Disruptr: Hazlina Binti Abdul Hamid, Chief Executive Officer, Accom
Share with us on what you do and what inspired you to start the business.
- I am responsible in managing a company’s overall operations, include delegating and directing agendas, driving profitability, managing company organizational structure and strategy.
- In addition to having a passion for the hospitality sector , I am motivated to solve problems, fill market gaps, and become inspired by business chances and financial gain.
- In various industries, including hospitality, hotel management, and other daily business activities, technology has permeated our daily lives and become very interwoven.
- The recent pandemic had the greatest impact on the hospitality and tourism businesses; these occurrences demonstrated the need for digital transformation across all industries.
- Technology is now more crucial than ever in the pandemic situation and will be essential to the tourism sector’s recovery.
- The hotel industry can apply technology across all departments to enhance the guest experience, streamline operational procedures, control post-covid practises, and enhance general departmental communication.
What has the journey been like?
I started as e-commerce business consultant, managing hotels E Commerce various platform online such as Agoda, Booking.com, Expedia, Traveloka, Ctrip and more.
- I noticed numerous flaws that hotels neglected to fix when creating their hotel profiles online.
- When I’m given the task of maintaining their accounts, these are the few items I’ll take into consideration. By updating numerous best images of the hotels and facilities, writing in-depth descriptions of each hotel’s features, amenities, and nearby attractions, managing room inventories, developing a dynamic room rate structure, coming up with value-added packages, and responding to online guest comments, I was able to boost online revenue by up to 400%. Additionally, I was able to maintain all forms of contact with previous, present, and potential clients and organize guest databases. At the time, everything was done manually.
- This was the moment I first realized there was a lot of untapped potential in hotel business solutions and online booking platforms. The fact that many hotels completely rely on third-party platforms and don’t have their own websites where guests can make reservations directly, forces them to pay third-party platforms exorbitant commissions—up to 35% for each room booked.
- I show hotels how they could boost profits by creating promo and value added packages in their own websites with direct booking systems, owning and using guest databases for continual re marketing, and engaging with customers effectively.
- I’ve kept up my hotel marketing efforts utilizing our range of solutions, including channel manager and Tiniva’s up sell and cross-sell solution. Tiniva is one of our most recent solutions that enables hotels to increase revenue by granting guests access to a wider range of services and facilities beyond rooms.
Biggest achievement and what is one regret that you wish you had or had not done?
- Having raised money from investors, the funds were invested in both system development and sales and marketing. I should limit my attention on signing up hotels and collaborate with a strategic partner who has more experience in software development that I do at the moment to grow more effectively.
Where do you see yourself in the next 1 year?
- Forming formidable partners and teams with the goal of signing 500 hotels by the end of 2023.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
- Becoming a market leader in the industry, expanding internationally and going public through an initial public offering (IPO).
What keeps you going to keep running the business?
- Working in this industry is my passion. In addition, This is the future. It is a marketable, relevant business with a sizable window of opportunity. Hotel management companies have no choice, they need to embrace new technological ideas if they wish to stay relevant and operate efficiently. Technology offers the opportunity, tools, and solutions that the hospitality sector requires to deliver exceptional experiences and spur the sector’s expansion.
What is one local startup you would like to work together with and why?
- If given the chance to work with a respected firm in Malaysia, the ideal decision we would make is to engage with MyAirline. The hospitality and travel industries will be significantly impacted by this brand-new, locally based airline that is rapidly expanding.
- My Airline is a brand-new international airline that offers secure connectivity, reasonable airfares, first-rate services, and high-quality goods at competitive pricing. They use cutting-edge digitilization and environmentally friendly technology in their regular operations, goods, and services.
- Given their vast networks, quick rise, and excellent executives, we might see a lot of possibilities to build more opportunities for the business if we can collaborate with them. The collaboration has the potential to produce even more beneficial consequences and success stories for the numerous areas of hospitality, travel, and digitalisation.
Who is one founder (local or international) that you look up to?
- Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb: Chesky co-founded Airbnb in 2008 and has overseen its growth into one of the world’s largest and most successful home-sharing platforms. Airbnb has disrupted the traditional hospitality industry and has a market value of over $100 billion
Why should investors invest in your startup?
- Prior to the pandemic, The World Bank reports that Malaysia’s economy is significantly influenced by tourism. An estimated MYR 82.3 billion (about USD 19.8 billion) in tourist industry revenue was generated in Malaysia in 2019, accounting for 8.9% of the nation’s GDP (GDP) Apart from that, our team has extensive industrial experience.
- This business is profitable, scalable and will continuously powering in innovation. The same technology can be modified and applied to a variety of sectors, including medical tourism and real estate.
Accom is a member of 25 Startups, a startup incubator with presence in Sarawak, Penang, Cyberjaya and Johor.