New York, NY – December 20, 2016 – In a season of making resolutions, it’s important to reflect on the year’s achievements and celebrate the people who made it all possible. In 2016, HeBS Digital continued its journey of helping hoteliers across the globe increase direct bookings and lower distribution costs, celebrated its 15-year anniversary, published over 70 whitepapers, articles and releases, added to its product line of reservation-driving technology and expanded operations by opening offices in APAC and the UK.
Company Highlights from 2016 Include:
- Global Expansion: HeBS Digital expanded its teams in the NYC, Las Vegas and European offices, in addition to opening offices in APAC and the UK. The company will continue to expand in 2017 to help more hoteliers achieve higher levels of success through the direct online channel with a comprehensive suite of digital technology and marketing services.
- Technology Innovations: The firm’s in-house team continued to release technology that helps hoteliers achieve the perfect balance of beauty and science on their hotel website. This includes v7 of the smartCMS®, a cloud-based website technology platform that gives hoteliers full control over their websites and direct online channel streams. Product updates to HeBS Digital’s Reservation Abandonment Application Suite and the Smart Personalization Engine give hoteliers a solution that combines past guest data with intent data to close the loop and reach their best guest.
- International Speakerships: Members of HeBS Digital’s team spoke at conferences in North America, APAC and Europe including the HSMAI Digital Marketing Strategy Conference in NYC, HSMAI Digital Marketing conferences in Sydney and Bangkok, EyeforTravel’s Smart Travel Analytics North America and The Lodging Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
- Over Forty Website Design, Digital Technology and Marketing Awards: Highlights include the Gold Stevie® Award (American Business Awards) for the third year in a row as well as the World Travel Award, eleven HSMAI Adrian Awards including two Platinum, seven Interactive Media Awards, four Travel Weekly Magellan Awards and a Webby Award.
- Marking 15 Years of ‘Book Direct’ Success: This past May, HeBS Digital celebrated 15 years of building ‘Book Direct’ strategies for hoteliers. The first hotel digital technology and marketing firm with a singular focus on helping its clients grow direct website revenues, the company’s vision has stayed aligned with the main goal of helping hoteliers drive revenue the most cost-efficient way possible.
“It has been an exciting year for HeBS Digital, and we are so thankful to our clients that inspire us to continually elevate our product and service line to achieve greater results” said Max Starkov, President & CEO of HeBS Digital. “The HeBS Digital ‘Book Direct’ mantra has never been more relevant than today. We look forward to continuing to help the hospitality industry invest smartly in their direct booking strategy and shift share from the OTAs to the direct channel in 2017.”
The 2017 outlook for the industry is a cause for concern. Supply is outpacing demand in many major markets, occupancy rates are flatting, Airbnb is growing market share, and the direct booking ratio has declined 40% since 2009. HeBS Digital is perfectly equipped to tackle these concerns for hoteliers in 2017 and is looking forward to continuing to push the industry forward, expanding its global footprint, and increasing its product suite to help hoteliers maximize direct online channel revenues.
