As we get just past the six-month mark – that was fast! – it’s time for a mid-year review. Here’s a quick summary of how the year’s been shaping for STAAH, our successes and what to expect.
Growth
Following on from a bumper 2016, this year has been shaping extremely well for us at STAAH. After more than doubling our footprint last year, we continue to march towards even greater heights by year ended June 2017.
Our products are being used in more than 4,300 properties across more than 70 countries. Nearly 4.6 million room nights and 2.3 million bookings were processed in the year ended June 17 through the STAAH platform. As the number of clients and bookings has grown, so has the team. We are now over 100 team members spread across seven offices that service the global network where our products are being used. The latest opening was the UK office (located in Cambridge). We have completed 22 integrations so far in 2017 with OTAs, PMS and payments gateways around the world.
There’s been a flurry of action from South-east Asia and India as we ramp up our presence in these key markets. The increased focus has resulted in more than 100% growth of client base in South-east Asia, with growth in India touching 35%.
New Products
We completed testing on and launched to all markets around the globe two new products that will put users at the absolute forefront of digital dominance.
- Gift Voucher Engine was the first cab off the rank. Aimed at increasing online revenue for properties, especially off-peak, this gift voucher management system is easy to set up, secure and completely customisable e-shop. It makes managing the lucrative gift vouchers a breeze – no hassle, just lots of opportunities.
- In May we completed the roll out of ReviewMinder, an online reputation management tool that allows properties to listen and manage all-important online reviews, turning them into booking opportunities.
Constant Innovation
“We’re committed to helping accommodation providers transform their digital presence,” says STAAH’s founding director, Gavin Jeddo. “We stay ahead of the technology curve and constantly improvise to ensure our clients are finding new and easier ways to reach prospective customers and convert them into bookings.”
Among the key updates this year have been:
- What does an accommodation provider hate most? Losing a direct booking to another commission-based source. WatchMyRate addresses this by doing a rate compare on your website, improving the stickiness of your web visitor and prompting more direct bookings.
- PCI-certified. We take security seriously and are proud to be one of the most secure platforms for your customers to transact through.
- GST-ready in India. As one of our key markets goes through an overhaul of its taxation system, we readied our products in time to adapt to the change. From 1 Aug, our channel manager and booking engine in India dynamically update the rates with the GST amount applicable, saving clients a lot of hassle and avoiding errors.
Committed to Customer Success
We continue to have some of the highest rated review scores on Capterra. Customer testimonials and success stories have been pouring in with most clients reporting anywhere between 9% to 150% increase in bookings.
We’re committed to supporting our customers in their success journey. In the last six months we’ve launched a STAAH Help Centre, which features video tutorials. Our blog and social channels now feature latest news, trends and tips to help our clients improve their online presence.
Looking Ahead
There is definitely no relenting the pace of STAAH’s growth in the coming months. Look forward to more integrations and updates from – make sure you subscribe to our blog and news updates!
Looking beyond these updates, there are many innovations reshaping our digital future.
“We continue on a path where technology is taking a sociological leap towards concepts using the advantages of AI,” says Gavin.
“The technology may be ready for this giant move, but are we ready for it? How we prepare our clients and industry partners for this change, making it relevant and usable for them is key for their success as well as our business sustainability.”