Hotel Mapping Dilemma: Inhouse vs. Outsource, Which Is Ideal for Your Travel Business?   

Establishing a travel business is a monumental task. From financial planning, developing a website to creating business partnerships, a travel business requires a great amount of resources, energy and finance. To stay afloat in the competitive marketplace, it is important to invest in the right technology for your business. While travel companies invest in administrative software, marketing software, revenue software, etc., hotel mapping technology is the most overlooked factor for a successful business.

Hotel mapping is a process of aggregating hotel properties from multiple sources to avoid duplicate and inconsistent listings. Duplicate or inconsistent hotel data arises when OTAs or travel businesses opt for multiple channels such as suppliers, wholesalers, bed banks, GDS, etc.

In the current ecosystem, various travel businesses that sell accommodation either opt for an in-house hotel mapping team or outsource. Having an in-house team gives you better control of your business decisions, communication is smooth, sensitive business information is secure within the team.

However, insourcing has a fair share of drawbacks with it, such as:

1. Lack of mapping expertise

2. High cost of maintaining a mapping platform

3. Delay in onboarding new source or supplier

4. Slow time-to-market

5. Lack of good quality data

 

Why Travel Businesses Must Outsource Hotel Mapping? 

 

Outsourcing uses external specialists to perform specific tasks that the company doesn’t have the availability or budget to do in-house. These tasks, such as hotel mapping and room mapping, are time-consuming or tedious and the goal is to free up your resources to focus on more revenue-generating tasks. If you are wondering if outsourcing is only for big players in the market, then it is not so. Technology has transformed the travel ecosystem and made outsourcing accessible to small and mid-size businesses.

According to a recent Deloitte study, the primary reason why organizations outsource is to improve process efficiency and standardization, followed by cost reduction and business value. Post-Covid, companies now want to focus on enhancing their existing offerings and value outsourcing specialists to help them.

Another major factor for outsourcing work is to elevate the way they do business and enhance their overall speed to market.

Some of the pros of outsourcing hotel mapping services are:

 

1. Economical

 

2. Access to mapping specialist

 

3. Faster time to market

 

4. Brand loyalty

 

5. Untap new foreign markets

1. Economical  

One of the major reasons for outsourcing any service is cost savings. When you outsource a mapping provider, you eliminate the cost of hiring new employees. A benefit that’s mostly overlooked is outsourcing eliminates employee turnover costs, medical insurance compensation, holidays, etc. Outsourcing indirectly helps your business grow steadily and ensures your core team is focused on revenue-generating tasks.

2. Access to mapping specialist  

When you outsource a mapping service, you collaborate and have access to a talented pool of experts without any geographical limitations. An outsourced hotel

mapping provider that works with a diverse set of customers guarantees a high level of expertise that’s needed in their product offerings. Whereas, with an in-house team, you are limited by talent.

Research revealed that 78% of businesses worldwide feel positive about their outsourcing partners. When you work with a mapping specialist, you stay ahead of your competitors and you can continue delivering the best customer satisfaction.

3. Faster time to market  

The key to successful product development is quickly getting a quality product to the market. By outsourcing, you have dedicated resources well-equipped to complete tasks at the utmost speed. This will help you launch new products ahead of your competitors and even boost innovation productivity. Infact, external collaboration with a technology company increases your R&D efforts and product innovation.

4. Brand loyalty 

It can be a financial strain and time-consuming for travel businesses to put together industry-leading mapping support employees. But with an outsourced mapping provider, you can gain the most refined product that will give your customers the type of service they will keep coming back to. This will enhance your brand loyalty and give you an edge over your competitors.

5. Untap new foreign markets 

To continue having a strong foothold in the travel industry, companies need ways to establish their presence way before their competitors. When you outsource a mapping provider, you get immediate access to their extensive database data insights, which will help you launch your products in a new market with ease.

 

Clearing the Dilemma of Insourcing Vs. Outsourcing Hotel Mapping 

 

 

As a decision-maker, it is important to ask yourself-

Can your in-house team achieve what a team of mapping specialists can?

If yes, then you are working in the right direction; if not, then it is best to outsource.

We suggest investing in mapping experts who understand your challenges and business. It would be best to opt for credible mapping experts with a proven track record of industry and technical expertise.

Also, it is essential to select the mapping vendor that offers you the highest level of mapping quality. This will help you deliver the utmost booking experience to your customers.

Furthermore, it is important to communicate clearly with your outsourcing partner to meet all deadlines on time, and you and your partner are on the same page.

To maintain steady growth and productivity, we suggest finding an ideal balance with a mix of in-house employees focused on core business activities and outsourced resources for niche technology such as hotel mapping.

Outsourcing a hotel mapping provider has a lot of potential- from access to the experts to brand loyalty- and businesses of all sizes can definitely invest in outsourcing hotel mapping and notice how quickly their business flourishes.