Despite having been in the market since 2001, “sleeping giant” Travelcube has been pretty under the radar. But that’s about to change.
The company, which provides hotels and tours exclusively to agents, has had considerable success in the local market over the last 15 years and now ranks itself among the top five companies in this field. But, until now, it hasn’t really made much noise.
So why now?
Travelcube was acquired by private equity company EQT in February and so far the message from its new owners has been “very positive”, vice president sales and marketing John Stucci told KarryOn.
“The new arrangement allows us to invest below the line, and ensure the fundamentals are right,” he explained.
“The premise is to grow the organisation by investing in technology, in product, in how we maximise distribution.”
So far, the plan is to “get more product on the shelf” and also to make the company as easy to interact with as possible, because agents are top of mind for this solely business to business supplier.
“We’re about helping them to make a buck,” Stucci said.
As a result, the company has introduced several new features just this year with the aim of making life easier for agents.
For example, in July, it did away with penalty fees when agents cancel an instant purchase hotel room booking so long as the room is cancelled within two hours of it being confirmed. It has also eliminated the need for agents to reconfirm bookings, along with credit card fees and currency fluctuation charges. Cancellation and amendment fees from TravelCube’s retail booking site are also now a thing of a past.
“These are levers that we’re lifting, turning or tweaking to make it easier to do business with us,” Stucci said.
“We take the risk. There’s a cost there but we’ll wear it ourselves.”
On top of that, it has extended its portfolio beyond major cities to include second-tier cities and beach resorts.
In April, Cuba became the latest destination to join its “Beach Collection” which features more than 6,600 properties around the world. This number is expected to double in the next 12 to 18 months.
Already, since the start of the year, TravelCube’s product tally has risen from 50,000 hotels and 14,000 services to 65,000 and 16,000 respectively.
“There are so many changes, we really need to get the world out,” Stucci explained.
“Let’s face it, the market has become more competitive.”
But he was confident the company’s scale and legacy in the local market set it in good stead for the future.
“Now it’s about cutting through the noise,” he said.
“The next six to 12 months will see us getting the message out to agents.”