A Chester tech firm has signed a deal with a global Events company which will enable hotels to sell large scale events, rooms and food and drink packages with a single click.
Hop, a Hotel Property Management Software Company, was founded in 2017 by hoteliers, Richard Drummond and Jon Erasmus alongside developer, Ronald Tweedie.
The company has developed award-winning software for hotels and hospitality businesses which handles bookings, multi-system payments, orders and check-ins, with around 100 clients in England.
Now, hot on the heels of securing contracts in Florida, Nigeria and Barbados, the Cheshire business has concluded a partnership with Queensland-based Venue management software company, iVvy.
The deal will see the Australian group’s market-leading events booking software merged within Hop’s hotel management system, enabling venues to sell big events and room packages.
Events are a major contributor to the UK economy, with a report to the Department of Digital Culture Media and Sport in 2022 estimating that the sector generates £84 billion per year.
Whilst the Hop system already contains functionality for smaller scale venues, the partnership with iVvy upscales to cater for businesses whose core revenues are generated by big Events.
“We have clients now that are managing hundreds of events per year. That requires in-depth functionality and that is why, for this type of customer, we decided to partner with one of the industry leaders to provide that solution,” said Hop Chief Operating Officer, Sharon Smith.
“Our clients are getting an amazing events module as well as Hop’s ability to handle all the bedroom reservations, rates, reporting and finances.
“In terms of the user, they are getting that seamless ability to book everything in one go; events, rooms and any add-ons integrated within the Hop system. It is quick and easy. It is the way people want to book these days. They don’t want to be jumping between systems. They want everything in one place.”
For Hop hotel customers in the UK operating wedding, meeting and Events spaces, the integration will slash staffing costs and financial reporting time.
With hospitality businesses continually wrestling with rising bills, Hop leaders feel the cost-effectiveness and ease of the solution will prove an attraction.
Partners iVvy, too, are delighted that the arrangement- first mooted 2 years ago- has come to fruition.
“This partnership with Hop represents a significant win for our clients as they seek to manage their properties more effectively and efficiently.
“It will allow iVvy users to gain greater visibility over guest information and inventory, and save time on bookings and internal operations using automation,” said Lauren Hall, iVvy CEO.
Hop, voted Property Management System Partner of the Year 2022 by SiteMinder, is now in talks about further integrations with leading external partners.
The Hop system is being used in around 100 hotels in England including Bannatyne, Trivelles and Futurelets properties. Nearly 70 Scottish hotels have signed up, with around 10 in Wales.
IVvy’s customers include TFE Hotels, Solotel, Accor Live Limitless and ALH Group.
