TravelLine's Debut at ITB Asia 2022
— Hi, guys! Just a little throwback to your journey to Singapore: how was that?
Artem Khatsko, Head of the APAC Business Development: Scary!.. (laughing). They literally scared us in Marina Bay Sands with the pandemic-related restrictions. So, we expected the worst.?
Nanthakumar Vadiveloo, Business Development Manager, Malaysia: Luckily, a week before, they had scrapped them all and allowed the TravelLine team of 17 at the expo, including Business Development Managers from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Only think! I met most of my colleagues and partners offline for the first time!?
Ekaterina Penko, Content Marketer: Well, a festive vibe was not the only exciting thing about the showcase. In 2020, TravelLine had the experience of visiting ITB Berlin. For ITB Asia, we took part as an exhibitor there.
— Wow! That was a new challenge, wasn’t that?
Ekaterina Penko, Content Marketer: Exactly! We had been preparing for the trade show for several months: booking a booth space, having approved the attendees’ profiles, and our company self - presentation.That was quite a task, you know! Thanks to the ITB Asia organizers: for me, they were everything! The lag time did not prevent them from consulting us on any questions or offering help and support. Half a year later, when met in person, the first thing we did was break into a hug! I appreciated their involvement - TravelLine has been entering the APAC Hotels and Hospitality market, and the homework mattered to introduce ourselves free hitch.
— So, how did the audience meet a new player??
Olga Baikina, APAC Business Development Manager:?On the first day of the travel showcase, our CEO Alexander Galochkin gave a talk at ITB Asia Conference. And you know what? He captivated the hoteliers! With our approach to running a business. We design web solutions to generate hotel revenue, but we do not just sell our products. When hoteliers choose to work with us, we accompany them every step of the way to ensure the success of their business. This is TravelLine’s philosophy. And we did not hesitate to spread it widely. You may only have a look at the topic of the report! So, that was where we differed from the competitors at the showcase.?
Alexander Galochkin, TravelLine CEO & Founder: “That was my first experience of speaking in English in front of a big audience. The room was full, and people pulled up as they went. Even visitors who had come because they did not have enough space in the cafe stopped chewing during the story.”?
Alexey Gerasimov, Chief Technical Officer:?And even the competitors were impressed with TravelLine's local support in its international branches! There were all-in-one solutions companies at the showcase, just like us. They had a similar product set. But, while in TravelLine, we do everything to make Booking Engine a tool to generate hotel revenue, they shifted their focus to channel managers and PMS. By the way, many hotels were using the Opera PMS custom software, which we had integrated. We also talked to OTAs and GDS like Trip.com, Traveloka, and others. So, it was more about future cooperation plans than the competition.?
— Then, how was the professional engagement and interaction arranged??
Nanthakumar Vadiveloo, Business Development Manager, Malaysia: We had booked a booth location at TravelTech Asia, so our current and potential partners could come up and get acquainted with us or learn more about TravelLine. I had 15 business meetings out of 17 confirmed ones. One of them – Grand Ion Delemen Hotel in Genting Highlands, Malaysia –, with a total of 1200 rooms, had been using IDB Malaysia PMS and Ipay88 as their payment gateway.
I consider them a crucial customer for TravelLine because we have been preparing our first Integration with IDB and Ipay88 by the end of this year. Besides, they liked our?Booking Engine features?and decided to improve their current website with us. They immediately sent out the first request email before the expo ended!
Olga Baikina, APAC Business Development Manager: We had more than 50 business meetings. Oh, booking.com invited us to pay a friendly visit to their office in Singapore as a Premier Partner. Awesome experience!
Alexander Galochkin, TravelLine CEO & Founder: "In short, the reality has changed since the pre-pandemic time. People mostly work remotely, so it is as bare as a bone at the booking.com office on a Friday. Still, a special vibe is here. You can watch open-air shows through the windows of the office, Formula 1 races, look at ships in the ocean, which are like herrings in a barrel here."
— It seems like you had a good time at the showcase?
Artem Khatsko, Head of the APAC Business Development: We did! At the ITB Asia section different nations and nationalities attracted us with their cultural traditions or technical innovations.
The Singapore pavilion was taking a snapshot, and AI picked up a unique backdrop depending on the color of clothes. Thai fighters taught their martial arts - Muay Thai boxing. We tried it! (laughing).
Evgeny Yashkardin, Research & Development Officer: I was surprised with lots of visitors even on the last day of the exhibition. There were many hoteliers from Vietnam. So, next time, we are bringing more sales managers to give equal attention to potential partners, and showcase more sales figures in reports on our new products.
— What would you take into account for the next time?
Alexey Gerasimov, Chief Technical Officer: For APAC hospitality trends, localized guest experience in every service is still a hit, online bookings have been increasing, and guests prefer more non-guaranteed reservations. There was something that blew our minds. Singapore is a high-tech city. Still, many industries – including hotels – are not fully automated. So, it is a growth field there for web solutions.
— Work, work, work…Did you have free time?
Alexey Gerasimov, Chief Technical Officer: Sure! On Saturday, the organizers made a quest game for us to get to know Singapore. It was a great team-building activity, and we visited new spots in the city. We also socialized more with our local support.?
Olga Baikina, APAC Business Development Manager: And this gourmet trip we had? Dumplings, Singaporean Chili Crab, Chicken Rice…
Evgeny Yashkardin, Research & Development Officer: In my free time, I slept (laughing).?
— So, what is the bottom line?
Nanthakumar Vadiveloo, Business Development Manager, Malaysia: ITB Asia is a Business Network International platform for Sales Managers and a target-oriented audience to build network and connectivity.?
Artem Khatsko, Head of the APAC Business Development: We will keep sharing what we have for developing and upgrading the hotel industry at such events. Next time we will prepare something new to offer.
P.S. We thank ITB Asia 2022 for inviting the TravelLine team to the showcase and our local colleagues for building the spirit of the TravelLine international team.?