Annual international arrivals currently stand at just over three million and TAT aims to raise this by 12% in 2019. Efforts will focus on boosting short-haul traffic from nearby Southeast Asian countries, especially China.
Government plans to grow Thailand’s on-going tourism industry is prompting hoteliers across the country to invest in the future, especially in property management and distribution software, states leading global hospitality software business, Guestline.
The UK-founded technology firm has partnered with a host of hotel brands to help them drive bookings and manage operations – with hotels in many of Thailand’s top resort and city locations – as the nation gears up for a significant boost in its tourist numbers.
Last month (July), the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), unveiled its action plan for the future, which aims to drive visitor numbers that are already on an upward trend. Annual international arrivals currently stand at just over three million and TAT aims to raise this by 12% in 2019. Efforts will focus on boosting short-haul traffic from nearby Southeast Asian countries, especially China, and also increasing marketing of niche attractions such as luxury and gastronomy in European markets.
The current positive tourism performance in Thailand is driving Guestline’s growth across the region with local budget giant B2 Hotels opting for its award-winning suite of solutions to power the day-to-day running of its chain of 38 hotels.
Since making the switch in July 2017 B2 Hotels has seen occupancy leap 17%, with Guestline’s property management system Rezlynx, its Channel Manager and central reservation system helping to maximise visibility and manage inventory.
With TAT focusing on international markets, hoteliers are increasingly looking for more effective ways of boosting awareness, driving efficiencies and maximising revenue streams within their properties.
In addition to B2, recent new signings for Guestline include three properties in capital Bangkok – the Craftsman Hotel, Siam Bright Hotel and Apartelle Hotel Jatuchak. All cited the need for a fully-integrated cloud-based tech solution that could offer easy connectivity to the major online travel agencies (OTAs) and dynamically manage room rates.
James Cannon, head of international development, Guestline, comments: “There is no doubt that Thailand is one of the hottest tourism markets right now and all the indications are that this trend is to continue.”
“Guestline is ideally placed to help hoteliers here. Many are keen to invest in technology and move on from old systems, especially if they can automate labour intensive jobs such as rate management and inventory distribution.
“Having real-time presence and exposure on multiple OTAs is also an essential ingredient to success and we find prospective partners love how we can do this so simply for them. This is especially true for properties dealing with guests from China where internet penetration is high.”
Meanwhile, Guestline has partnered with a number of new hotels across Indonesia with Best Western. Best Western Senayan, Best Western Kamala Jimbaran, Best Western Kindai, Best Western Ocean Resort and Best Western Bangtao have all opted for Guestline PMS and Channel Manager to replace ageing legacy technology. The properties all cited Guestline’s two-way interface to the Best Western central reservation system and integrations with third-party software as reasons for their choice.
Guestline’s multi award-winning software for hospitality businesses is cloud-based. The software enables hospitality business owners and managers in sectors such as hotels, serviced apartments, pubs and more, to manage bookings and operations both efficiently and profitably. Innovative technology developments include integration with many leading 3rd party applications, tokenisation for PCI compliance and more functionality to improve customer service and capture more revenue.
Angelos is the news editor for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). His role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy. He currently studies Communication, Media & Culture in Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens.
