End-to-End Digital Management of Businesses and Meeting All User Needs from a Single Point Are Our Most Important Goals (Turizm Proje Dergisi - 26.05.2023)

Talya Bilişim is a technology company that has been developing technology in the software sector for over 28 years, with three offices located in Antalya, Ankara, and Istanbul. It provides solutions to Turkey’s largest public institutions as well as tourism and healthcare companies, and exports the software it develops abroad. As Talya Bilişim, we are a company that produces comprehensive solutions for the tourism and accommodation sectors. Our most important goal is enabling businesses to be managed digitally end-to-end and allowing users to meet all their needs from a single point.Our sector-leading brand in hotel management, Elektraweb, is a web-based hotel automation program. Facilities can be managed with a single integrated program using modules such as front office, restaurant management, accounting, inventory, fixed assets, human resources, CRM, SPA management, hotspot, call center, e-invoice, etc. Thus, they can handle operations that would normally require 15 different companies just by working with us.Other brands within our end-to-end management strategy include Elektraweb POS Restaurant and Club Automation Systems, Kimlikokur identity and passport reading system, iSAFE internet security and logging system, and Opex Operation Management System.The concept of artificial intelligence has begun to be effectively used globally in the tourism and hospitality sectors. As Elektraweb, we have started integrating AI applications into many of our processes. We already use it in pricing management, enabling the system to suggest optimal prices considering occupancy and competitor price data. With our newly implemented SmartRes AI-supported reservation system, hotels can also benefit from AI in marketing and reservation processes. Thanks to chatbots, guests can be welcomed digitally, questions answered, reservation information collected, and prices sent easily.We believe AI takes the concept of "personalized service" to a whole new level. In the coming period, AI applications will be indispensable in offering personalized products/services, customer relationships and services, demand forecasting, analyzing customer data, developing suggestions according to customer preferences, and understanding and interpreting consumer behavior. We have already taken the first steps in this direction within our CRM applications.Therefore, in tourism, AI-driven personalized guest satisfaction, holiday concepts targeting different age and demographic groups to create experiences, will be key. For this reason, the concept of "data engineering" will become increasingly important. It is a critical necessity for every tourism facility to create and manage its own CRM data. Creating their own CRM data offers hotels the ability to easily design all kinds of marketing strategies tailored to their brands.It is important for guest communication to continue at every point before the guest arrives, during their stay, and after checkout. We believe this communication is the greatest key to guest satisfaction. As Elektraweb, we carry out guest communication through mobile applications and contactless guest applications. Online surveys or orders placed through the system while on-site connect the hotel and the guest at every point. For example, while staying at the hotel, guests can book a yacht tour or make a golf course reservation via the hotel’s app. When guests fill out surveys, we ensure these are completed digitally rather than on paper, and that the results are analyzed and reach guest relations. If there is a problem, the hotel is informed while the guest is still staying there.We have reached more than 5,000 hotels using Elektraweb, with 2,000 on the web and 3,000 on desktop platforms. We aim to reach 6,500 hotels by the end of 2023.It is very important for facilities operating in the tourism sector to analyze their business processes well and identify their needs when choosing software solutions. But "identifying needs" alone is not sufficient for purchase decisions. Regardless of the sector, managers must also have some foresight. The changing guest profiles and expectations, evolving marketing tools, and the ability to quickly adapt to technology and working methods should be the most important criteria in my opinion. We experienced how critical this is during the pandemic and continue to experience it today.I think managers should ask themselves these questions: How does the software I intend to purchase provide advantages in my daily work and competition? Does it contribute to the digitalization of my hotel, or will it just add another layer of data entry? Does it adapt quickly to changing technology and business conditions and carry me into the future? Who and how will support me when I need it? Am I able to obtain maximum benefit at an optimal cost?In the context of the issues between the software industry and the tourism sector, I believe the biggest problem is the price-based evaluation of every product supplied, including software products. The misconception that up-to-date technology is more expensive is unfortunately widespread. However, when considering the benefit-to-price ratio, up-to-date technology offers incomparably more economical solutions.Elecktraweb, a web-based cloud hotel management system, can save nearly 10,000 Euros annually in IT costs, including hardware, licensing, security, and personnel expenses for a 250-room hotel. Moreover, this is achieved while minimizing failures, data breaches, virus attacks, and compliance risks (KVKK). I believe tourism investors will reach the right conclusions by evaluating with a long-term and innovative perspective.As one of the leading IT companies in the tourism sector offering strong solutions, Talya Bilişim achieved 30% growth in foreign exchange terms in 2022. The Elektraweb Hotel Program, developed entirely by Turkish engineers for the tourism sector, is used across 4 continents (Europe, Asia, America, and Africa) and 23 countries including leading tourism countries such as the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Thailand. We have reached more than 5,000 Elektraweb users, with 2,000 on the web and 3,000 on desktop platforms. We aim to reach 6,500 hotels by the end of 2023.We plan to continue our international expansion by making the program more widely used in the countries we operate in and aim for 40% growth in foreign exchange terms. In 2023, we will focus more on our existing solutions for health tourism, which has become one of the significant revenue sources for our country. We completed the infrastructure for this a long time ago and are now moving forward to become an important player in the market.