Optims Acquires The Company Hotelswitch In Order To Propose A Complete Offer Of Electronic Reservation And Distribution
Optims S.A. (Evry, France), the leading European supplier of Information Technology solutions for the optimisation of revenue and management methods in Hospitality, Tourism and Transport announces the purchase of the French company HotelSwitch, the European leader in online distribution system for the Hospitality industry (www.hotelswitch.com). "The acquisition cost of Hotelswitch is very low, explains Luc Mazet, CFO of Optims.
In October 2000, HotelSwitch selected the technological platform of Optims to develop a system of online/real time booking for its customers. Now, 300 hotels already work with this system : the customers can book via HotelSwitch or via one of its numerous partners, in real time, without contacting directly the hotel by phone or fax. The customer and the hotel immediately receive a confirmation form of the booking.
The acquisition of HotelSwitch by Optims is particularly strategic for the business development of Optims' new offer of IT solutions. Optims can now propose to hoteliers :
- A tool of electronic reservation (a booking engine that provides real time/online bookings) to implement on hotels' websites : Optims.WebRes.
- An electronic tool to manage call centers : Optims.Call center
- An offer of electronic distribution, via HotelSwitch.
This large and complete IT solutions' offer perfectly fulfils the needs of the Hospitality industry (call centers, websites of hotel chains and groups, independent properties, Tourism Offices…).
"It's very important to offer hoteliers some efficient tools that help them manage their bookings and the different sources that provide bookings opportunities, adds Antoine Medawar, CEO of Optims. The online/real time booking engine and call center's management tool we propose represent some very efficient IT answers. But we are also convinced that distribution is another part of the answer, especially when this distribution is supported by an efficient technology. That's also what will help us develop the "New Generation" Hospitality Software : a complete system that will provide a Property Management System and the keys of electronic distribution of hotel rooms ; the whole system beeing "Yielded" to always provide the hotels with maximum profitability when selling a room".
The HotelSwitch online Distribution system has signed partnerships with a hundred websites and with the ultraswitch Pegasus. The company has about 4 000 customers in France, Italy and Spain. Optims has more than 3 500 customers in more than 55 countries. "We have noticed that HotelSwitch and Optims have only 15 % of common customers, concludes Pierre Matuchet, the new General Manager of HotelSwitch. This lets us expect the best growth opportunities for our new offer of electronic reservation and distribution IT solutions".
ABOUT : Optims (
Optims develops and implements Information Technology solutions dedicated to optimising management methods and revenues. For the past decade, Optims has been serving the Hospitality, Tourism, Catering, Transport and Travel industries with three complementary technologies. They include Property Management Systems (PMS) ; Yield Management Solutions known as Revenue Management Systems (RMS) ; and a Central Reservation System (CRS). Optims is now the leading European developer of IT solutions for the Hospitality market. The Company has over 3 500 customers in more than 55 countries. Among Optims' prestigious clientele are Accor, Forte, Fram, Thistle, Boscolo, Nouvelles Frontieres, Radisson and Savoy Group. Optims issued its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Nouveau Marché in the Paris Stock Exchange in June 2000 (SICOVAM code: 7652).