PRESS RELEASE: Hotelzon enters 2012 full of confidence

Hotelzon, leading IT supplier for the global hotel industry, is set for additional growth in 2012 according to CEO Jani Kaskinen.

Having moved its European headquarters to London in 2011, Hotelzon was buoyed by a global agreement with GDS goliath Travelport which put the company at the forefront of IT suppliers to the lodging sector.  The company also had a significant acquisition in Finland with the purchase of HVO Hotel Booking Company and an award for its financial performance by Finland’s Kauppalehti newspaper.

2012 will see the company build on its corporate successes, react to the emerging dynamics of the business travel sector and develop its IT infrastructure in line with the trenchant use of mobile technology in the lodging sector. 

According to Jani Kaskinen “In 2011 we saw a marked increase in hotel bookings which underlined the benefits of our agreement with Travelport.  As the year progressed we saw a shift in booking patterns from 3* properties to 4*.  Year on year the use of 4* hotels increased by 5.4% largely due to hotels negotiating on their room rates.  The corporates’ governance of costs is reflected in a decrease in length of stay with our statistics revealing the average booking reducing from 1.94 to 1.90 room nights per average booking.  Rates on the other hand averaged 114.58 Euros compared to 112.14 Euros in 2010.” 

The year ahead will see Hotelzon look to increase its online presence with feasibility studies currently being undertaken into the South American and Asian markets.  Development of technology for mobile phones and tablet devices will also be a key focus as Cloud services become more cost effective and scalable across the world. 

Kaskinen concludes “We have seen a paradigm shift in our business model progressing from a service provider to a technology company and now seen as a leader in online systems for the online travel agent community.  Our key asset remains our people and the fact that we balance over 40 years experience in the business travel industry with a team of forward thinking individuals who are in touch with today’s generation-Y and tomorrow’s business traveller.”