Twenty years
ago, Jan Hejný, the founder of HotelTime, was at the very inception of the
development of the reservation management systems based on that time ground-breaking
technology of the Internet. The entrepreneurial trio sensed the unique
opportunity of the emerging technology of the Internet and assumed it would
revolutionize the way we operate. Subsequently, they decided to offer hotels a
system that would automatically track room availability and allow people to
book rooms directly on the company’s website. Despite the fact that at that time
most hotels didn't even have their own website.
Across all these
markets, Hejný says hoteliers generally share one thing – their stance on
technology. "They perceive it as a necessary evil instead of looking at it
through the perspective of enhancement to their businesses. Allowing them to
optimize hotel operations while improving the guest experience from booking
through check-in to check-out," says the 40-year-old HotelTime executive,
who is trying to change that view.
HotelTime's
annual revenue hit £1m last year and it has maintained a growth rate of between
20 and 30 per cent a year. Unlike other firms in the industry, the firm does
not rely on the help of investors, instead funding development and expansion
from its own profits. It was not until Hejný bought out his original partner
and became a director and From 2013 the company began to expand overseas under
his leadership. The UK was the first choice, as it is a very cosmopolitan and
English-speaking market that could also serve as a gateway to other countries
for the Czech company. Foreign partner companies with whom HotelTime had
already cooperated in the Czech Republic helped with the entry into this
market.
Source: cc.cz