Spending time with some of Guestline’s most valued partners provided a chance to get a first-hand insight into the needs of Thai hoteliers and how technology could support them.
With the Thai Market integral to Guestline’s development and expansion plans, June saw Andrew McGregor, Guestline’s CEO, embark on a packed few days in the Thai capital visiting some of Guestline’s strategic partners and customers in the region.
Andrew’s visit provided the ideal opportunity to get under the skin of one of Guestline’s most important markets by spending time with key customers and partners. The objective was to understand the current landscape, evaluate past successes, current challenges, and future opportunities for greater collaboration and expansion given the challenging time the Thai market has been experiencing. Spending time with some of our most valued partners provided a chance to get a first-hand insight into the needs of Thai hoteliers and how technology could support them.
Meeting Best Western APAC
The trip started with a visit to the head office of Best Western APAC, one of Guestline’s most important customers in the area. Here Andrew met with Erwann Mahe, Managing Director, Asia, and Rodney Simpson, Regional Director of Ops. With Rezlynx, the Guestline cloud hotel PMS, installed in over 70% of Best Western’s Asian properties, it was important for Andrew to understand what’s working well for Best Western APAC and their priorities.
The Best Western team emphasised how much they valued Guestline having a local team in Asia, meaning support for hoteliers is instantaneous – no waiting for European or US teams to pick up service emails or calls. This is crucial for their hotels. The close and deepening relationship is fuelled by a regular and open exchange of ideas made possible by frequent meetings and reviews, close collaboration between the IT teams, and an ongoing commitment from Guestline to product innovation. It was a productive and optimistic meeting, with both parties committing to further extend the collaboration.
Promoting Tech in Hotels
The Thai Hotel Association (THA) has been focusing on supporting Thai hoteliers for nearly 60 years and the next stop on the agenda was a meeting with Ben Montgomery, Vice President, THA. Guestline were keen to understand how they can best support driving awareness locally as to how hoteliers can leverage technology given challenging market conditions. It was evident product localization to meet the regional market needs, combined with local product support are crucial to Thai hoteliers, something very much at the heart of Guestline’s strategy for APAC. It was a hugely productive meeting with Guestline agreeing to collaborate with the THA on a series of informational sessions designed to build hotel owners’ knowledge of technology. Topics suggested included the value of cloud-based systems and how technology can support hotel operations.
Guestline PMS rolled out across Compass Hospitality
Guestline enjoys preferred vendor status with Compass Hospitality, so no visit to the Thai capital would be complete without a meeting with the Compass team. With properties throughout APAC and the UK, Compass is in the process of converting its entire portfolio to Guestline’s PMS Solution, Rezlynx. It was an important meeting to understand how to take the partnership further, with Guestline’s technology so integral to the Compass tech stack. Given the pivotal role Guestline solutions enjoy across the 46 Compass properties, both parties were keen to cement their relationship with reassurances to ongoing product development.
Supporting independent hoteliers
The visit finished with Andrew meeting a selection of local independent hoteliers and customers of Guestline. In attendance at the round table discussion were Yiam S, VP at the 760-bedroom Ambassador Hotel; Khun Mo, Hotel Owner Representative at Andaman White Beach; Dalvir Singh, Owner at Solo Hotel; and Anand Kunkudatharn, Owner of Majestic Suites and Double Tree Hilton Bangkok. The lively and open discussion allowed Andrew to hear firsthand the challenges faced by hoteliers in today’s market and sparked collaborative blue skies thinking as to innovative product enhancements to aid recovery.
A full-on but highly educational few days getting to grips with issues in one of Guestline’s key markets. Time spent with valued partners and customers left Andrew brimming with ideas to take back to head office as to how Guestline can continue to support the needs of the Thai hotel market. Watch this space!
Don’t forget, to find out more about how Guestline’s suite of products can support your recovery plan, come and meet us at the upcoming Food and Hospitality Thailand Exhibition, Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, Bangkok on 21-24 September. More details HERE
Tomasz is the Head of Global Marketing at Guestline- hospitality technology company headquartered in United Kingdom, with regional offices in Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands and Thailand. Tomasz has many years of experience gained during his international career at both hotel technology and the hospitality companies.
