, above all, we want to convey our gratitude for the trust placed in our agents. 20,000 thanks from the Ring2Travel team.
The weight of travel agencies in distribution is undeniable. Hotels and hotel chains are well aware of this, accustomed to receiving daily quote requests from agencies interested in including their establishments in their catalogs of offers and packages.
Conscious of this situation and immersed in a constant search for new ways to enhance the direct channel, at Paraty Tech, we have developed the Travel Agencies Module. Fully integrated with the official website's booking engine, this functionality allows hoteliers to automate this cumbersome process, freeing their teams from this task so they can focus on what truly matters. After all, technological innovation should precisely replace humans to improve operations and services where the human factor doesn't necessarily add value.
How it Works
Travel Agencies Registration Form
Travel Agencies Booking Process
Simplified, the Travel Agencies Module translates into a section on the official website through which travel agencies can quickly and easily register, identify themselves as such, and then start selling directly through the direct channel with conditions predefined via the configuration panel, accessible through Paraty Hotel Manager, the backend of our booking engine.
Throughout the booking process, the agency will have the commission percentage visible, also being able to check the price of their search and the amount in euros that the sale would represent.
From here, the options are endless. Let's explore them in detail.
Quick and Easy Registration Process
Through the Agencies Section: Travel agencies access the Agencies section of the official website and fill out the registration form. With each registration, the hotelier receives a notification via email. It is solely their decision to determine if the registration requires further validation. If so, the agency is informed that their request is being processed, and the hotelier only needs to access the list of registrations in the configuration panel and change its status from "pending" to "active."
Through the Configuration Panel: In addition to validating new registrations, from the configuration panel, the hotelier can also manually add agencies, delete them, change their status, edit their data, and modify, at any time, the sales conditions, payments, cancellation policies, rates, etc.
Configuration Panel
Configuration of Conditions
Generic: The hotelier has the option to set, in a generic way, the same sales conditions for all agencies, including the commission percentage, net or retail, rates, regimes, rooms, occupancy, stay restrictions, payment methods and deadlines, booking window, etc.
Specific: The hotelier can also configure all these parameters on an individual basis for each agency. This alternative offers the highest degree of possible control.
Combined: The third option involves establishing generic conditions for all agencies but manually modifying only those of interest for any reason.
If the hotelier also has our payment platform, Paraty E-Payments, they can manage everything related to the collection of agency reservations through it (tokenization, installment and deferment, status control, sending links for payment, etc.).
Queries and Searches
In the administration panel, the hotelier has a search system with filters to locate agencies and check their reservations and the revenue they have generated.
Reservation Identification
Reservations made by travel agencies are identified as such by the word Agency in the Origin column in the Reservations section of Paraty Hotel Manager.
Downloading Reservations to the Channel / PMS
The identifier for reservations made by agencies is different from direct reservations made by guests. This makes it much easier to identify them for downloading to the channel or PMS.
Confirmation Email
Agency: The agency receives a personalized confirmation email with its details and logo to facilitate the delivery of relevant documentation to its clients.
End Customer: It is also possible to enable a configuration that sends the confirmation email to the end customer, in this case, hiding the price so that the agency enjoys the privacy and autonomy required for its professional activity.
Connection with BI
Like with the rest of the reservations, all agency activity in the booking engine is recorded and monitored in the BI. Information of extraordinary value to identify trends in this sales channel.
Redirects
A feature of Paraty Tech's booking engine is its obsession with achieving zero unavailability. Agencies can also benefit from this and obtain availability for virtually any search, including those where other channels cannot offer it. For example, if they are looking for a quadruple room and the hotel does not have one, the engine will return availability by offering two double rooms.
Benefits for the Hotelier
Well-managed, the role of agencies can be very profitable. Certainly, facilitating their registration, consultation, and booking processes through the direct channel can encourage an increase in the number of agencies interested in marketing a particular establishment, with the potential for increased sales. But there is more.
Accurate and Up-to-Date Information: No channel has the level of updating that the direct channel offers, by definition, the most carefully maintained by establishments.
Inventory Available Only in the Direct Channel: Certain rooms will only be available in the direct channel. Agencies can benefit from this circumstance, and hotels find in them an additional sales avenue.
Absolute Control Over Prices: If agencies search directly in the direct channel, you prevent them from offering erroneous quotes obtained from pirate channels.
Ease and immediacy in managing this intermediary profile: Hotels optimize dealings with this intermediary, and communication between agencies and the hotel becomes more agile and fluid.
Maximum Autonomy for Agencies: Unless the hotelier is interested in validating new registrations, agencies can start selling, unaided, in a matter of minutes.
Workload Reduction for Hotel Staff: The automation of this process translates into valuable time savings.
Greater Visibility of the Direct Channel: The fact that agencies offer a particular hotel to their clients ensures that they visit the official website to learn more before making a purchase decision.
More Traffic to the Official Website: Greater visibility means more traffic. Not only from potential buyers but also from those with whom they share their experience in the hotel.
Better Organic Positioning: Organic search engine positioning essentially relies on visits and links. It will undoubtedly benefit as the number of agency registrations increases.
If you want to learn more about the Travel Agencies Module and see it in action, don't miss the webinar:
“Pre-Fitur Academy: Travel Agencies and Companies Module”, November 9, 11:30 a.m.
Just as we tend to take vehicles for inspection before the periodic ITV, reservation engines also need a tune-up to ensure that everything is working properly and benefiting from the latest updates.
This is the concept behind PreFitur Paraty Academy. We want your reservation engine to reach the maximum level of optimization, and you to achieve the highest degree of autonomy possible, to arrive at FITUR 2022, one of the most important events next year, or at least be informed of all our news for upcoming events at Ifema. By the way, we take this opportunity to inform you that we already have an assigned location in our beloved Pavilion 8, in the central aisle, Stand 8C04.
What PreFitur Paraty Academy is all about
In essence, PreFitur Paraty Academy, which will run throughout the month of November, consists of a series of training sessions, specifically 7, in an interactive open-mic webinar format, meaning you can intervene whenever you want to clarify doubts, plan questions, etc.
We will take a thorough journey through the most special tools that we offer with the Paraty Tech reservation engine. The idea is to showcase them from the outside (guest perspective) and from the inside (customer perspective, extranet user), so that you not only get to know them in-depth but also understand how they work and learn how to use them. This initiative is therefore exclusively directed at professionals in the hotel industry.
Next, we will share the dates on which the webinars will take place. To get you started, each theme will be accompanied by an explanatory article on the functionality in question, which will be published one day before its respective session.
How to enroll in PreFitur Paraty Academy
You can now start organizing your schedule! To attend, you just have to register with the official email of your establishment for the webinar(s) that interest you the most. One day before and one hour before each webinar you have registered for, you will receive a reminder email. It's that easy.
Agency - Company Module | November 9 | Daniel Sánchez, Chief Revenue Officer
Automated registration process for travel agencies/companies and configuration of specific booking conditions. REGISTER
Paraty E-Payments | November 12 | Daniel Sánchez, Chief Revenue Officer
Our own system for managing reservation payments. REGISTER
Gift vouchers, refunds, and tourist vouchers | November 16 | Valdas Tverijonas, Key Account Manager
Discover the different types of vouchers available and the ideal use of each one. REGISTER
Clubs and loyalty programs | November 18 | Silvia Muñoz, Commercial Director
A tailor-made loyalty club for each type of establishment. REGISTER
Business Intelligence | November 23 | David Madrigal, Chief Operations Officer
Differentiated views with sales and availability modules. REGISTER
Upgrades, upselling & cross-selling | November 25 | Valdas Tverijonas, Key Account Manager
A thousand and one ways to increase the value of your reservations and, therefore, your revenue. REGISTER
Deals and packages | November 30 | David Madrigal, Chief Operations Officer
All the news about configuring deals and packages, pre-designed deals, with counters, etc. REGISTER
Feel free to contact your account to get more information. Let's get started!
At Paraty Tech, we are more inclined towards direct human interaction, resolving issues on the spot, and providing immediate attention. All departments of the company are involved in this effort.
Although we maintain constant contact with our clients, we periodically like to travel to visit them, especially those who are not nearby. The purpose of these visits is to greet them face to face and, in the process, analyze the product, review the results obtained, identify opportunities, address possible shortcomings, and ultimately gauge their satisfaction with the service they receive.
We won't divulge details, but we take pride in acknowledging that the positive feedback received in recent meetings reveals that this is the right path. Almost a decade ago, we made the correct decision to embrace a customer-centric philosophy that doesn't differentiate based on the establishment's category or revenue. Our commitment to technology and customer service has always been at the forefront as our key strengths and identity markers.
It is assumed that a company of our caliber has powerful, adaptive, and efficient technology. However, in our case, a significant competitive advantage is that all our solutions are 100% in-house and developed entirely in-house, eliminating dependence on third parties.
However, the real difference between providers can come from unexpected places. Customer service, the willingness to invest resources in improvement requests, and the support provided in resolving technical issues can be a definitive differentiator.
We have drawn various conclusions from our recent visits:
More hoteliers are demanding, almost expecting, quicker response times.
Working with tickets may be convenient for the provider, but not necessarily for the hotel.
Particular requests benefit all hotels in the end, not just the one making the request.
A "yes" attitude creates positive feelings and enhances the fluidity in client-provider relationships.
We increasingly understand that, in the success of a business model like ours, customer service, the human factor, plays a decisive role. But what are the keys to it?
Assigned Account & Revenue Manager: At the moment the contract is signed, a product is assigned an account & revenue manager. This person becomes the main point of contact for the client, the visible face of the company from day one, responsible for studying the product, configuring it for production, and conducting periodic follow-ups. They analyze and suggest the path to achieve maximum optimization. The account manager accompanies the client from the outset, getting involved as much as the client wants in strategy development and decision-making. In every sense, they act as another member of the hotel team with a fundamental goal in mind: increasing direct sales.
Goodbye Tickets, Hello Immediate Attention: We have never worked with tickets; we prefer to solve things on the spot, addressing their level of urgency. Our clients always have the option to contact us via phone or email, and we also offer other communication channels.
Technical Support 365 Days a Year: This doesn't mean we never rest, but we ensure there is always someone on call to address potential issues, both from the accounts team and other departments. A simple call to the office, and the on-call account will receive the call on their mobile, delegating the task to the appropriate person.
Multiple Communication Channels: You will find us whenever you need us, as incidents don't adhere to schedules and tend to follow Murphy's Law. In addition to traditional channels like phone or email, we have a chat on the website and WhatsApp Business. We even have an unmistakable urgency message for WhatsApp when it's outside office hours: the word "FIRE" activates all alarms, and the on-call staff gets to work to extinguish it as soon as possible.
Training as Autonomy: For those who prefer working independently, all our clients receive training to autonomously handle the contracted solutions. Does that mean the assigned account washes their hands from that point on? Not at all; their work remains unchanged but in the background, without interfering or being invasive. Always ready for when they are called upon. Our goal is to ensure our clients have exactly the level of autonomy they desire, no more and no less.
Particular Requests Translate to General Improvements: Not every company can achieve this, but it's one of the advantages of having our own development tools. We don't hesitate to work on particular requests because each one becomes an improvement available to any other hotel. Each development makes our booking engine a more powerful and complete tool. A "yes" attitude makes us better.
In conclusion, we have a committed, trained, and accessible team aware that hotels and their engines are living entities. Starting them is as important as ensuring they are properly updated. For all this, we are always at your disposal.
Opaque disparities, Genius program, virtual wallet, maximum flexibility in your cancellation policies and the most powerful marketing. Hotels are unknowingly facing the perfect storm. We are talking about Booking.com, your best frienemy.
That the pandemic has given an important boost to direct sales is unquestionable. Guests, immersed in uncertainty, have opted for veracity and non-mediated information. For trust, ultimately. And, in most cases, the direct channel has been able to respond very well to this demand for security and closeness. In fact, communication is probably the biggest success for hotels when it comes to their crisis management.
The consensus in this regard seems widespread, and we have not stopped coming across statements along these lines. The data that we handle confirms this as well. But it is a half-truth, which offers multiple readings, and perhaps the time has come to open Pandora's box.
The reality is the following: although the direct channel has grown, Booking.com has grown even more , which allows it to currently enjoy a greater share of the distribution pie (we have seen cases in which it exceeds 80% of the total) than it was entitled to in the pre-Covid19 era. Unfortunately, this situation is more in line with the feedback we receive from our clients when we meet with them behind closed doors. Happy and restless in equal parts.
The worrying thing is that, if Booking.com continues to grow, and the tour operation is reactivated, where will direct sales be? It is time to act. We must focus our efforts on identifying what we can do to curb this growth, divert a greater percentage of sales to the direct channel and maintain that positive trend that we alluded to earlier, which remains to be seen if it is here to stay or is nothing more than a mirage in the viral desert.
What´s going on?
As we already anticipated in the article "Booking.com kicks off 2021 with a strong footing", published last March, the OTA continues unstoppable in developing actions aimed at attracting new customers and retaining those who have already fallen into their networks. Let's recap some of the ones we've detected to date:
Reservations without risk
Make non-refundable rates flexible
Difficult to detect by the client
The algorithm decides whether to activate it or not based on demand
The hotel has a guaranteed reservation
Booking.com is responsible for covering the gap in case of cancellation
Another door open to price disparities
Its random nature makes the work of the hotelier difficult
It can be easily deactivated from the extranet
Early Payment Benefit
Discount system to solve disparities
The OTA compares the price with other channels before applying them
Camouflaged behind a discount for early payment
It always seeks to offer the best price online
Online payments must be activated on the extranet
BookingBasic
Booking.com offers third-party inventory if they have a better price
They are companies in their group, such as Agoda, Priceline, etc.
It now shows as "Offer from a partner"
Orange and black have been changed to soft bluish tones
Genius
Booking.com loyalty program to offer discounts
Before, 3 reservations were necessary to access
Now it's easier, with direct access promotions
It can be activated temporarily: by registering or logging in, for example
It has an added problem, the virtual wallet, which allows you to add money with each reservation with Booking.com for future stays
The wallet works like another loyalty program
"Snowball" effect: more and more people are hooked
Another novelty: Free Breakfast for Genius
Offers by devices and other variants
Offers displayed only on a certain device
Especially common on mobile devices or in the App
It is also common to activate it for specific dates and/or time slots
Geolocated offers
Offers that attend to the geographical location of the user
Agreements with companies
Banks, energy and fuel companies, supermarkets, etc.
Very opaque offers, difficult to detect
Only accessible to partner customers
The key: disable online payments
The solution to many of these ills, and to others that have to do with Booking.com sacrificing its commission to take the plunge, involves something as simple as deactivating online payments through the extranet. Doing so negates the ability for guests to accumulate credit in the wallet and be able to redeem it on future bookings. This system, which, from our point of view, is the Trojan horse used by the OTA to unleash its piracy actions, triangulates the customer's payment, ceasing to be direct to the hotel, instead managing all the charges . Something that brings more inconveniences than advantages for the hotelier:
The Non-Refundable ones are not charged at the moment, so the treasury does not improve, nor is money received in advance as before.
Charges via virtual card carry a cost (2%-3% depending on the bank).
Collections via transfer are settled between the 1st and 15th of the following month.
The probability of disparity increases, because Booking.com does have the money in advance, so it can afford to partially sacrifice its commission, in addition to taking the opportunity to implement features such as the aforementioned Early Payment Benefit.
In terms of billing, if the guest requests an invoice from the hotel, they will be forced to invoice for an amount greater than the amount received.
Discounts are not easy to spot because they are not always displayed, making it difficult to identify disparities.
Steps to follow to deactivate online payments
The first thing is to make sure that this option is active, through the "Online Payments" option, within the "Administration" section of the Booking.com extranet. If so, we will do the following:
Open the "Establishment" tab
Click on "Terms"
Scroll until you reach the "Customer payment options" section
Click on “Change / Add information”
Select “No” when asked if you want to allow online payments
Important: do not forget to "Save"
To the problems, solutions
Although, one way or another, Booking.com will find the way to continue obtaining the maximum profitability from its platform, there are certain recommendations that can be followed for some of the situations described:
If you want to keep the Reservations without risk program and Online Payments active:
Bet on Semi-flexible rates. With our collection system, Paraty E-Payments, it will be easy for you to manage them.
Offer discounts on the official website.
Use an automated repricing tool like Parity Maker to take the worry out of disparities.
Perform random manual reviews.
Use resources that justify discounts, offering incentives for actions such as subscribing to the newsletter or retracting from abandoning the reservation process (retargeting).
Implement a Loyalty Club, probably the best way to offer the best price in a more than justified way.
Today, September 27, 2021, is World Tourism Day. But not just any day. This year, we prefer to refer to this date as World Tourism Recovery Day.
Yes, we know, the pandemic isn't over, and we mustn't let our guard down. But the data is promising. The vaccine, regardless of the possibility of new doses, is exceeding expectations in fulfilling its mission. And, to be honest, the summer hasn't been as bad as some predicted. At least in Andalusia, where our headquarters are located, the forecasts for our unique and warm autumn are optimistic.
Tourism in our country should always be a reason for celebration. We should be proud of the Spanish brand, each of the destinations that make it up, contributing to its international projection. We should value the efforts of each private company in the sector, and why not, also acknowledge the intentions of public institutions. While we can always expect more (anything less would be complacency), the path forward unquestionably involves direct collaboration between both entities, and the troublesome virus, to some extent, has strengthened these bonds.
Our dependency on tourism has always been criticized. But... what comes first, the chicken or the egg? The entire world is eager to visit us, to experience our beaches, savor our cuisine, stroll through our urban centers, immerse themselves in our heritage and present, absorb our art, get lost in our countryside, delight in our fauna, embrace our hospitality, be captivated by our character, learn from our people and their way of enjoying life. Should we reject our role as hosts? Absolutely not.
We need to further boost this industry. Provide each cog in the machine with all possible resources to continue improving, renewing, and innovating. The goal is excellence, not rejection. The attitude should be one of pride, not embarrassment in the face of this reality. If anything, it's everyone else who Covid-19 has caught off guard. Our presumed dependence on tourism was treated as a rare ailment, but it has revealed itself as the most common of them all. Tourism isn't just Spain's engine; it's the world's engine. And when it stops, everything crumbles.
There's significant room for improvement, that's undeniable. Quality over quantity, resident well-being, sustainability, destigmatization of seasons, and governance, for example, remain challenges in specific areas of our diverse map. But we're on it. We're studying the material extensively, and we'll pass this test with flying colors soon. In fact, many national destinations have already done so and are leading the way today. Others will follow; make no mistake.
The entire sector has shown undeniable signs of extraordinary adaptability, recovery, and resilience, adhering to rules, implementing protocols, enduring restrictions. One concept is always at the forefront: the return of the guest. Tourists, visitors, the moment they set foot on Spanish soil, they become our guests automatically. When they stay, of course, but also when they dine, visit a museum, rent a car, refresh themselves in our seas and rivers, complete a route, and more. We are all hosts. Spain is the host.
On a personal note, we can't hide our joy either. Almost two years later, all of us who were here are still here, and new additions continue to arrive. There was an inevitable sales hiatus, but no one said we couldn't seize the opportunity to capture, to build loyalty, to catch up. At Paraty World, 2020/2021 will always be remembered as a success story, despite the challenges.
Today, feeling more relaxed about how things are progressing, we celebrate tourism again, and we do so in the best way possible during a week when we have plenty of reasons to be satisfied with the work we've done and our contribution to the industry.
On the upcoming days of September 29 and 30, DestinaXtion – Connecting Tourism Players will take place, another contribution to recovery, this time in collaboration with our colleagues at Turobserver. An unprecedented event that has managed to bring together over 300 entities (those lagging behind still have time to register), both public and private, evenly distributed among destinations, tour operators, and technological providers. The event enjoys the unconditional support of two genuine ambassadors of Spanish tourism, Turismo Andaluz and Turismo y Planificación de la Costa del Sol, as well as two pioneering technological providers, Orange and ForwardKeys. We couldn't ask for more.
According to its generic definition, E-commerce refers to nothing other than marketing and selling products or services over the Internet. If we accept this definition, typical hotel marketing would undoubtedly fall within this activity.
However, every online store specialist encounters a very different reality when entering the tourism sector. The first impact they experience, the initial challenge they face, is understanding the significant difference between selling a physical product and shipping it to an address, and selling vacations, getaways, business trips... in essence, selling an experience.
Nevertheless, there is at least one fundamental common point: if I don't have the product, whether it's not in stock, I don't have the requested size, or simply because it's discontinued, it's impossible to sell. Translated to the hotel language, without availability, there are no reservations. A hotel simply cannot afford not to offer availability, no matter what the potential guest is searching for.
Fortunately, all hope is not lost. Unlike other sectors, the hotel industry has the technology to respond instantly to certain requests. We have the capacity to devise solutions that provide valid alternatives in real-time, at the moment of sale. At Paraty Tech, we dedicate a lot of resources to this issue, investing valuable time in analyzing the product so that the concept of "No Availability equals zero" stops being a utopia. This is precisely where our booking engine offers a differential value, ensuring that our clients deliver results to their customers in the maximum number of searches possible. The formula is simple: greater availability leads to a higher conversion rate and more completed reservations.
Who hasn't heard this at least once...
We don't have the "L" size, would you like to try a larger one? Room redirection
When a guest searches for a double room and there's no availability, we can offer them a triple or a family room instead, or a double if they were looking for a single and those are not available either. Fortunately, a room isn't a T-shirt, and the "XL" can fit well, even if they initially asked for an "L". As long as we can offer an occupancy equal to or greater than what was requested, we create a sales opportunity.
We don't have packs of 3, but we can offer you one of 5: minimum stay redirection
During certain seasons of the year, hotels might be interested in establishing a minimum stay requirement. This ensures bookings of higher value and prevents certain rooms from not being profitable due to unoccupied days. However, the analysis of searches conducted by potential guests might reveal an interest in stays shorter than the established minimum. In this situation, we can choose to offer availability for the requested stay, while maintaining the price of the configured minimum stay. For example, if we've set a minimum stay of 7 nights, for a hypothetical search of 6 nights, our engine could return availability while keeping the price for 7 nights.
We don't have large suitcases, would 2 small ones work for you? Occupancy redirection
It's true that the 2+0 occupancy (2 adults) is the most common and comes preselected by default in most booking engines. However, that doesn't mean it's the only important search. Often, after analyzing search trends, we identify requests for 3, 4, and even 5 adults. The fact that the hotel doesn't have rooms for that number of people or that they are not vacant doesn't mean we have to say no. With our engine, we can offer availability by simply redirecting occupancies. A classic example would be to return a price and availability for two double rooms for a search of 4 adults.
Yes, it's unisex and one size fits all: maximum occupancy redirection
For family rooms or apartments that the establishment owner wants to sell at a consistent price, regardless of the number of people staying, our engine allows the configuration of a maximum occupancy. This way, the engine always returns availability and the same price for all possible combinations of occupancies below the established maximum.
We don't have it here, but I can check in another one of our stores: establishment redirection
Some of our clients have more than one establishment in the same city or in different locations. While guests usually have a clear preference for where they want to stay, they might sometimes consider other options. Therefore, in both cases, it's very interesting to know that whenever the requested hotel is unavailable, our booking engine will offer other hotels of the same ownership as an alternative for the same date and requested occupancy.
Conclusion
Not offering availability on our official website when there are actually available rooms is a serious mistake, as they will end up being sold through more expensive channels or, worse yet, they will remain vacant. At Paraty Tech, we are acutely aware of this reality, and our Business Intelligence is a good reflection of this concern.
Its interface is divided into two clearly differentiated modules: sales and availability. The latter is exclusively dedicated to the detailed analysis of the searches performed by users or future guests: rooms, rates, occupancies, stays, restrictions, etc. If at any moment the engine doesn't offer availability, it's very easy to detect the cause, identify trends, and rectify possible issues for the future.
Moreover, our alert systems are equipped with a range of notification services that attempt to prevent unavailability, such as automatic emails that inform when availability is running out, when rates are not loaded, after long periods of inactivity on the website, etc.
Just like our booking engine, at Paraty Tech, we always have availability to address your queries. We'll be delighted to provide more information, so feel free to contact us.
At Ring2travel, we are convinced that we can become the ultimate partner for hoteliers. That's why we have decided to offer, to those who choose to invest in our services, a free campaign to strengthen offers or promotions with 100 outgoing calls.
In the current scenario, far from being "normal," the role of agents and, in general, call centers is moving away from what we were accustomed to. Due to the pandemic, they have shifted from being a significant reinforcement for hotels to becoming an almost indispensable service.
We have identified the current concerns of guests to better understand the needs of hotels. In this way, we have redefined our main functions with the aim of providing the best possible response to both. We all must acknowledge that we are dealing with a traveler profile who:
Is immersed in uncertainty
Does not know if they can travel
Does not know if the hotel will be open
Does not know if they will have to return early
Does not know if they will have to undergo tests and quarantine upon return
As a result, there has been a surge in purely informational calls in recent days. Behind many of them are, on the one hand, tourists with the need to feel in control: their trip, their reservation, compliance with protocols, regulations, and current restrictions, etc. On the other hand, people interested in booking but needing an extra layer of security and trust to make a final decision. And finally, there are those who call to cancel. It's not a pleasant task, but these requests must be faced with empathy, kindness, and assertiveness. The treatment they receive can make the difference between a postponement or losing the customer forever. Pandemic times are the perfect opportunity for loyalty.
By hiring our services, hotels are effectively expanding their staff and responsiveness without assuming additional investments. Having a Call Center brings multiple advantages:
Fidelization Mechanism
Handling of informational queries
Overflow call service
After-hours service
Multilingual support
Benefit from the warmth of human interaction
Cancellation management
Management of chats and mailboxes
Outgoing campaigns for cancellation recovery
Outgoing campaigns for commercial reinforcement
Pre-stay upselling calls
Post-stay satisfaction measurement calls
Whether you are already a client of our booking engine and choose to upgrade, or if you are not and demand a Call Center service, we do everything in our power to give you the final push. Switch to Ring2Travel and get a completely free campaign of 100 outgoing calls to reinforce the effectiveness of your offers and promotions.
How does the outgoing call campaign work?
The process is very simple. Below are the steps we need to follow:
Load rates into our engine: if you are already a client, this is already done. If you don't yet enjoy our booking engine, we take care of everything.
Your hotel profile: our agents, for all intents and purposes, will present themselves as personnel from your establishment. That's why it's important that they know everything about it, and we will ask you to help us complete a simple form that serves as a guide for them.
Transfer of your customer database: we will ask you to share with us the database of those customers you are most interested in attracting. To do this, we will sign a contract that perfectly stipulates our rights and defines our obligations as data processors. We strictly comply with GDPR.
Description of the offer or promotion: you must choose the offer or promotion you want to reinforce. It is common to take advantage of an existing offer, but you can also create a new one for the occasion.
Target selection: from all the contacts in the database you provide, we will select 100. This selection can follow the criteria that interest you strategically (origin, gender, age range, etc.), although it will naturally be conditioned by the degree of segmentation of the database.
Outgoing calls: our agents will call these 100 contacts, informing them of the offer, making them feel special, and assisting them, if desired, in the reservation process until completion.
Results report: once the campaign is completed, subject to the availability of our agents on the selected dates, we will provide you with a results report, including data such as conversion rate or generated revenue.
Keep in mind that if your guests have chosen to talk instead of interacting with a mouse, a keyboard, and a website, it's because they are looking for much more than technology or artificial intelligence. They don't want a robotic voice or a memorized speech. They crave warmth, understanding, and the adaptability of human interaction. And realistically, in the current circumstances, few hotel establishments have the necessary resources and know-how to offer such a service.
If you want to take advantage of this opportunity and are already a client, just get in touch with your account manager. If you don't work with us yet, both our Commercial Director, Silvia Muñoz, and Julián Alcolea, Ring2Travel Manager, will be delighted to assist and manage your registration. You can contact them by email or phone:
And finally, the light turned... green! Today, July 2nd, marks a week since the Boris Johnson government announced the advancement of the Balearic Islands from amber to green on its popular and controversial health traffic light.
If the criteria for this sudden change of opinion are exclusively health-related, it's something we may never know. However, everything seems to indicate that the ministries involved in this change of course have somehow yielded to pressures and dissatisfaction, both from their citizens and the Association of British Travel Agents, regarding the strict safety and prevention protocols imposed on those who, against recommendations, decide to visit a destination classified as "not safe". In any case, we didn't want to miss the opportunity to analyze the impact of a decision of this magnitude.
As of today, the Balearic Islands are the only national territory authorized to receive British tourists free from quarantine. This situation has sparked mixed feelings because, while it is a significant step for the Spanish tourism sector, opening the door wide to one of our main source markets, other regions had also speculated about the possibility of finally being included in the list of safe destinations and did not see their expectations fulfilled.
Our experience has taught us that the reflection in purchasing intention and reservations of decisions and institutional statements of this nature is imminent. We observed this in 2020, fully immersed in the de-escalation process (the study we published then was particularly revealing in this regard), and again in 2021 when Pedro Sánchez informed the world that Spain would open its borders to international tourism starting in July. We would have a summer!
This time has been no different. We have turned to our Business Intelligence to analyze the pace of searches and bookings from the British market for any of the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, etc.), comparing the week from June 25th to July 1st (from Friday to Thursday) with the immediately preceding one, from June 18th to 24th:
Searches: +148%
Bookings: +127%
Room Nights: +89%
Sales: +56%
Conversion Rate: 5.5% (unchanged between periods)
At first glance, we can see how both searches and bookings have experienced very relevant increases, resulting in almost double the room nights and a significant rise in sales. Let's delve into these data through the following graphs:
The purchase intention graphs show how a good portion of searches focus on July, some in August, and very few from September onwards, confirming the short-term trend that has been prevailing since uncertainty became part of the daily lives of travelers.
The number of unsatisfied queries, as shown in red, is almost negligible, a sign that hotels know their guests well and are prepared to receive them. Regarding the comparison between the two weeks, those peaks of increases are very evident, especially during the first days of July, a trend that continues throughout the month, as anticipated.
Regarding sales, from June 25th, the date Boris Johnson made public the news that the Balearic Islands were moving from amber to green, until July 1st, bookings increased by 127% compared to the previous week. Up to that point, everything was as expected. Just like with searches, the bulk of bookings concentrate during July. From there onwards, we can see a drastic drop as we move into August, September, October, etc.
However, the graphs reveal a concerning reality that we hadn't mentioned yet: those red bars represent cancellations. The media impact of the outbreaks in Mallorca, allegedly as a result of end-of-school-year trips and the criticized concert in the bullring, has directly affected travelers. This is where we find the justification for such a disproportionate number of cancellations, which multiply by six compared to the previous week. Unfortunately, it hasn't been the only consequence. Only five days after being categorized as a safe destination, the Balearic Islands became part of another list that is not so desirable, the so-called "Green Watch List," including destinations susceptible to being returned to the amber color.
We will have to remain very vigilant in the coming days because the future of the summer season in the Balearic Islands and the rest of the country will depend on the evolution of outbreaks like this and how health authorities manage them. The pandemic is far from over. The virus has simply changed its preferred host profile, now targeting the younger population. Therefore, we continue to appeal to prudence, not only to save tourism but also to continue keeping the situation under control and not undermine all the work and effort carried out to get to where we are.
The Virtual Conference "Smart Tourist Destinations," organized by Diario SUR and Segittur, took place last Thursday, June 24th. We had the pleasure of participating, and it delivered a profound message: smart destinations represent an opportunity for efficiency and competitiveness.
Undoubtedly, we agree that the current moment is ideal for Malaga to face this transition. This is due to the rise of data extraction, monitoring, and analysis tools, the launch of applications pursuing efficiency and resource optimization, and the clear intention of municipal administrations to work together on the implementation of innovation policies aimed at consolidating a broader and unified destination: the Province of Malaga.
In this regard, both the DTI Network and Segittur state that they have been outlining different lines of action and creating a list of pending tasks for the development of smart tourist destinations. Under concepts such as governance, sustainability, accessibility, technology, and innovation, they have formed a manual of best practices that is increasingly gaining subscribers.
Block I: What does being a smart tourist destination contribute?
The first block of the event, moderated by Manuel Castillo, Director of SUR, brought together Fernando Valdés, Secretary of State for Tourism, and Francisco de la Torre, Mayor of the city of Malaga, to discuss the contribution of smart tourist destinations: benefits, challenges, and future projects. They reflected on the current recovery context, with a special focus on Malaga, recently declared European Capital of Smart Tourism.
Fernando Valdés focused on three key aspects of smart destinations: governance, which allows coordinating an increasing number of actors contributing directly and indirectly to the tourist offer and the improvement of the visitor experience; innovation and technology, emphasizing the "need for good communication between tourism, technology, and tourism intelligence."
"A smart tourist destination is a recognized, proven methodology that, together with an analysis and action plan, makes a destination more competitive." - Fernando Valdés, Secretary of State for Tourism
Francisco de la Torre referred to smart tourist destinations as "synonymous with a guarantee of quality for both residents and tourists." He highlighted recent actions implemented in Malaga, such as applications related to capacity control, mobility, and sustainability, which have proven highly useful. He stated, "firmly established in many hotels, regarding resource optimization."
Valdés referred to the destination as a service, emphasizing the importance of streamlining transportation contracting and combining cultural offerings from institutions. He spoke about the need to specialize in complementary cultural products, positioning the destination as a cultural product. According to the Secretary of State for Tourism, "a smart tourist destination is a recognized, proven methodology that, together with an analysis and action plan, makes a destination more competitive."
Both speakers also highlighted the importance of promoting data-based business models. They emphasized that knowing everything about the tourist—where they come from, what they like, their risk tolerance—allows companies to improve their positioning in a market with an increasing number of actors. It also helps organizations make informed decisions and manage limited resources.
Regarding future challenges and projects, De La Torre aimed to "perfect digital marketing, make the most of extracted information, and target new markets." Valdés introduced an innovative project with a €130 million investment, "aimed at consolidating relationships with tourists before, during, and after their stay." It involves a technological solution that allows tourists to design personalized experiences, receive tailored suggestions, and establish communication mechanisms to stay in touch with the traveler after leaving the destination.
Manuel Castillo also addressed post-COVID issues. Both guests were cautiously optimistic, recognizing hopeful figures in the data but acknowledging the challenging position of many companies. Valdés explained, "domestic tourism will perform well this season; visits from the German market represent 80% compared to the previous year, and there are good prospects for other markets, such as the Nordic." Regarding the arrival of tourists from the British market, he concluded, "they will come when their authorities allow them. We have done what was in our hands, working as a safe destination at a time of epidemic control, and the entry of British tourists will depend on the evolution of the strain."
Block II: Best practices of smart destinations in Andalusia
Pedro Luis Gómez, Director of Publications at SUR, opened this roundtable, the second block of the conference, advocating for the need to adapt to new times. He proposed consensus between public and private entities for a common goal: digitization.
Alongside him were Sandra Extremera, Councilor of Commerce and Development of the Torrox City Council; Aida Blanes, Tourism Councilor of the Torremolinos City Council; Laura de Arce, General Director of Tourism of the Marbella City Council; and Antonio Díaz, General Director of Tourism Costa del Sol.
Sandra, responsible for providing the necessary perspective of small destinations, explained how, "on the way to Carratraca, I cannot work because there is no coverage. It is necessary to offer technological structure to the tourist." Aida, representing the birthplace of tourism on the Costa del Sol, praised the municipality's heritage, advocating for "actions to increase its offer with many other products that the destination can provide." She emphasized the need for "common technological tools that allow tourists to move around our province."
Antonio Díaz highlighted that "the Costa del Sol has a well-established tourism that, faced with difficulties, must open up to new markets." He stressed the importance of "incorporating complementary products into its offer that shape our personality." He pointed out that "heritage, nature, or gastronomy are differentiating elements that, along with the possibilities of segmentation and personalization enabled by big data, offer travelers a wide range of activities tailored to their preferences and needs."
Finally, Laura de Arce also emphasized going beyond sun and beach tourism, gastronomy, nature, or nomadic tourism. She praised complementary offerings as an enriching element of the destination and added a new variable to the formula: communication, "so that the players believe it." She also joined the idea that "we all have advanced a lot, but intercommunication between provinces is lacking."
The concluding debate of this second block provided valuable contributions, all linked to the idea of promoting tourism from an interprovincial perspective, pooling resources to improve the perception of the Province of Malaga as a destination and leveraging technology and more targeted data. All participants agreed that, after overcoming the worst of the pandemic, tourism will return, but they are open to doing things differently based on what they have learned.
Block III: Opportunities for companies in smart destinations
After an hour and a half of interesting interventions and content, the third and final block featured our colleague Pedro Díaz Burló, Partner and Head of Turobserver, who shared the stage with José Juan Nebro Mellado, President and Founder of Gecor System, and Pilar Martínez, Tourism Editor of SUR, as the moderator.
"Our commitment to the destination translates into its commercialization and distribution, its positioning against the competition, its promotion through virtual workshops, audit and consulting services, and a firm commitment to training tourism professionals." - Pedro Díaz Burló, Partner and Head of Turobserver
After the customary introductions, Pedro Díaz explained why Turobserver's smart data platform is one of the most comprehensive in terms of tourist information: "We are a globally established company, a leader in web scraping and data monitoring, and our platform is fed by one of the broadest information networks in the sector, including OTAs, online reputation websites, tourist accommodation platforms, tour operators, car rentals, hotels, etc. Plus, official data generated by our partners. Our commitment to the destination translates into its commercialization and distribution, its positioning against the competition, its promotion through virtual workshops, audit and consulting services, and a firm commitment to training tourism professionals."
The president and founder of Gecor System also delivered a strong message: "What is not digital does not exist." He firmly believed in the possibility of consolidating "massive personalized production." Nebro insisted on the opportunity for the destination to digitize, overcoming challenges such as the implementation of a data policy, addressing possible market niches, or "creating an app that encompasses the 8 apps that tourists currently need to enjoy the destination, which also interacts with them and responds to the information provided, optimizing services and the overall experience."
"What is not digital does not exist." - José Juan Nebro Mellado, President and Founder of Gecor System
From Pedro's perspective, "technology is key for a destination," but he emphasized, "not every piece of data is valuable; there is a need to socialize the data, make it accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises, and then monitor the destination continuously to ensure nothing fails." Aware of the current situation and knowing that many tourism businesses have prioritized cost reduction over marketing due to lack of time or resources, he considered that the sector's current stage could provide an opportunity to do so.
José Juan complemented these statements by adding that, in any case, a clear definition of objectives and goals is essential. A destination that is clear about what it seeks and which data are important will achieve much more competitive results. As a conclusion, he stated, "the principle of sustainability will prevail in the market, and technology will position itself as a differentiating element."
"Not every piece of data is valuable; there is a need to socialize the data, make it accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises, and then monitor the destination continuously to ensure nothing fails." - Pedro Díaz Burló, Partner and Head of Turobserver
Asked about what will happen in the coming months, Pedro believed that "aligned objectives need to be established to emerge stronger from this crisis." He referred to the consensus between the public and private sectors and joined the wave of hopeful messages from other participants in the conference, suggesting that "after this turning point, which meant having zero tourists, tourism will change. The key to recovery lies in observing the market and responding to the opportunities that may arise, staying prepared for change, being adaptable, and using the knowledge that makes us different and competitive."
"Tourism will change, and the key to recovery lies in observing the market and responding to the opportunities that may arise, staying prepared for change, being adaptable, and using the knowledge that makes us different and competitive." - Pedro Díaz Burló, Partner and Head of Turobserver
On his part, José Juan agreed with Pedro and concluded by defining the constantly growing tourism sector as "an industry of the future." He highlighted the privileged area it is in, the actions taken for "the creation of a more demanding, competitive destination with more professionals, based on digitization and the application of technologies."
Parity: A concept applicable to various fields (we have expressed our views on positive disparities on occasions), but traditionally associated with price, closely linked to distribution.
Specifically, parity refers to the equality of prices for a particular product across different sales channels. In the hotel industry, establishments that invest resources in addressing disparities presumably do so to favor the direct channel, their official website. However, this is not always the case.
Skeptics consider parity a utopia, while others see achieving it as almost an obsession. Some undervalue it, and others even despise it. Opinions are typically influenced by the degree of inclination of the accommodation towards direct sales. In any case, it is undeniable that parity is a term very present in hotel marketing and revenue management, leaving no one indifferent.
Parity serves multiple purposes. For example, it ensures that the value each owner attributes to their product(s) is respected. delving deeper, we know firsthand its power and firmly believe in its importance for boosting direct sales, at the expense of intermediated sales. Better yet, we have found the formula to keep it permanently under control, preventing it from becoming a persistent headache.
No one can guarantee it, and neither can we. But after almost a decade of working on it, we strongly believe that persistence pays off. That's why today we want to talk about our Parity Triangle, a complete ecosystem of tools, all developed in-house, in constant communication with our booking engine, ensuring price integrity and adherence to business rules, whatever they may be.
What tools make up the Parity Triangle?
One strength of developing all our solutions internally is the independence from third parties, resulting in greater responsiveness and better communication between tools. Price Seeker, with us almost from the beginning and currently undergoing a comprehensive overhaul, is one of the most established Rate Shoppers in the market and the central pillar of the Parity Triangle. Capable of monitoring prices from over 200 sites in real-time, its tracking engine extracts data to feed its two allies.
We define Parity Maker, a pioneering and still exclusive tool even after several years in circulation, as an equalizer of prices between the official website's booking engine and OTAs in real-time. However, it goes beyond equalization, applying a business rule pre-configured by the hotelier. Therefore, it can not only equalize but also lower or raise that equalization, both in percentage terms (equalize and increase by 3%) and in net terms (equalize and decrease by €5), always considering the interests of the establishment.
On the other hand, Rate Check is a price comparison tool with OTAs and Metasearch engines integrated into the booking process. Controlling prices is crucial, but it is even more effective when ensuring that users are aware of this competitive advantage. That's precisely its main function. The Rate Check widget displays OTA prices for the same search criteria entered by the user when initiating a query on the official website's engine. It will only list the prices of OTAs that are more expensive at the time of the search. Thus, we prevent users from abandoning the site to compare prices and convey a clear message: the official website offers the best online price.
How the Parity Triangle Works: The Power of Business Rules
As mentioned earlier, it is the scrapers of Price Seeker that work in the background for Rate Check and Parity Maker, regardless of the distribution mix configured in the rate shopper (or if this tool is not contracted). This means that we can select five OTAs to monitor constantly in Price Seeker but choose other channels to operate with Rate Check and/or Parity Maker.
The power of business rules lies in their high segmentation capacity and the wide range of possible actions to apply. In their configuration, we can differentiate OTAs by markets, time slots, occupancies, etc. Specific Business Intelligence will keep us informed of their activity:
How many times the Rate Check widget was displayed
For which search criteria
If the user clicked on the widget
If there was a disparity or not
The minimum prices of the website/OTA
The existing differential (positive or negative)
If Parity Maker came into action
If the reservation was completed.
Additionally, Rate Check is, in itself, an automated alert system, so if it does not display the price of a certain OTA because it is more expensive than the official website, it will send an email to the hotelier informing them of the disparity so that they can correct it.
In summary, through business rules, we define, on the one hand, when the tools should come into action and, on the other hand, what order they should execute. The following examples will help better understand the scope of business rules:
Example #1 | Parity Maker: If Booking is cheaper, match the price
If Booking.com, to cite any OTA, usually causes disparities, this is the best way to avoid them.
Example #2 | Rate Check: If the customer is Spanish, show Atrápalo and Destinia, but if they are British, show Alpharooms and Onthebeach
Depending on the customer's origin, they will be interested in knowing the prices of different OTAs, and Rate Check allows discrimination by markets. Furthermore, by doing so, prices from different markets are being tracked, generating alerts and providing data for configuring new business rules. Pure feedback.
Example #3 | Parity Maker: Match the price with Booking during the day, but do it with Destinia at night
Not all OTAs behave the same way or generate disparities at the same times of the day. With Price Seeker, we can obtain a well-defined map of these behavioral patterns and then use that information to configure business rules for the other two tools.
Example #4 | Parity Maker: For very high positive differentials, increase the price by a certain percentage
Imagine that the official website is much cheaper than Atrápalo. So much so that even if we increase the price by a certain percentage, we would still be the most economical option. In that case, we can instruct Parity Maker to raise the price to increase profitability.
Conclusions: We do believe in parity
In summary, Price Seeker is a consultation and control tool that only the hotelier interacts with. With it, we can conduct a thorough monitoring of parity and competition, generate periodic reports, perform searches, configure alerts, etc. While Parity Maker and Rate Check are presented directly to the user or potential guest, providing information, incentivizing them in real-time, and facilitating the best price during their booking process.
And although all three tools can function and be contracted independently, it goes without saying that using them together exponentially multiplies their ability to make price parity a reality, and to ensure that the hotel's official website always offers the best prices.
Feel free to contact your account manager for further information.
Paraty Tech Reaches Agreement with ProcorLab, a company specializing in the early detection and diagnosis of Covid-19, to integrate the "PCR on Destination" service into our booking engine. This service is aimed at all international tourists who need to undergo testing before returning to their home countries. Service
This makes our booking engine the first to offer this option to customers, with the primary goal of enhancing the tourist experience through a new differentiating element that contributes to revitalizing the hotel sector in the context of the eagerly anticipated reactivation.
In this regard, we believe that anything that facilitates the stay for travelers, considering the current environment, is essential for the recovery of the tourism industry.
Travelers who add the "PCR on Destination" option to their reservation can undergo the test at the accommodation, without the need to travel and at a very competitive price. Specifically, they will be provided with a kit at the time of check-in. Subsequently, and based on the check-out date, the tourist will need to take a small saliva sample, which will be collected by ProcorLab for analysis. Within a maximum period of 24 to 36 hours, they will receive the result in their email.
Additionally, the service includes customer support to address any doubts that may arise for the tourist regarding the sample collection, the validity of the test, or the interpretation of the results.
The service, which has been integrated into our engine this week, has been well-received, especially following the approval of the Covid-19 Digital Certificate. This suggests that, at least for this summer, PCR testing is likely to be required in virtually all countries in the European Union.
Last Sunday, May 23rd, marked the closing of the most special Fitur that anyone can remember. The 2021 edition will be etched in our minds as an unequivocal symbol of the beginning of the return to (new) normality in tourism. It is, in fact, the first major international event in the sector held in person for almost a year and a half. Despite the difficulties, skeptics, and detractors, 55 countries, 5,000 companies, over 42,000 professionals, and 20,000 visitors decided to be present to send a loud and clear message together: that #wewilltravelagain is getting closer every day.
We know that 2020 has been tough. Extremely tough, in reality. However, we should not talk, in any case, about a blank year. Over the last fifteen months, while the world came to a standstill, destinations couldn't afford to stop. Quite the opposite. They have worked tirelessly to stay in the minds of travelers, to put themselves in their place and anticipate their intentions. Always with the goal of being the first to detect the desire to travel and translate it into the arrival of visitors, in booking confirmations, as soon as the health situation and mobility restrictions allowed.
All have been forced to combat Covid-19 by following prevention rules, imposing containment measures, and implementing safety protocols. But this has also led them to improve their facilities, expand their services, and identify, and subsequently develop, new products adapted to the novel concept of post-pandemic travel, where privacy, nature, or outdoor activities have become impromptu protagonists, even where they had never been relevant before.
The most proactive have not stopped promoting themselves, launching marketing campaigns or organizing virtual events, knowing that greater visibility gives them an advantage over possible competing destinations. For this reason, the importance of having been present at Fitur comes to light again: for destinations, there has been no better opportunity than this to remind the market that they are still there, presenting their brand-new offerings, shouting, "we are ready to welcome you, and we will do it better than ever." Surely, the 20,000 visitors we mentioned earlier, when it comes time to book their next vacations, will find it easier to remember the destinations they encountered in the halls of Ifema than those who did not attend.
If we agree that destinations are more than prepared for the reactivation of travel, we will also agree that the tourist business fabric, the true engine of the sector, has not lagged behind. Feelings of hope and optimism have characterized the professional encounters forged during those five days of the fair, where the common denominator has been the desire to mobilize millions of travelers again. Everyone present shared attitude and objective: less posturing and more business. The reactivation of tourism demands not only its unquestionable boost but also the necessary alignment of the goals of public and private entities.
Those of us who make up the Turobserver team, of course, were there, so we speak from experience. The motivation behind our decision to participate was none other than being able to contribute to the relaunch of our beloved sector. We had the pleasure of sitting down to chat informally with representatives of national and international destinations, with established clients and others with the potential to be so. And we have worked hard to continue emphasizing something that, by now, we all have very clear: today, more than ever, digitization and technology are an indivisible part of our lives, and resource optimization, together with more efficient management of these resources, are needs that no destination can afford to renounce.
The pandemic has immersed us in an ocean of data and statistics, where we move like fish in the water, and has also taught us the importance of basing strategic decisions on updated and sustainable information. Hence, to the range of services we were already offering, we have now added our Demand Reactivation Plan, a three-year project presented exclusively during the fair, in which we offer to guide and accompany destinations throughout the path of their recovery, as well as facilitate their transition to digitization and sustainability.
Will purely in-person events return, as we knew them, relegating digital platforms and virtual events to very specific cases? Undoubtedly, the celebration of a fair in a 100% in-person format has been a very important symbol for a sector that thrives on experiences, and it is true that we all missed, almost needed, both personally and professionally, to maintain direct contacts, face to face, without a screen in between. In addition, tourism professionals themselves, with their travels, have clearly stated the message that traveling is possible, and safe events can be held, completely feasible.
At the same time, in our opinion, technology is here to stay, and its current use has served to enhance traditionally in-person events. Again, Fitur 2021 is a good example. This year, the organization launched LiveConnect, a virtual platform that allows exhibitors and professionals to contact and schedule meetings for a month. It is a complement that, combined with the in-person format, adds a lot of value to the fair. At a time when there are still many doubts regarding the risks associated with mobility and crowds, it is a very interesting alternative for those who ultimately could not be in Madrid, but also for attendees who can extend established business relationships and schedule new meetings.
Therefore, we do not believe that one has to think in black and white. The pandemic has been a turning point that probably will not end with the in-person format, but almost certainly will modify what were its standards until the advent of the Coronavirus. This implies that there is an intermediate way, that both modalities, in-person and virtual, can coexist and, in fact, we advocate for a future of hybrid events.
As social beings, on the one hand, we need direct contact, we surrender to the attraction of large fairs for the end customer, and accept their condition as showcases for destinations, on the other hand, we must be able to take advantage of the benefits offered by technology, such as time and resource savings, or the opportunity it represents for all those small and medium-sized companies that, otherwise, could not afford to participate.
We have seen it firsthand in each of the Destination Virtual Workshops that we have organized over the past year for various destinations. Thanks to these exclusive tailor-made events, local entrepreneurs, without leaving their offices, have been able to contact and negotiate with decision-makers from agencies and tour operators around the world, sparking or rekindling their interest in these destinations. In conclusion, the fusion of both options constitutes a huge qualitative leap and a great business opportunity. However, it is now up to each company or destination to assess the different possibilities at their disposal, estimate the return on investment that each action may generate, and make the decision they consider most appropriate.
Are hotels really willing to sacrifice bookings to third parties just because they have reliable satisfaction measurement systems?
Online reputation represents a crucial aspect of marketing for businesses, especially hotels. User reviews increasingly influence brand notoriety, image, and perception. It's no surprise that influencers have gradually become part of the marketing strategies for many accommodations. This alliance is often seen as a double-edged sword, but when used correctly, it can be more useful than dangerous.
However, as Warren Buffet said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and only five minutes to ruin it." This statement applies to the online environment, where a simple management error or a bad day can cost a lot.
Reviews on various platforms serve as an additional filter in the final decision of other travelers. Among the different factors considered by travelers when choosing accommodation, besides price and location, reviews from other customers play a significant role. The weight of online reputation should not be underestimated as it can influence the decisions of many undecided users.
Given this, it's clear that online reputation needs attention and care as much as rates or distribution. But that is one thing, and quite another is to reach the point of sacrificing direct sales for the sake of cultivating real (not necessarily positive) reviews. Are hotels really willing to sacrifice bookings to third parties just because they have reliable satisfaction measurement systems?
The anecdote
We ask this question based on a real case we faced this week. Referring to the protagonists as "the client" and "the hotel," the situation unfolded like this: The client calls the hotel determined to book on the official website instead of using Booking.com, where a cheaper option was found. The goal is to get the hotel to match the price and, in the process, notify the hotel of the disparity so that both parties benefit. To their surprise, the reception department encourages them to proceed with their initial idea, i.e., to book through the OTA. The hotel ensures that, in the hypothetical case that the client decides to leave a review, it will be authentic because only those who have stayed at the establishment can leave reviews on Booking.com (unlike, for example, TripAdvisor).
On one hand, the hotel's position lacks much coherence. If their purpose was to ensure genuine reviews, they had everything in their favor because the client would eventually stay at the hotel in one way or another. Therefore, regardless of the platform chosen for a possible comment, it would always be based on their real experience. On the other hand, assuming that the client will leave a positive review after their stay just because they stayed there is a lot to assume. The vast majority of guests don't leave reviews, and when they do, it's often more to criticize than to praise. Finally, if I were the client, this mismanagement might have pushed me to change my choice, even to harm the hotel, without even knowing it. All wrong.
In our opinion, different factors hide behind the hotel's decision. Probably, one of them has to do with a lack of communication between teams. It seems obvious that the reception staff was aware of the importance of reviews and followed instructions, but it's also clear that these instructions were misunderstood and poorly executed.
It's also possible that the establishment did not have its own system to measure customer satisfaction and was forced to rely on third-party solutions to obtain valuable feedback, both for improvement and to guide potential future customers.
Whatever the reason, it's often questioned whether reviews on some platforms are genuine, and fraudulent activities in this regard raise concerns about potential tarnishing. Amazon is a current example, having recently delisted tens of thousands of products whose suppliers used a massive network of people to write fake reviews in exchange for enjoying the products for free. TripAdvisor is also often scrutinized for this reason and has publicly stated on several occasions the resources dedicated to ensuring the reliability of user reviews.
Online reputation is not just a window to our product; it is also a powerful control tool. Through guests' perception of the service, we can gain greater knowledge about the efficiency of daily work. This information allows us to conduct analyses to determine what we really are, what image we want to convey, and, finally, how our message is resonating. Always with the aim of facilitating the detection of weaknesses, correcting ineffective actions, and ultimately progressing.
There is a widespread fear of negative reviews, and in a sense, we can consider this fear rational. Presumably, a bad online reputation will negatively impact sales. Hence, many hoteliers tend to conceal these references, somehow contributing to the fraud mentioned earlier. However, various studies show that an increase in the number of interactions, positive or negative, is closely linked to an improvement in the average rating, and vice versa. It's not a coincidence that one of Oscar Wilde's legendary phrases, engraved for posterity, says that "there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
After all, despite the harshness of some criticism and the damage they can cause, both personally and professionally, it is essential to accept them and, above all, manage them. We have limited control over reviews, but that shouldn't worry us too much because all reviews matter:
All reviews provide additional information for users, sometimes decisive, bringing us closer to the customer, their needs, and preferences.
Negative experiences are more likely to be reviewed than positive ones, and the key is to manage them properly, turning them into strengths.
There is a large volume of opinions on social networks and various platforms. All of them influence brand image, so we shouldn't neglect any channel, and it's advisable to invest in social listening.
Some negative reviews may result from a specific incident or force majeure, and their impact does not have to prevail over time. Let's learn to discriminate between them and not make a mountain out of a molehill.
Conclusions
The boost of the direct channel has become a common goal for most hotel establishments. In a highly competitive and diverse market, where there are countless alternatives to access the same service, any distinctive advantage turns into gold, and differentiating oneself represents a significant challenge. But it is crucial to understand that "exchanging" a direct booking for a hypothetical review is a very risky gamble, where customer loyalty is at stake. Therefore, beyond subordinating this information to the use of solutions offered by OTAs and Metas, habitual sources of traveler consultation, it is important to have your own system to measure the level of satisfaction.
At Paraty Tech, we provide customers of our booking engine with 100% personalized satisfaction questionnaires, both in terms of content (questions, answers, formats, etc.) and in the aesthetic field. These questionnaires enable real-time access to evaluations and monthly satisfaction reports, providing an overview of guests' perceptions of the hotel's facilities and services. In addition, collaborations with our partners also allow monitoring their satisfaction while they are at the hotel, not just after check-out. After all, every hotelier's goal should be to make their customers feel special before, during, and after their stay, right?
We integrate with aloloc.com, the official website search engine for tourist accommodations, conceived as a reinforcement for direct hotel sales, offering clean results without advertising or third-party ads.
Despite the resources allocated by hotel establishments to occupy the best position in search engines and the efforts of giants like Google to ensure the cleanest possible response, faithful to the user's search criteria, the fierce battle of advertising investment and the sophisticated SEO engineering of online pirates end up tarnishing the results.
It is common for the official hotel website, even though it provides the most relevant information aligned with user interests, to be blurred and relegated to a much less visible location, immersed in a sea of advertisers, OTAs, metasearch engines, and even competing establishments who have earned their dubious privilege of appearing first through bids or questionable positioning procedures. We suppose anything goes...
Aloloc.com was specifically created to address this issue, a search engine for official websites of national tourist accommodations that also includes valid discount promotional codes. This allows the end customer to find exactly what they are looking for and complete their online reservation directly on the official website, at the best price. Calling it the Google of tourist accommodations may sound ambitious, but that's exactly what it aspires to be. However, it leaves out an important detail, very characteristic of the American giant: its results do not contain advertising or third-party ads that could divert the attention of its users.
What is the goal of aloloc.com?
Aloloc.com has two clear objectives. On one hand, to increase the capacity and potential for direct sales of its collaborators: hotels, hostels, apartments, rural houses, pensions, charming accommodations, aparthotels, inns, hostels, etc. On the other hand, to make the final user's arduous task of finding the ideal accommodation for their vacation easier. Ultimately, all players involved in direct sales will benefit.
To achieve this, only direct links to the official websites of accommodations will be shown in search results, presented in a clean and clear manner, accompanied only by promo codes, if the establishments have agreed to make them available to aloloc.com during the integration process.
How does it work and how is it fueled?
From the perspective of the end user, its operation is very simple. They just need to access aloloc.com through their browser and, once inside, find a field to perform their search, which they can specify by entering the name of the establishment or the destination where they would like to stay. Then, by clicking "Search," the results provided by aloloc.com will include 4 fundamental pieces of information:
Name of the establishment
Location
URL link to the official website
Discount promo code (if the hotelier has created one)
As simple as it is effective. Meanwhile, hotels wishing to be part of the aloloc.com directory must wait for their booking engine provider to integrate with the search engine. Currently, more than 2000 establishments are already Alolocers.
Paraty Tech is already integrated
As is customary at Paraty Tech, we always open our doors to any friendly initiative in direct hotel sales. That's why our booking engine has been one of the first to integrate with aloloc.com, and all our clients already enjoy this new showcase for their establishments at no additional cost.
A lot has been said about how direct sales have benefited from the pandemic. We have always emphasized that, while it is true that various factors may have favored this situation, the virus itself has certainly not done it alone.
The hotels that have experienced this phenomenon should not diminish their merit because it is intimately linked to the fact that they never gave up, continued to care for their strategy, control their parity, adjust their rates, adapt their prices, improve the customer experience, and add value. In short, they have been doing revenue.
For the first time in a long time, we ventured to compare current data with pre-pandemic era data. And what's even better, we came out victorious. Although this year did not start well either, over the last two months, we have seen a significant increase in the number of bookings, resulting in a promising 16% increase in sales compared to the same period in 2019. But that's not the only positive value. Below, we break down the keys to this small "victory," aware that it is just one stage in this endurance race.
Comparison 2019 vs. 2021, from January 1 to February 23
Comparison 2019 vs. 2021, from February 23 to April 23
Interpretation of the graphs:
As we can see in these two graphs, which show a comparison of revenue and cancellations from 2019 vs. 2021, in the periods from January 1 to February 23, and from February 23 to the present, respectively, the first two months of the year, sales remained well below pre-pandemic usual figures, while cancellations far exceeded those of 2019.
However, from late February, there is a very significant rebound, with values above those of 2019 and a growth curve that threatens to reach those figures very soon. It is worth recalling that 2019 was, at that time, our best sales year to date.
Conversion rate: 1% increase
Hotels have invested many resources in positioning themselves as the safe channel: communication focused on their adaptation and prevention measures, a product suitable for exceptional circumstances, features designed to minimize the fear of forced cancellation, and an empathetic attitude towards guests' discomfort due to uncertainty. These may be some of the keys that have led the direct channel to emerge as the true trust channel. As a result, there has been a very positive impact on the conversion rate, with an increase of 1%.
Number of bookings: no significant differences
It may be surprising that the number of bookings, despite the increase in revenue, is practically identical. But it makes sense when we consider that in 2019, bookings were for much more varied stay periods, while this year they all concentrate on the summer season, when prices are higher.
Average Price: 12€ increase
This data complements and clarifies the previous point. The same number of bookings but at an average price €12 higher. Since people cannot travel during the analyzed dates (obviously, in 2019 they could), everything sold in this period points to the summer, justifying the increase in the average price per booking.
Room nights: 8,000 room nights increase
In low seasons, travelers opt for shorter getaways, weekends, specific holidays, etc. This type of travel has virtually not existed during 2021. Travelers have gone all-in for their summer vacations, during which stays are usually longer, for 5 days, a week, etc. Hence, despite the equality in the number of bookings, room nights are 8,000 more than in the same period of 2019.
Cancellations: on the rise
Cancellations continue to be a trend. The encouraging part is that, despite registering around 4,000,000 more cancellations than in the same period of 2019, sales have not been affected. The desire to travel is in constant struggle with insecurity and uncertainty. It is not a surprising fact, but we must keep an eye on its evolution.
Revenue: 16% increase
We started the article by mentioning precisely that 16% increase in sales, which, however, is distributed unevenly between the domestic market and the set of emitting countries. Thus, while domestic tourism accounts for 72% of total sales, international tourism takes the remaining 28%.
At this point, we are all familiar with the Booking Basic program, through which the OTA offers third-party inventory from its group (Agoda, Priceline, etc.) if it can provide the end user with a better price. Nothing new.
However, what is new, and by "new" we mean something that has not been around for too long and is, to our knowledge, in the experimental phase, is the custom disguise they have tailored for it.
Yes, we have a mole at Booking, and it's called Price Seeker. Thanks to our price monitoring tool, we detected the arrival of the Early Payment Benefit in the past and more recently, this change that Booking Basic has undergone, and its possible consequences for price monitoring.
Find the seven differences
In its renewed attire, which they wear only on certain occasions (according to them, the choice of appearance depends on customer purchasing behavior patterns), the striking combination of black and orange is replaced by a more discreet aesthetic in soft blues, dark gray texts on white backgrounds, accompanied by a quite explanatory message that bluntly attributes the offer to a Booking.com partner company. Surely, it sounds familiar. Additionally, as before (this has not changed), the user is informed of the reservation conditions: prepayment and non-modifiable.
But we wouldn't go to the trouble of writing an article just because Booking Basic opts for a more casual look, at the expense of its corporate uniform. In fact, we noticed the good news when reporting an incident in one of the periodic reports from Price Seeker. The functionality in question comes with a small delay between the first price shown on the screen and the final, resulting from the offer. We're talking about just one or two seconds that, while practically imperceptible to the user, can be a headache for scrapers.
Alternative to the usual aesthetics of Booking Basic
What is the reason for this evolution of such an established product?
Honestly, we don't know. Perhaps, the term "basic" doesn't quite convince, giving the impression of devaluing the product. Or maybe modernity, implicit in the original chromatic aggressiveness, causes rejection. Or it could simply be that they are testing the effectiveness of a clearer and more direct message, synonymous with transparency, to see how their target audience reacts.
What seems obvious is that behind this initiative is the intention to find new ways to attract a specific profile of traveler, in addition to minimizing the impact of price monitoring tools that detect and correct disparities, benefiting direct sales. If it has affected us, it is more than likely that it is also disrupting the results of your technology provider. And worse, Booking is fully aware of it. Obviously, we are already working on it, and it's just a matter of days before we overcome this unexpected obstacle, but we still wanted to alert you.
Updates in online payments
With the entry into force of the new payment regulations, Booking.com has once again struck gold, a topic we already mentioned in March in our article "Booking.com starts 2021 very strong." So much so that just a month after that, there are significant changes in its payment policies, aimed at making things even easier for hoteliers and, in the process, ensuring payment management. A juicy piece of the pie that leads them to air the new conditions on their Extranet, undoubtedly more favorable for their clients, as an enticing bait. Will you also take the bait?
Now online payments are only made with Virtual Credit Cards: this is the solution they have given so that the hotelier can charge the NRF at the time of booking, previously the main drawback of this payment method.
Reduction in the commission of virtual cards: they have negotiated with banks to reduce the commission from the previous 2-3% to 1.96%. Another argument in their favor.
Very soon, also real-time transfers: in a few months, they will again offer the option of charging their payments via bank transfer. However, by then, they will have completed an internal development so that the NRFs can also be charged, at the time of receiving the reservation, through this payment method.
Announcement of improvements in online payment conditions on Booking's Extranet
Continuing to Explore Solutions to Address the Traveler's and Hotelier's Needs in the New Reality Shaped by the Covid-19 Crisis.
Reduced cancellations, enhanced safety, lower volatility in on-the-books reservations, resurgence of non-refundable rates, segmentation, one-to-one revenue, and customer experience: these are just a few tangible benefits of these partnerships.
Ultimately, the primary beneficiaries of these agreements will be the hotel establishments currently using the Paraty Tech booking engine – our dear clients.
We are adding two new strategic alliances aimed at, on one hand, minimizing the impact of Covid-19 on current traveler booking trends and, on the other hand, providing hoteliers with deeper customer knowledge, fostering greater segmentation, and thus enabling the creation of increasingly personalized experiences.
Our integration with Flexmyroom, a company that has experienced extraordinary growth during the pandemic, offers hotels the opportunity to include, in their chosen rates, cancellation and travel insurance. This coverage protects travelers by refunding their payments and addressing potential health issues at the destination. The benefits for the hotel are evident, allowing them to reintroduce Non-Refundable Rates, which were virtually extinct, increase their cash flow, and reduce forecasting and on-the-books volatility risks.
The agreement with Fideltour, which among other solutions, provides a specialized CRM for hotels, will demonstrate the multiple benefits for direct sales resulting from its integration with our booking engine. This integration transforms our booking engine into a constant source of information for the CRM, which organizes, segments, and makes sense of the data for a tailor-made customer experience, bringing the hotelier closer to the concept of one-to-one revenue.
Miguel Hita, Sales Manager at Fideltour, emphasizes that "a booking engine like Paraty Tech's, due to the high volume of reservations it manages, is a raw diamond to maximize the potential of our hotel CRM. All these reservations translate into information, which, when well treated, becomes extremely useful and valuable for customer loyalty and, therefore, for guaranteeing future direct bookings."
In turn, Javier Quesada, CCO of Flexmyroom, is convinced that their solution "addresses the security demands of the traveler, both at the time of purchase and during their stay at the destination. The integration with the Paraty Tech booking engine is an undeniable competitive advantage for the hotelier, at the expense of their compset and OTAs."
A sentiment echoed by Daniel Sánchez, CRO of Paraty Tech, who concludes, "every step we take to make things easier for customers, reducing the uncertainty for hotels – the primary beneficiaries of these agreements – will have a very positive impact on direct sales."
On March 9th, Google announced the launch of Free Booking Links, or Free Booking Links on Google Hotel Ads (GHA). Very soon, you will appear there.
Since Google announced on March 9th the launch of Free Booking Links, or Free Booking Links on Google Hotel Ads (GHA), we got to work to ensure that you make the most of this new feature, which can be very beneficial for your establishment.
As Google Integration Partners, we have provided them with a complete list of the hotels we work with, so they can connect them with GHA, and gradually, yours will also appear in those free organic results.
Therefore, you don't need to do anything. Simply, if you want more information or have any questions, contact your account manager.
What the New Feature Entails
FREE ORGANIC RESULTS ON GOOGLE HOTEL ADS
This improvement essentially allows all hotels to appear in Google Hotel Ads results at no cost, whether or not they have an active campaign. These organic results, accompanied by the heading "All options", will be displayed below the paid results, further differentiated as "Ads · Featured options".
HOW TO APPEAR
Basically, there are two ways. Have an active campaign on Google Hotel Ads, in which case, you wouldn't have to do anything else, or have an Integration Partner, like us, requesting the connection to Google for your establishment. We have already done this.
WHERE FREE BOOKING LINKS APPEAR
Currently, they are associated only with Google Hotel Ads results, although after the meeting we had last week with Google, there are indications that they will gradually appear in other places, such as Google Maps. No confirmed date yet.
MAXIMIZING THEIR BENEFITS
The more complete the integration with Google's platform, or in other words, the more information Google has about your establishment, the higher the quality of the results it will show over time. We are taking care of this.
SO, ARE YOU ALREADY APPEARING?
Google takes its time to incorporate such a dense volume of data. We cannot guarantee that your establishment is already appearing in the Free Booking Links, but we can confirm that we have taken the necessary steps for it to happen soon.
The Rise of Coronavirus, Implementation of PSD2, etc. The stars have aligned for OTAs to seize the opportunity and gain complete freedom to continue creating disparities.
As staunch advocates of direct hotel sales, at Paraty Tech, we make it a point to closely monitor players in the industry that, in some way, pose a threat to the work we do. Therefore, we are always particularly vigilant to detect the implementation of new features by OTAs.
On one hand, admittedly, we learn from them. On the other hand, despite the reservations they generate, they often directly undermine the interests and strategies of our clients. In this article, we want to focus primarily on Booking.com, which has started 2021 with a strong impact. The stars have aligned (the onset of the Coronavirus, the implementation of PSD2, etc.) to precipitate a series of events that we will list below.
Some of the following initiatives have been implemented unilaterally, without prior notice to hoteliers. Therefore, in addition to listing them, we will emphasize the pros and cons, and provide suggestions as possible solutions to mitigate their impact.
Risk-Free Reservations
A clear example of this increasingly common practice of proceeding without prior consultation that we mentioned earlier. We assume that, from Booking.com's perspective, it is more profitable to ask for forgiveness than permission. In principle, they have enrolled all hotels in their client portfolio in this new program, which basically converts Non-Refundable rates into Flexible rates. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to detect because, from the end customer's perspective, they are being offered a Flexible Rate without knowing that, originally, it is Non-Refundable. To make matters worse, its entry depends on the OTA's algorithm, which decides based on the date and expected demand.
In summary, the hotel has that reservation guaranteed, but the customer can cancel it because Booking.com commits to fill that gap with another guest or, failing that, to assume the cost of the reservation. Smart, isn't it? Certainly, as long as you have the necessary financial cushion to cover possible expenses you may incur.
Pros for the hotelier
Can reopen Non-Refundable rates, which had practically become extinct due to the pandemic, as they will ultimately be Flexible.
The On the Books forecast for these types of rates is guaranteed, reducing volatility.
Does not incur costs beyond the discount decided for Non-Refundable rates.
Cons for the hotelier
Booking.com, in its effort to fill cancellations, will see an open door to generate price disparities.
If Booking.com's algorithm does not consider it feasible to guarantee that reservation, it will not activate the program, so the hotelier will have a Non-Refundable rate, which is very unattractive given the current circumstances.
Suggestions
Opt for Semi-Flexible rates: These rates provide peace of mind to guests and certain guarantees to hoteliers, as they often include a partial prepayment. With our recently launched Paraty E-Payments system, managing payments for these types of rates is straightforward.
Deactivate the Risk-Free Reservations program: This is easy to do from the Booking.com extranet by following these steps:
Click on "Improvement Opportunities"
Click on "Risk-Free Reservations Program"
At the bottom, select the option "Leave the program"
Decide for how long (we recommend "Indefinitely")
Specify the reason
Online Payments
When we first detected the acclaimed Early Payment Benefit back in March 2019, we were not yet aware of how much OTAs would try to capitalize, just a few months later, on the implementation of the new PSD2 regulation (mandatory since the beginning of this year). A realm, online payments, where we must admit they have always been one step ahead of the rest of the players, including the direct sales channel, the official website.
Thus, simmering in the background, the ideal breeding ground has been created to convince hoteliers that the most convenient thing is to disengage from this "problem" and leave the management of online payments in their hands. A half-truth and also a double-edged sword, as it actually presents the perfect opportunity to create more disparities.
Marta told how, after having stayed countless times in the same hotel for years for work reasons, she was surprised, almost annoyed, that they had never welcomed her and received her by name. A warmth that she would have appreciated after fifteen hours on a plane, tired and dirty, which is how she used to reach her destination.
The best, the good vibes between colleagues and competitors in the sector, being able to finally put a face to many of the people behind our daily emails, and see the good health that the industry enjoys. hospitality. The worst thing is to leave there with the feeling that, although big and important changes are expected in the very short term, nothing truly groundbreaking and innovative has been said at these meetings, nothing that both the hoteliers and their suppliers do not already know, which apply to a greater or lesser extent. Well, except for that new concept of a technological smile, of course. It's a joke…
The subscription to the Smart program is carried out during the same purchasing process, and for future purchases, logging in will be necessary to benefit from the associated discounts. This is similar to the locked rates of loyalty clubs implemented by certain hotels, which are always displayed and can be selected, but when it comes time to complete the reservation, joining the club is necessary to enjoy the best price.
This is how they describe the program on their website:
The Amare Beach Hotel Ibiza , belonging to the Amare Hotels (Fuerte Group) chain, has already planned its digital twin and will be the first establishment in the Paraty Tech client portfolio to implement Hotelverse in its reservation process. Fuerte Group is a clear example of direct sales at a national level, which has always been characterized by its innovative attitude, as Martin Aleixandre, Chief Commercial Officer , explains to us, for whom this initiative represents a new opportunity to continue differentiating itself and setting trends: "Anything that adds value in terms of direct sales and in relation to the guest experience, we value internally and try to implement it. Especially if it is a disruptive and useful solution, such as Hotelverse, with the peace of mind of having a partner like Paraty Tech, always ready to undertake any project or suggestion for improvement that we propose”. 
Gina Matheis, CEO and Co-founder of Paraty Tech is aware of the potential of this integration, especially for hotels and vacation resorts, where the location of the room can make a big difference : “ having the ability to decide to sleep on foot the beach, having views of the pool, being close to restaurants or far from the facilities for children, supposes a great differential value for the traveler, who will surely be willing to pay more in exchange for enjoying the power of choice and know exactly where your room will be located. In turn, hoteliers must understand that an integration of this nature will help them increase the price of certain rooms, the average ticket and the total revenue , paradoxically, also improving the accommodation experience of their guests, despite the probable increase in their bill. . With Hotelverse and Paraty Tech we all win ”.
BeCasual stands out for rewarding its members from the get-go and for rewarding their loyal commitment with additional benefits
Up to here we can read... Follow us on our usual communication channels to be aware of new steps. Price Seeker v4 is coming very soon .
Max Performance campaign settings. Both the added resources and the selected audiences are grouped into "Resource Groups". On the left we see all the added resources and on the right the selected audiences. At the top it is indicated on which networks the ads are being shown.
