A Chester-based hospitality tech company has finalised a major Caribbean contract, adding to an international reach which already expands across three continents.
Property management software company Hop, based at Venture Point opposite Cheshire Oaks Outlet Village, was founded in 2017 by hoteliers and software experts, Jon Erasmus, Richard Drummond and Ronald Tweedie.
The experience of having to use a host of misaligned, clunky and expensive systems in their hotels inspired the trio to create a one-stop software product which could run hospitality businesses from end-to-end.
The latest deal will see Hop provide single-point software to the prestigious Kings Beach Village in Barbados, enabling the company to operate all aspects of its luxury tropical villa complex on the Caribbean island’s West Coast.
Deals were also concluded earlier this year in Nigeria, with CheckInn, and in Florida with Skyborne Aviation, while the company signed up its 200th UK customer in June and has over 250 contracts signed across the UK and wider Europe.
“Hop came about through the experience of the directors operating in the hospitality, tourism and tech sectors and building on that lived knowledge and understanding of what hospitality needs, wherever in the world that may be,” said Hop chief operating officer, Sharon Smith.
“This contract, on top of securing new business in the UK, Europe, Florida and Nigeria shows what a start-up can do. The fact that two directors remain in hospitality means we can develop our product to meet the new economic circumstances all hospitality businesses are having to operate within, whether in the UK or overseas, and we will continue to work with and bring in more partners, globally.”
Hop and partners such as Premier Spa and The Focus Group will host a networking roadshow event in Inverness, Scotland, on October 11, with other UK dates to follow.
A key theme will be the cost and staffing pressures facing the UK hospitality and tourism sector, a subject Hop directors have direct experience of.
“At the moment, in the hospitality industry, everyone is looking to reduce overheads. Borrowing has effectively tripled, energy and things like food inflation are up and businesses are still finding their feet after re-opening following the pandemic,” said Smith. “In a tough marketplace, we are offering cost effectiveness and functionality, when we benchmark against our competitors. We are well positioned to help these businesses in a rapidly changing marketplace.”
