The chief executive of online hotel booking specialist RateHawk says he is committed to aggressively targeting number one status with the UK travel trade.
Speaking after the company unveiled a new brand and interface at World Travel Market, Felix Shpilman hailed its growth in the UK following the introduction of a local office and sales team.
He added: “We understand that the UK is an established market with many relationships already in place, but my ongoing focus is on how we can become number one.
“In Italy we are number one or two but in the UK we are not in the top three and there’s no reason why that needs to be the case.”
Shpilman added: “The function and convenience of what we offer is unmatched and we are second to none in the scale and quality of our product. Nobody does the heavy lifting in local markets as well as we do and I am confident we offer the best product, best localisation and best customer service.”
RateHawk and its parent company, Emerging Travel Group, achieved global turnover of £1.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2023.
The platform is utilised by more than 54,000 members of the trade worldwide, including 3,000 UK agents using a dedicated portal to access more than 2.2 million properties, along with flights from 350 airlines and transfers in 150 countries.
The company opened a London office earlier this year and almost doubled its UK commercial team to 15, with further expansion anticipated in 2024.
Shpilman said: “The leisure travel agent is an incredibly valuable part of the travel ecosystem and I see them evolving.
“Our rebrand and the improvements we are making are designed to assist them with the speed of digitalisation happening in the sector and we are committed to ensuring we become their partner of choice.”