Integration with technology partners in the hospitality sector

In a sector where companies have a complex tech stack, data integration work is key to ensure a reliable, efficient and secure flow of information.

By Ignacio Gómez-Moreta, Analista at Beonprice Integrations Dpt.

Haz clic aquí para leer la versión original en español.

In our last posts we have talked about sales processes, operational efficiency as an objective of digital transformation, SaaS models, work methodologies or roadmaps. Today we would like to talk to you about the process of integration with third parties.

On the one hand, we can define a partnership as the relationship that exists between those persons/companies that develop a common business for profit (def. Article 1 of the Partnership Act 1890). On the other hand, Partner Integration can be defined as the process of connecting one’s own systems with third-party systems (or vice versa) so that an exchange of information takes place between the two.

The role of the integration department

The Beonprice Integrations Department was born with the aim of collecting daily data from different sources (OTAs, CRS, …) and storing them in our system. Thanks to the data downloaded from the network of networks, we have managed to display them in a graphical, visual and user-friendly way. Thus, the business intelligence module of our RMS facilitates decision making in terms of pricing strategy in relation to the competition, and helps the hotelier to find price disparities in the different channels.

The evolution of our product towards the company’s goal of becoming a leading global RMS to help hoteliers maximise their revenue also led to the evolution of our integrations. Downloading data from the network on a daily basis was still necessary but not enough: the need to integrate with third parties emerged.

Once the needs were assessed, two main levels of integration were established:

1. Strategic Integrations

Affiliates: companies that can recommend our product/system to potential customers.

Re-sellers: companies that offer our services within their own product catalogue.

2. Technology Integrations

Partnerships: involves using technology and/or data from other companies in order to complement our own systems.

How to ensure quality integration with technology partners

In a sector where digital transformation is becoming more and more important, with hotel companies having a complex tech stack, data integration work is key to ensure a reliable, efficient and secure flow of information.

Any Technological Partnership carried out by Beonprice aims to:

• Saving time when connecting new clients
• Ensuring data quality and consistency
• Improving efficiency

At Beonprice, at a technological level, we mainly carry out 3 types of integrations:

• Integrations with PMS (Property Management System)
• Integrations with CM (Channel Manager)
• Integrations with CRS (Central Reservation System)

In order to know the quality of the integration with each of the systems mentioned above, at Beonprice we have an internal indicator called PQI (PMS integration Quality Index). Through the analysis of multiple parameters, we can evaluate the quality of the data and the reliability of the integration with the partner, which helps us to know the possible outcome of a new connection with a client before proceeding with it. This index also serves as a reference for the sales team to inform the customer about the integration possibilities during the sales process.

The integration process

Once the need to integrate the Beonprice system with a third-party system has been detected, our technical and product departments contact the partner to find out more about their product, the technology used, requirements and any limitations that may exist. After an exhaustive analysis, and always in constant contact with the partner, we decide the best way to carry out the integration. It is at this point that we decide who will carry out the implementation:

• Beonprice: the Integrations team implements and codes the necessary calls to receive the data that will feed our RMS and/or any other service in the Beonprice catalogue.
• The technological partner: After analysing the specifications provided by Beonprice, the technological partner is able to adapt and send information to our system following guidelines and standards so that our processes can read and treat this information correctly.
• Beonprice & partner together: in some cases it is necessary for Beonprice and the partner to work together to ensure that the information exchange process meets the requirements of all parties. In these cases, the implementation is carried out jointly by both technical teams.

If we take a look around us, we can see how third-party connectivity has become a key value for the customers of a product. Transport companies, marketplaces, e-commerce, and a long etcetera have carried out a digital transformation in record time in order to be faster and more effective in their service.

There is still a long way to go, but we are definitely facing a paradigm shift that, through collaboration between third parties, will help us achieve our goal: to make life easier for our customers.