Previous developments: HOTREC has informed its member associations on TOURISMlink since the contract was awarded › General Assemblies › Other working groups › Promotion campaign: newsletters, website etc. (Information on the project, pilots and advantages of piloting the platform was provided) Decision: Valencia + Croacia + Rimini would be destinations to test the framework architecture from destination side

Planned pilots Supply side in Valencia Retailers in Czech Republic Retailers in Sweden Retailers in Croatia Supply side in Croatia Retailers in Finland Retailers in Germany Retailers in Greece Supply side in Rimini Retailers in Romania Retailers in Portugal Retailers in Belgium

Pilot Nº 1 Destination /Supply side Valencia

Valencia Pilot experience Access conditions signed Online training Agency contract signed Credentials Upload contracting conditions Local and technical support

Companies registered 828 Companies operated 323 Platform access conditions signed 116 Contracts signed with rates in platform 77 Accommodation 57 Compl. Offer 20 Operators connected 30 Management system connected 5 Valencia Pilot experience:

No. transactions in TOA: Amount transactions in TOA: € No. transactions in TL: 0 Amount transactions in TL: 0 Valencia Pilot experience:

Valencia Pilot experience 8 PMS already integrated: OTAs in the channel manager:

Pilot Nº 2 Destination /Supply side Croatia

Main dates: November 2012 – UPUHH annual congress January 2013 – HOTREC + UPUHH meeting April 2013 – 1 st training accommodation September nd training accommodation 1 st Training complementary offer Involvement local roll out team + companies

Objectives 2 first meetings: What is TOURISMlink Objectives of the project Benefits for participants Technical details for companies to be part of the project Setting-up local roll out team Description activities local roll-out team Description activities companies (test platform + feedback) Involvement local roll out team + companies January/February 2013 – 40 accommodation companies on-board July 2013 – 12 complementary offer companies joined

Objectives trainings: General presentation TOURISMlink Companies to use the platform (upload products / make reservations / management prices, rates / explanation different functionalities of the platform) Access platform with credentials Feedback from companies Filling in 1st questionnaire Involvement local roll out team + companies Companies were given the green light October 2013 to upload product

State of play: 30 January 2014: 9 companies 21 February 2014: only 4 companies (lower) 4 March 2014: 14 companies Total of companies engaged TL: 30 companies on-board (less companies than beginning) Accommodation

State of Play: 30 January 2014: 2 companies with product in TL The other previous companies left the project (9) Solution: Roll out team found 13 new companies (near accommodation) Total number: 15 (including museums, restaurants, parks, events, night clubs) Companies received credentials Companies to upload product + send access conditions Training material sent to companies Complementary Offer Currently, 2 companies uploaded product. More companies working on upload. Possibility of on-line training being discussed.

Note: HOTREC and UPUHH contacted each one of companies ( + telephone) several times to encourage them to upload the product DOME gave all technical support needed. Also contacted each company on individual basis Accommodation + Complementary Offer

Difficulties: Some companies uploaded rates incorrectly Solution: support team contacted companies for corrections to be done Uncertainty about the future of the platform after July 2014 Reduced number of business transactions done so far → companies very sceptical to pay after July 2014 → short time to try platform for free Feedback from companies

Difficulties: It takes a long time to upload product in a professional manner Small companies: do not have time to update rates and prices on a daily basis Companies in destinations would like to see more participating companies source market side → more opportunity business transactions Feedback from companies

Difficulties: Chains: already pay to other channel manager facilities → the advantage would only be to do business with 9 different source markets Duplication of work Feedback from companies

Facts: Companies have very fragmented PMS’s → not worthwhile to do one/two integration/s Solution: HOTREC launched survey: distributors with whom hotels already had contract with Goal: develop the channel manager functionality Results: Booking/Venere/Expedia/UNILINE Integrations already done: Booking/Expedia Integrations pending: UNILINE/Venere Duplication of work – solution found? DOME sent video explaining how companies can use the channel manager functionality!

Uniline State of Play: Memorandum of Understanding signed January 2014 Integration foreseen to finish middle March Problem : Uniline informed 25/2/2014 → company is facing software problems → integration could only be completed in September 2014….. Duplication of work – solution found?

Extra Help provided: TOURISMlink partners offered to all companies for the product to be uploaded by DOME this first time Result: More companies are contacting support team to get their product uploaded. Solution to difficulties

Companies future tasks: Continue uploading product Provide users feedback (reply to online questionnaire) Identify areas of improvement Exchange information and business models with companies in source markets Pilot next steps

Pilot Nº 3 Destination /Supply side Rimini region /Italy

Meetings in Rimini February 2013: Kick of meeting September 2013: roll- out team organised meeting with potential interested companies January 2014: intensive training on TOURISMlink for companies piloting TL Possible other meeting ?

Roll-out team + HOTREC organised kick-off meeting Roll-out team: FIPE, FEDERALBERGHI and Rimini local associations representatives present Consortium members: HOTREC, Bocconi, ITH presented objectives of TL & detailed pilot activities Kick off meeting

Kick off meeting - Outcomes: Commitment and involvement of the national and local associations in TOURISMlink was discussed Rollout team: to involve companies, implement pilot actions and coordinate pilot actions with HOTREC ›FEDERALBERGHI representing hotels and similar establishments › FIPE representing complementary offer Follow-up: Roll-out team to schedule meeting gathering companies interested in piloting TL

Rollout team + HOTREC organised meeting gathering tourism companies interested in piloting the platform Participants: representatives of hotel groups, independent hoteliers and representatives of complementary offer services TOURISMlink representatives: HOTREC, DOME (IT partner) and BOCCONI Involving companies in Rimini /September 2013

Content of meeting: Typology of participating companies Requirements to be part of TOURISMlink pilots Information on training Practical information on when companies can start Practical demo on how TOURISMlink works Different functionalities of TL for companies (BI, PMS, CM, CRS) Steps to put the hotel and complementary offer services on platform

Feedback by participating companies: Encouraged to participate as pilots to test the platform "Status quo" on source markets Legal implications on TOURISMlink - consortium explained that model contracts are available to facilitate the job of the companies when piloting TL Outcome of meeting: companies looking forward to test the platform in real conditions and to exchange business models with agencies/tour operators in source markets

Training on TOURISMlink 28 January 2014 Consortium: DOME, BOCCONI, HOTREC Roll-out team Participating companies: 18 Some participants representing several hotels

Companies contacted individually - HOTREC + roll -out team Agenda distributed previous to meeting Credentials on platform distributed Access to TOURISMlink website distributed PC needed to follow online demonstration on TL Tasks done by consortium and roll-out

Content of meeting Brief overview of TOURISMlink project: advantages to pilot the platform DEMO of TOURISMlink platform: › Acess to platform + credentials › Modules: configuration, rates, multimedia,bookings, management tools etc. Companies to fill in TOURISMlink questionnaire Using the platform / practical exercise

Outcomes of meeting Future of TOURISMlink: companies would like the platform to continue and be extended to EU countries Source market already available on platform to exchange business transactions? Payment systems: out of platform Possibility to receive request for bookings and not only to book through TL? technicalities of the platform: all elements of an hotel, for example, visible to all participating companies? Consortium explained that it is optional Booking channel

Improvements by consortium All documentation for companies should be centralised in TOURISMlink website → managed by ZN Not easy that companies fill in all questionnaires: feedback to be provided in any format HOTREC/ZN agreed to include an empty box on TOURISMlink website to get feedback on any format (as questionnaires are not always filled in by companies)

Follow-up to meeting: Participants fully understood advantages of TL and were willing to upload the product and exchange business models HOTREC send personalized s to every participant company with attached documentation (presentation, access to website, contracts etc.) and contact details of support team Very important: continue lobbying companies after training (roll-out team + HOTREC) so that companies upload their product Consortium: decided to modify part on TOURISMlink website to centralize all documents

Next steps: DESTINATION SIDE Companies to continue work (upload product) → Roll out team HOTREC and DOME to continue encouraging them Companies to continue giving feedback on platform and things to be improved to consortium Companies working directly with DOME support team on difficulties on uploading their product on TL Companies to exchange business models with companies in source markets Another meeting to be organized in Rimini?