For the ninth edition of our Impact10 series, we hosted a conversation with Erik Akhmetgaliev, the Regional Director, APAC Region at RateHawk.  

With over 13 years of experience in the travel industry, Erik talked about the influence of technology in the travel space, foreseeable opportunities and shortcomings for the companies navigating their growth journey, along with his insights on the APAC region. 

Here are more details on this enriching interaction:

Firstly, being in the industry with one of the leading travel-tech organisations, could you please share what first drew you to the travel-tech space, and how your journey has evolved over the years?

I have been in this industry for over 13 years, so for over a decade. And what initially drew me to travel tech is that it is a global and dynamic industry, where you can see directly the impact of your work across different markets and cultures. I joined RateHawk in 2016, and it was my second job. I started my career at a traditional travel agency. And interestingly, later, this company became one of our first clients. That early experience gave me a very sudden transition to travel tech with a more commercial mindset. 

Over the years, my journey has evolved significantly. I started in operations, then I moved to sales, building my commercial expertise. From there, I transitioned into launching new markets, leading market research, competitor analysis, hiring local teams on the ground and establishing partnerships with key clients across Europe, Latin America, the US, and finally, I came to Asia, where I built a team of over 50 people within one year. 

We’ve been focusing on localization since then. Since that time, we have been identifying the critical gaps in product processes and partnerships to ensure sustainable growth. And this led me to my current role of Regional Director APAC, where I focused on scaling markets and shaping the high-performing team. And overall, I am responsible for driving the expansion.  

Given that you’ve worked very extensively in this APAC region, how has this market shaped your perspective on the travel tech industry? 

Well, over the past decade, one of the most significant shifts in travel distribution has been the rapid digitalization of the industry. We’ve seen a clear move from the traditional offline bookings to online platforms and API integrations. And this transformation has enabled travel agents and the clients to assess real-time availability, dynamic pricing and a broader range of products all in one place. 

And additionally, the rise of personalization driven by data analytics and AI have been prominent. Everyone is now talking about AI, and this is definitely a game-changer. What all this means is that travellers are increasingly expecting tailored-made recommendations and more flexible options. Overall, these changes have made the industry more efficient, responsive, and customer-centric than ever before. 

Have you felt any other major shifts that have happened in the industry or are likely to happen? 

I assume that in the near future the demand will be more focused on domestic travel, especially after the COVID times. In each region, we’ve observed that domestic travel is increasing, and I believe that will continue happening. 

As RateHawk, managing such a large accommodation inventory must be really complex. What were some of the biggest challenges that companies face at that scale? 

Well, it’s a very good question and I think one of the biggest challenges is caused by the high level of data fragmentation across the industry. The global accommodation ecosystem includes countless hotels, third-party suppliers and consolidators, many of whom operate on different platforms and technologies. And there is no unified industry-wide protocol for data change, making integration and communication between systems pretty difficult and resource-intensive. 

As a result, matching rates and ensuring real-time accuracy becomes a significant challenge. Overcoming these issues typically requires building internal tools, leveraging advanced data normalization techniques, and maintaining flexible integrations to adapt quickly to the diverse landscape of partners and suppliers. Operating RateHawk, Roundtrip, and Zen Hotels, consolidates over 3.2 million accommodation options from more than 350 suppliers across the globe, including over 100 DMCs and 250,000 direct contracts. 

And thanks to the access to such an extensive inventory, RateHawk is highly valued in the market, so it’s one of our USPs. And it is valued not just as a booking platform, but also as a leading API supplier for global travel tech players. Currently, we are expanding, especially in Asia, since Asia is a very API driven market, and we have over 1,500 API partners overall across the globe, including major OTAs and travel tech platforms from the APAC region, enabling them to grow their business and avoid the hustle of supply consolidation. 

So, partners can quickly and easily plug into the Red Hawks API, empowered by in-house advanced technologies and partnerships, including, of course, you guys. We really value our partnership with Vervotech Mapping Solution. 

How do inconsistencies in hotel and room data affect business performance and customer experience at the end of the value chain? 

Well, it surely affects significantly as the hotel content is often the first touch point which shapes the expectations and establishes credibility before a booking is made. 

Up-to-date and consistent data is especially crucial and critical in the B2B segment, where travel professionals and travel tech businesses rely on and entrust us with their own reputation and service quality. That’s why we invest a lot in ensuring our customers feel confident in the accuracy of every booking, whether made through our platform, through the back office or through API. Of course, issues happen, but the most important thing is how fast we can solve them. 

Looking ahead, what would be some advice that you would give to the travel companies that are currently trying to scale while keeping their inventory clean and reliable? 

You can’t just rely on yourself. I mean, the value of reliable partnerships can be overestimated and overstated. I would strongly advise delegating the complex supply consolidation tasks to those travel tech companies that have already done the heavy lifting instead of trying to do everything on your own. Even with our deep tech expertise and strong development capabilities, we continue to invest in strategic partnerships that complement our in-house solutions and help us scale faster. 

So, my advice is to build these reliable partnerships to invest your time and energy in them. And of course, face-to-face communication always matters. So, I think all of these travel tech exhibitions and other events which are happening across the globe are very important. And in fact, they definitely can help to build the right partnerships, as we also built with you guys at Vervotech. 

If you were to summarize the Vervotech partnership in one sentence, what would you say?   

It feels like a family, like home. We really built a friendship, and that’s a rare thing, but this is the most important thing you can have in the travel industry. Overall, this industry is full of great stories, and our partnership with Vervotech is definitely one of them.