Emerging Travel Group Reports Record Profit
Emerging Travel Group, a global travel company operating the RateHawk, ZenHotels, and Roundtrip brands, has achieved turnover of over $2 billion in the first three quarters of 2023, as the third quarter saw record revenue. The Group's net booking value is up 40% in Q1-3 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This record performance supported a strong first nine months overall.
The Group’s main focus is the development of the B2B platform RateHawk, which is also the main growth driver. The platform is used by over 54,000 travel professionals worldwide, a 75% increase year-over-year. Of these, over 6,000 are North American agents who use RateHawk’s portal to access more than 2.2 million properties worldwide, along with flights from over 350 airlines and transfers in 150 countries.
Felix Shpilman, CEO of Emerging Travel Group, commented: "The steady growth of the travel industry post-pandemic has delivered encouraging results. In 2024, we plan to expand our presence in the North American B2B industry with RateHawk: the North American team has grown to 20 professionals and is expected to double within the next quarter."
"In addition to strengthening our commercial presence in the U.S., we plan to introduce more tools to empower travel agents in 2024, including new product releases, content enhancements, innovative support methods, and payment solutions. RateHawk's B2B partners appreciate our commitment to developing tools that help travel professionals work more efficiently, and our accelerated product pipeline will further solidify our market leadership."
RateHawk employs more than 500 professionals in commercial roles worldwide. In early November, Emerging Travel Group unveiled RateHawk’s rebranded visual identity at World Travel Market in London.
Another important focus of the Group is to continue to develop its hotel supply. In 2023, the company invested significantly in its hotel supply inventory, resulting in a 25% increase. Currently, the Group consolidates its hotel inventory of 2.2 million options from over 220 global suppliers and 80,000 direct hotel contracts. The priority goal for 2024 is to further increase and sign strategic direct partnerships with hotel chains in the USA, Europe, and the Middle East.
Felix Shpilman comments: "Our curated hotel offering is one of the most valued assets among the Group’s customers. As the demand for outbound and domestic travel grows, our goal remains to continue to build the largest hotel consolidator in the market."
Emerging Travel Group employs more than 2,600 people in 80 countries. The company has offices in Wilmington, London, Berlin, Milan, Lisbon, Warsaw, Dubai and Limassol. In 2022, Emerging Travel Group achieved a net turnover of $1 billion.