Private accommodation has become the norm in travel, catering to travellers who demand a personalised service. One might even argue that in some respects, villas surpass hotels in comfort and in privacy. But there is one gaping difference between the hotel industry and villas: its technology.
This is where Alastair Loxton, CEO and co-founder of Ministry of Villas, considers the next frontier of innovation for the villa industry. Technology linking travel agents, customers and owners to villa inventory still lags behind hotels, but he believes the tide is turning.
Even while global demand for private accommodation is on the rise, first generation villa websites are still riddled with outdated calendars, manual entry and prices that are out of sync across various platforms.
“The first wave of disruptive technology [happened] when the peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace took off. A whole wave of inventory came online for the first time, but it was very much fragmented and separated from traditional travel agents,” Loxton said.
To address this, Ministry of Villas has inked a new partnership with Tourism Holdings, the parent company of bookeasy and resonline (among others) to bring new channel management software modeled on the hotel sector to villas in Asia.
Alastair Loxton, CEO and co-founder of Ministry of Villas
“Our role is to connect all the dots,” Loxton adds. “We’ve taken channel management software [from the hotel sector] and we’ve adapted it for villa owners and villa management companies.”
The approach is working. To date, two out of three villas in Bali are using the Ministry of Villas platform that automates the distribution, inventory, booking and yield management process for villas. Its B2B offering, powered by bookeasy, is also taking off.
“Established travel agents are knocking down our door every single day,” says Loxton.
Its potential is something Loxton is visibly excited about. “When OTAs first came online, they could disrupt the travel agent market for hotels because they were established brands and customers were already familiar with the properties.
“When you’re dealing with villa bookings, customers tend to specify their needs – for example, a swimming pool visible from the living area. The nature of the holiday is a little more elaborate and luxurious; it has a few more moving parts. And that’s why the traditional OTAs have struggled to adapt to it. I think this is one chink in the P2P armour.”
How does Ministry of Villas distinguish itself from other booking sites? While Loxton is generous about his competitors, he believes their proprietary villa management platform has its limits.
“We’re the only one that has made it a channel management system so it benefits the villa owner and the customer. That’s why this [change] is a silent revolution.
“Technology has to be the biggest story in travel.”
