Inverness technology company lands contract in the Caribbean
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An Inverness hospitality technology company has finalised a major Caribbean contract which has expanded its customer base to three continents.
Glen Mhor Hotel owner Jon Erasmus co-founded hospitality management software company, Hop, with fellow Highland hotelier Richard Drummond and director Ronald Tweedie in 2017.
The trio were inspired to create a one-stop software product which could run hospitality businesses from end-to-end after the experience of having to use a host of misaligned, clunky and expensive systems in their hotels.
Now, Hop has secured a contract with the prestigious Kings Beach Village in Barbados. The agreement sees Hop provide single-point software, enabling the company to operate all aspects of its luxury tropical villa complex on the Caribbean island’s West Coast.
“Hop came about through the experience of the directors operating in the hospitality and tourism sector in the highlands and building on that lived knowledge by understanding what hospitality needs, wherever in the world that may be,” said director Jon Erasmus, who also co-owns Uile-bheist Distillery and Brewery on Ness Bank.
With nearly 60 Highlands and Islands properties already running the Hop system, the international deal also extends the company’s reach into three continents.
Deals were concluded earlier this year in Nigeria with CheckInn and in Florida with Skyborne Aviation, with over 250 contracts already signed across the UK and wider Europe.
Mr Erasmus added: "This contract, on top of securing new business in the UK, Europe, Florida and Nigeria shows what a Scottish start-up can do. The fact that two directors remain hoteliers in the highlands means we can develop our product to meet the new economic circumstances all hospitality businesses are having to operate within, whether in Scotland or overseas, and we will continue to work with and bring in more partners, globally.”
Hop and its partners will host a ‘homecoming’ roadshow event at Glen Mhor Hotel on October 11 to showcase its impact to Scottish hoteliers.
A key theme will be the cost and staffing pressures facing the Highland hospitality and tourism sector, a subject which Mr Erasmus has direct experience of.
He said: “At the moment, in the hospitality industry, everyone is looking to reduce overheads. Borrowing has effectively tripled, energy and things like food inflation are up and businesses are still finding their feet after re-opening following the pandemic.
“In a tough marketplace, we are offering cost effectiveness and functionality, when we benchmark against our competitors.
“We are well positioned to help these businesses in a rapidly changing marketplace.”
