A study shows that the yearly income for the travel and tourism sector is roughly 63% derived from online reservations. You can handle online bookings effectively with a competent hotel reservation system. By automating reservation procedures, the possibility of human error and financial losses in the hotel industry is decreased. A simplified booking process also enables hoteliers to give customers a more user-friendly booking experience.
It all started with the notion of making it possible for business visitors to swiftly and precisely choose appropriate hotel rooms from a broad range of offers and contingents at the best price. As an independent web portal offering cutting-edge technology and comprehensive solutions, ehotel® now covers all aspects of business travel, from booking to invoicing. Every new product since 2000 has been centred on the consumer. The service offerings of ehotel® are influenced and shaped by the daily activities of business travellers, travel managers, purchasers, and accountants, and specific user demands serve as the foundation for ongoing innovation. Because it is a data-driven company, ehotel® regularly analyses its operations to improve customer satisfaction and process efficiency.
The Visionary
Albert Schweizer, a Nobel winner, once said, “Setting an example is not the most important way to influence others. It’s the only one.” This saying is something that exemplifies the leadership style of Fritz Zerweck, the CEO of ehotel®. He is a team player, a motivator, and a source of innovative ideas and was initially intended to take over his parents’ retail business. Working on new inventions continually and collectively, according to Zerweck, is crucial. Even though he is the one who is responsible, he always leaves the door to his office open and would never use his authority to impose his will. “Everyone contributes their thoughts and ideas,” he explains, “and that helps us to avoid mistakes and grow beyond what we thought was possible.” The continuous team efforts to perfect the digital cycle of business travel have been the open secret of ehotel®’s success for 22 years.
At ehotel®, Fritz Zerweck is able to combine his love of travel with his aptitude for money management and interest in cutting-edge technology. For instance, he played a key role in the introduction of the cutting-edge meta-search technology that currently forms the company’s foundation. Users can apply filters that include both basic options like equipment and amenities and more complex options like various sustainability criteria to their search, taking into account company guidelines as well as suitable and, most importantly, valid offers from among the more than 7 million hotel rooms. For instance, guests have traditionally chosen hotels with e-charging facilities. Similar to this, clients have started to take certified green credentials into account more and more since ehotel® started promoting hotels with them. Of course, ehotel® keeps all information up-to-date at all times.
A Promotive Workplace
“I believe that our customer service is as good as it is because our employees genuinely like working at ehotel®,” says Fritz Zerweck. “We have to be satisfied with our own situation to truly want to be there for others.” His team members value this thoughtful approach, and ehotel® has received favourable reviews on workplace rating websites as a result. According to their comments, employees are pleased with ehotel’s® commitment to a healthy work-life balance, the respect shown in all interactions, and the company’s support of open communication. Working at ehotel® includes access to air-conditioned offices, contemporary equipment, team assessments, and further training possibilities. Employees also receive open-ended job contracts, financial help for their retirement planning, childcare cost subsidies, and coaching.
ehotel® also provides remote working options and reasonable compensation. The pleasant working environment at ehotel® is something that Fritz Zerweck particularly values. He previously worked in finance, which is akin to a shark tank, where there is continual pressure to do better than everyone else. When people get along and cooperate well, he thinks one may do much more. Collaboration entails mutual respect, consideration of opposing viewpoints, and the development of ideas from one another.
When asked what advice he would give to young corporate leaders, Fritz Zerweck says, “You have to have confidence in your employees and be prepared to take on responsibility, even if you have gone down the wrong path before. Too often, leaders bask in the success of the company while shifting responsibility for failures down the line. That poisons the working atmosphere.”
Enabling Tech for Service Improvement
A key ehotel® technology is ehotel® Analytics, a complete tool that assists travel managers in compiling data and producing trip volume evaluations. The dashboard has 29 integrated reports that can filter all the data by location, nation, hotel, cost centre, order number, contract rate, and payment method, among other criteria. Processes may be made simpler by automatically analysing all data to find potential for savings. Each employee may also be located in the field by travel managers, a capability that was very helpful during the epidemic.
Customers use the ehotel® Rate Manager sourcing tool to confirm the availability, completeness, and accuracy of negotiated contract rates. Through rigorous audits across all GDS and non-GDS channels, the platform avoids undesirable contract prices and supports data-based purchasing. The ehotel® central billing system completes the range of ehotel® services by enabling clients to easily automate their booking and payment procedures and manage their business travel expenses.
To enhance internal procedures and hence reduce costs further, all ehotel® products can be used alone or in combination. Customers’ travel habits have altered as a result of the epidemic, but Fritz Zerweck is certain that hotel booking websites will survive. As a result, ehotel® will keep making sure that clients have the most flexibility possible. The business has already responded to the request for new standards by introducing fresh ideas and modifying its search criteria to include, among other things, hygiene ideas, digital check-in possibilities, and hybrid event planning.
By emphasising these alternatives, ehotel® helps both business travellers and the lodging facilities that provide this extra benefit. Since ehotel® encourages and rewards high standards and exceptional quality, it goes beyond simple price comparison. “The hotel market in Europe is very molecular and fragmented,” Fritz Zerweck explained in an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper: Only about 6,000 of the 30,000 accommodations that ehotel® covers are part of a large chain, the rest are individual businesses. The CEO compares the hotel industry to the food sector, where booking portals are the supermarkets in the system: “You don’t see Coca-Cola running its own stores and handling sales and distribution itself,” he continues, explaining how hotels benefit from ehotel®’s concept and offering.
Leading the Market
With a focus on all aspects of the company, ehotel® has a distinct competitive edge. The secret to everything is transparency, fairness, and trust, including happy consumers, engaged clients, and cooperative hotels. Long-term success as a service provider is impossible if all you’re after is a fast buck, claims Zerweck. His business’s consistent expansion demonstrates this hypothesis.
For the past 22 years, ehotel® has been a leader in the hotel reservation market. When it comes to user friendliness and consumer trust, ehotel® routinely ranks highly in market research surveys conducted by reputable media outlets. The Berlin-based business can take pride in a number of prizes for both its inventions and its superior webpage. “A company is only ever as good as its employees,” emphasises Fritz Zerweck,” and our employees are fantastic in every respect.”
Written by Steve Sanchez.
