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As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, technology integration has witnessed remarkable advancements transforming how we explore and navigate our global adventures. As we've discussed, innovation and convenience converge in the travel tech sector to redefine the travel experience. Furthermore, innovations in the industry have made the space easier and more convenient for businesses, operators, and travelers.
In this interview, we sit down with Katanox Co-founder Paul Beukers for an insight into how Katonox, an online marketplace that connects TMCs and Accommodation Providers, is leading the B2B distribution in the hospitality industry.
Paul: Katanox accelerates Hospitality distribution by enabling direct partnerships and payment processing in one platform, creating a simpler and more clear process, saving hoteliers time and money. Katanox removes all barriers between travel buyers and accommodation suppliers to let them trade as efficiently as possible. On the supplier side, Katanox simplifies the onboarding process by connecting directly to the source (i.e Property Management System [PMS] or Central Reservation System [CRS]) to fetch ARI data and static content and send new bookings directly to them. On the buyer side, Katanox provides an API which is accommodation agnostic and therefore there is no need for the suppliers to cater to specific quirks of the thousands of supplier software systems. Furthermore, Katanox does not mask guest data from the suppliers, which means that there is increased transparency between suppliers and Buyers.
Paul: Katanox facilitates the whole travel transaction, which means that apart from distributing the bookings to the suppliers, it also takes care of the full payment reconciliation process. Buyers do not need expensive reconciliation tools to chase their commissions, and suppliers get paid at the time of booking or the guest’s check-in.
Paul: When a reservation is made via Katanox, all the guest and buyer details are sent to the suppliers. A single platform with direct integrations to all core systems, from the PMS to direct payments allows for seamless tracking of reservations, payments and partner performance.
Paul: We integrate directly with the Property Management Systems or Central Reservation Systems of accommodation suppliers. Furthermore, our payment product is built in-house with consideration to strict financial regulations in various markets.
Paul: The past few years we have seen an explosion of new APIs in the market and Property Management Systems innovating on the connectivity side which gives an opportunity to accommodation suppliers to adopt new technologies which will increase their margins and cut costs. As such, the online travel management industry will benefit from this drive to open up these systems through these APIs and hence be able to be more competitive. We are applying embedded finance to the hospitality vertical to build an end-to-end tech stack that gives hoteliers more control and more revenue, while giving travel management companies (TMCs) the opportunity to start trading directly and offering these payment products to customers.
