B2B bedbank WebBeds has been powering up for travel recovery, undertaking a transformation project to simplify the way it does business and provide enhanced support for partners.
As countries swiftly implemented travel restrictions to contain Covid-19, WebBeds focused on initiatives to ensure it could deliver immediate support and value to its partners globally, amid rapidly changing environments.
WebBeds CEO Daryl Lee said: “Recognising domestic markets would be the first to open, we took the strategic decision to pivot our contracting and sales efforts to focus on domestic travel, diversifying our business model, which in turn has strengthened our supplier relationships and further developed our global footprint.
“Another immediate change has been the reorganisation of our geographical management structure, moving to four regions from three (separating MEA and the Americas) and introducing regional leadership reporting into one WebBeds CEO. This reaffirms our commitment to strong local market representation within our global footprint.”
Lee added that WebBeds will be opening new offices in Saudi Arabia to capture emerging opportunities within that region and further develop its specialist brand Umrah Holidays International.
After performing a holistic review of the business, looking at overall strategy and areas where longer-term plans could be fast-tracked while demand was low, WebBeds commenced a series of transformational initiatives to prep for the reopening of global travel markets.
Lee said: “We challenged ourselves to test all assumptions about the way we worked, and pretty quickly established we could do things better for everyone concerned – suppliers, clients and our people too. The key driver has been simplification that drives efficiencies and makes it easier to do business with us.”
The simplification initiatives cover a number of key business functions and services provided within WebBeds Global Marketplace, including delivery of a new WebBeds ERP and enhancements to WebBeds contracting module and connectivity technology.
WebBeds also created a new Global Product Group that will sit within the commercial side of the business, ensuring a greater focus on stakeholder engagement to ensure it delivers products and services that best suit its supply and distribution partners’ needs.
WebBeds is also unifying its stable of trade-facing brands under a single, cohesive, global brand – WebBeds.
Lee explained: “Working with one brand simplifies our commercial proposition and streamlines our process for both our supply and distribution partners, enabling both to leverage the benefits of WebBeds Global Marketplace.”
For WebBeds clients, change in this area begins with WebBeds trade booking websites, where the DOTW, Fit Ruums, Lots of Hotels and Sunhotels booking sites will be rebadged WebBeds.
In the near future, the simplification ethos will extend to WebBeds booking sites, with the release of Single Sign-On access, enabling any client currently accessing more than one of WebBeds’ booking sites to do so from a single login page, using one set of new WebBeds user account credentials.
