Reload Hotel Sales Management

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I work for the Castello Hotels Group, a hospitality company with operations in Crete, Greece. I am an IT specialist responsible for the IT infrastructure and the development of corporate apps.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Reload Hotel Sales, and what were your goals?

We hired Reload Hotel Sales in order to help strengthen our online business visibility and manage our online sales. Our goal has been to increase our share of successful direct online sales in the competitive market of tourism.

SOLUTION

How did you select Reload Hotel Sales and what were the deciding factors?

Outsourcing our business's online sales was my personal proposal. The company's management and C-Team aggreed with my feedback that we were understaffed and lacked the technical and sales experience to exploit the opportunities that the market has to offer.

After having contacted with several expert companies available in the field, we decided that Reload Hotel Sales were the most promising candidate to take over the task. Yiorgos and Yiannis have a modern approach to online sales, they were sincere and we felt that there was a common mindset.

Finally, on a more personal level, we felt that they are a company who respects their clients and two people that one can trust and rely upon even for such an important business aspect.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Reload Hotel Sales worked with our sales team to develop an online sales strategy. They took all our online sales channels under their control, which includes our channel manager, our company's official booking engine and all third party OTAs such as Booking.com, Expedia.ie etc. They made suggestions on how to better our current setup and proposed new tools to help with conversions. They also utilize their contacts on some of the main players to get us better deals on utilities and on future collaborations.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with both Yiannis and Yiorgos. Yiorgos did not only work from his office but also worked tightly with us in our own premises once a week. Additionally we have worked with people who take care of our social media posts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Since the fiscal year has not ended yet, we have not had detailed reports, still, there was a substancial increase in direct online sales even during the year of a pandemic. Our website insights and visits increased for all our properties, but more importantly the direct bookings have increased and are showing a tendency to keep increasing even more the coming season.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Reload Hotels Sales is utilizing both modern and traditional project management tools and communication methods. They are using tools such as cloud storage (Google Drive), collaboration tools (Asana) and direct messaging and call apps.

They are doing a great job reporting to us about their innitiatives by emailing us reports or giving us presentations in person. Ofcourse they are always available on the phone whenever we need them.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What seems the most impressive from Reload Hotel Sales is their quick reflexes when it comes to discovering and taking advantage of opportunities that the online market presents.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As a company we feel that the collaboration has been spotless and we are sure that it will remain as such.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our property is Boutique Hotel in Chios, Greece and I am the general manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Reload Hotel Sales?

We cooperated in order to handle our sales strategy and sales distribution. We also developed a website and handled our social media strategy with Reload Hotel Sales.

What were your goals for this project?

Effective sales and distribution with ncrease occupancy and revenue

SOLUTION

How did you select Reload Hotel Sales?

We contacted a few agencies and we concluded that Reload Hotel Sales may provide us with complete solutions regarding our sales strategy. We were a completely new hotel as we opened for guestes on July 2019

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Reload Hotel Sales handled our complete sales strategy on the below different aspects:

1. Online Sales distribution, contracting with Online Travel Agents
2. Online Marketing, including registrations and presence in metasearch websites and social media platforms, as well as third party advertizing agencies
3. Website development and booking engine, complete solution, SEO optimized and translated in 3 languages (Greek, English, Turkish) D. Consulting on day to day operation and handling sales

What was the team composition?

We have worked closely with Reload Hotel Sales team and with constant communication especially in high season

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Very succesful opening of hotel, with high occupancy and excellent online presence. The second year, regardless impact of Covid-19, the results were more than satisfactory and continuing to be as we still cooperate

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent communication from all members of our team. We communicated with one representative that handled our account and that was very effective

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their knowledge of hotel market and tourism and clear communication are impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

More frequent in person communication as we are in remote cities