The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt by all businesses around the world. Leaders are navigating a broad range of interrelated issues that span from keeping their employees and customers safe, shoring-up cash and liquidity, reorienting operations and navigating complicated government support programs. Kickstarting businesses after lockdowns lifted, has been a slow and tedious process. People are looking at 2021 with hope, amplified by the announcement of a vaccine roll-out across the world.
The hospitality industry has been badly hit by the pandemic, and tech solutions are being percieved as a game-changer as travel kick-starts again. The industry will have to make quick changes to adapt to this very volatile situation, and keep themselves relevant. Technology is the key to most things now.
LingerTech is a Cloud Based Technology to optimize hotel processes and help them be future ready.
An integrated hospitality management technology startup, LingerTech has launched a one-stop-shop with solutions to optimise the entire property management processes. Helping small and medium hotels adopt technology easily and seamlessly, the software enables budget hospitality groups to have one system which will enable them to manage their day to day hotel operation, as well as distribution of inventory to all Online Travel Agencies (OTA) through an integrated channel manager.
The LingerTech Property Management System (PMS) includes Payment Gateway, contactless check-in and check-out, digital food menu and many more digitised services. “We aim to offer a contactless hotel experience to the customers and, for hotels a PMS at affordable costs. LingerTech aims to equip the Indian Hospitality Industry with technology to enable them to meet the ‘travelling in the COVID era’ challenge head-on”, states Sandeep Kumar, Founder, LingerTech.
A team of self-motivated individuals who aim to create a big disruption in hospitality technology, the core team of LingerTech, put their 100% in challenging the market. “Everyone travels to at least one hotel every month to see how they are serving the customers and whether they are tech-enabled or not. Everyone has to share one great idea, which is unique in the market, every quarter. The feasibility of the best idea is worked upon with our tech team and incorporated in our growing portfolio”, shares Sandeep.
Helping Hotels Choose The Right Hotel PMS
Initially making software for use in their own hospitality brans The Ayali Hotels, Sandeep soon realised that their technology could solve property management issues for so many hotels who couldn’t afford the systems that are currently available in the market. Making a complex yet affordable system within a year against many odds was a challenge. Having been in the hospitality and travel business for many years, Sandeep had seen the market gap, but driving tech with like-minded folks was challenging. LingerTech was launched on 14th August 2020, because “We could see that only about 30 per cent of Indian hospitality units were using technology to drive their business. As the industry started struggling back on its feet , we became more sure that only technology would help revive the devastated industry”.
A mathematics graduate, Sandeep had no plans of becoming an entrepreneur during his college days. “I chose to take up a job in the travel industry because I like to travel and wanted to see this industry from close quarters. Seeing the gaps that existed, especially in the application of technology, I decided to do something about it and jumped into my own startup,” he shares.
The technology created by LingerTech is simple to apply and use. Also, it can be customused to any segment : Larger hotels, Homestays, Boutique properties or B&Bs
In travel and hospitality, tech innovation has not really happened for the customer barring the rise of OTAs. Says Sandeep, “If we talk about a hotel’s customer experience, then it’s not even taken off yet. There has been technology available, but it was being used largely by premium brands due to the cost factor attached to the integration of a Property Management System. This is what we are planning to disrupt. We will change the market by making make tech driven hotel management systems easily available for everyone.”
LingerTech is offering a simple system to ensure that all processes in a hospitality unit are carried out remotely, efficiently, and safely, at very competitive rates. This will greatly affect how guests view a hotel and it’s accommodations. It will also ensure for the hotel: Increased Housekeeping Efficiency, Improved Revenue Through Distribution Manager, Customer Data Management and Cost Reduction.
“With Covid impacting travel, hoteliers are very focused on either increasing or stabilizing hotel occupancy in order to maintain revenue. Safety & Security will become a prime focus for both the Traveller and the Hotel Group. Our plan is to make LingerTech available for all categories of properties and prepare them for the future. We have set a target of getting at least 30% market share in the coming year. Travellers are changing, and so are their requirements. We are going to disrupt this in coming months with something no one has tried yet. We are the tech innovation to watch out for in 2021!”.