In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Erika Argüelles, Business Development Manager of Profitroom for Latin America.
What are your expectations and objectives for participating in the Cancun Travel Mart?
The expectation is great. It is a high-end event for our country, being the second most important in the region. Our expectation is to grow the presence of our company. Obviously we have been in Mexico for three years, however, we are always trying to expand and grow more.
What does Profitroom offer?
We are a technological ally for hotels. We call ourselves an ally because, although we are a booking engine, we have technological tools that also help them grow in their direct sales. And it is not just about providing the technology, but we also assist them, we are with them and we try to find the best option.
We integrate with many companies and this allows the hotelier to expand all of their technology providers to increase their direct sales.
At this time, how do you see the level of adoption of new technologies in the Mexican hospitality market?
This year could be considered an opening, because in the first years there was a lot of resistance from hoteliers to direct sales. They were firm with the travel agencies, with the OTAs. But every time technology increases, obviously the players in the destination are opening up more and have more opportunities to choose better technology according to their needs.
In addition, dependence on OTAs is not always the most convenient for hoteliers.
How did the company come about and at what point does it find you participating in this event?
Our company has been in the market for almost 16 years, it is of Polish origin, and we are in the years of expansion.
In fact, it has a presence on all continents with more than 4,000 hotels around the world; chain hotels, independent hotels, boutiques, chalets, castles, etc., with a wide variety of products.
What are the short and medium term plans?
The company has plans to expand its existing business, such as expanding across Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. However, Europe is the main market.
Our expectation is to grow our portfolio by 40% and obviously increase our clients' income.
We also launched a loyalty program a couple of weeks ago, built in our own ecosystem, which will allow hoteliers to have very detailed control over the entire loyalty aspect for all their clients. This includes a segmented database where they will be able to provide added value or discounts, which is very customizable for the hotelier. The reality is that we are trying to make the relationship between the client and the hotel ever closer.