A SCOTTISH hospitality technology firm has broken into North America and Africa after striking a deal with a company founded by entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne.
Hop, which has developed a single-point software for bookings, payments, orders, and check-ins, has secured contracts with Bannatyne’s leisure portfolio in Florida and Nigeria, in addition to a deal in Barbados. It comes after the company, set up by Highlands-based hoteliers Richard Drummond and Jon Erasmus and developer Ronald Tweedie in 2017, won contracts for five hotels with the Bannatyne company in England.
Hop’s software is already used in 65 hospitality venues across Scotland.
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Mr Drummond, who runs the McKays hotel, restaurant, and bar in Pitlochry, said: “We have a good presence and foundation in Scotland. This is probably because we have over 40 years of experience running our own hotels here. That gives us a ground-up, daily insight into the Scottish and UK sector and we are keen to continually build on that, with the knowledge we have.”
Mr Erasmus, who owns the Glen Mhor Hotel in Inverness, said: “Securing the Bannatyne contract was really important for us, as a business, while the international deals take things to a new level. We are in a crowded market but our customers tell us our product represents the type of functionality they want for their money, which is crucial in a time of rising costs across the hospitality sector because people are looking for value.
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“Like all businesses, Covid-19 was a challenge for us, but the aim now is to effectively double the size of the business in the next few years.”
In Florida, Hop will provide its solutions to Skyborne Aviation, which operates a 314-room campus hotel as part of an airline training academy at Vero Beach.
The company is also providing systems for CheckInn, a multi-property organisation in Nigeri, and is poised to go live at a holiday complex in Barbados in the Caribbean within weeks.
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