NEWS TRAVEL FORWARD
KLAUS KOHLMAYR
“Innovation falls flat when it is too dependent on operations protocol” The chief evangelist at IDeaS tells Andrew Doherty about tech trends
F
ounded by Sanjay Nagalia and Dr Ravi Mehrotra in 1989, IDeaS is celebrating 30 years as a leading provider of revenue management
software and services this year. We find out how it wants to make an impact at WTM London.
TELL US MORE ABOUT IDEAS. We pioneered “revenue science”, which is the backbone to the solutions we provide to more than 13,000 clients in 129 countries. IDeaS is headquartered in Minneapolis, but we have a global presence with more than 80% of our 450 teammates located in key markets and cities around the world, and major offices in London, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Pune, India.
WHAT DO YOU OFFER THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY? IDeaS provides a suite of “Software as a Service” revenue management software and solutions to the hospitality and travel industry.
DO YOU HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF WHEN IDEAS HELPED A TRAVEL BUSINESS BECOME MORE PROFITABLE? Profitability is straightforward, given we can show double-digit average daily rate, total revenue per available room and net revenue per available room with ever-increasing occupancy rates. Where we find the greatest pride is hearing how our clients have seen their life change when working with us. One independent 200-room hotel client in Cardiff, Wales, said: “The best gift I ever received was IDeaS. It’s just amazing how much time it has saved me in forecasting alone.”
DO YOU WORK WITH TRAVEL COMPANIES OUTSIDE HOSPITALITY? We optimise revenues for many adjacent businesses, including campgrounds, holiday parks, all-inclusive resorts, apart-hotels and hostels.
ABOVE: Klaus Kohlmayr, chief evangelist at IDeaS
ABOVE RIGHT: IDeaS has offices around the world including Tokyo, Japan
WHAT WILL THE MAIN TRENDS BE IN 2020? We will see more companies adopt integrated, cloud-based platforms that, infused with AI, automatically and dynamically turn data into decisions, which in turn will surface up the most relevant offer to consumers.
40 WTM OFFICIAL EVENT DAILY 05.11.2019
WHAT ARE THE MAIN MESSAGES YOU’RE SHARING AT WTM LONDON? Our main focus is to share stories of impact to show how a client-centric organisation, coupled with an elegant and optimised revenue management system, can transform a world of data into a world of intelligent decisions.
WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO ACHIEVE? To continue to lead, learn and educate the hospitality and travel industry about the power of revenue science. We look to start new conversations and challenge long-held beliefs on how the sector should move forward in its deployment of mission-critical technology and capabilities that impact a hotel’s and airport’s bottom line.
WHERE ARE THE GAPS IN TRAVEL TECH? The biggest barrier is outdated legacy technology, making it extremely inefficient and costly to exchange and sync data across systems. Especially in hotels, innovation falls flat when it is too dependent on operations protocol and people to execute. A prime example is chatbots, which do not provide responses to enquiries as someone at the hotel is too busy to answer.
Visit IDeaS on stand TT137
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