A Highland hospitality technology firm has signed a major trans-Atlantic partnership aimed at helping hard-pressed hotels claw back lost revenue from third-party booking platforms.
Inverness-based Hop Software, co-founded by hotelier Jon Erasmus, has announced a new partnership with Utah-based metasearch specialist Metadesk, linking Scottish hospitality expertise with more than two decades of US search and advertising know-how.
The agreement will see Hop’s cloud-based Property Management System integrated with Metadesk’s GCommerce platform, giving hotels a stronger, more optimised presence on Google Hotel Ads, TripAdvisor and Trivago, where the vast majority of room searches now take place.
Google Hotel Ads, embedded across Google Search, Maps and Travel, are estimated to account for between 65 and 85 percent of all global hotel search traffic, a space currently dominated by large online booking agencies spending billions to stay visible.
While those platforms generate bookings, they typically charge commission rates of around 18 percent per reservation, a cost that can strip thousands of pounds a month from hotel revenues at a time when margins are under intense pressure.
By integrating Hop’s booking engine directly with metasearch advertising, hotels using the system will be able to drive more guests to book direct, reducing commission costs and reliance on intermediaries.
The approach also allows hotels to retain vital customer data for marketing and loyalty purposes, information that is usually lost when bookings are made through third-party platforms.
Hop was founded in 2017 by Scottish hoteliers who set out to build a system grounded in real-world hospitality experience, streamlining everything from bookings and rates to revenue management and operations.
Jon Erasmus, who also co-owns the Glen Mhor Hotel and Uile-bheist Distillery and Brewery in Inverness, said the partnership offered immediate and practical benefits for hotel operators.
“We are delighted, firstly, for our customers that Metadesk has chosen to partner with our award-winning Property Management System because the strategic link offers so much potential,” he said.
“If you are a hotel owner with a lot of sales coming through third-party booking sites, reducing the commission fees charged can potentially save thousands of pounds per month on bookings.”
He said many hoteliers were actively looking for ways to protect income as costs rise.
“Lots of our customers come to us asking how they can make savings and grow sales in an environment where margins are tighter, and as a hotelier myself I understand those pressures.”
Metadesk, headquartered in Park City, Utah, specialises in tailoring advertising strategies around individual hotel demand and booking patterns, helping properties maximise visibility where guests are actively searching.
Chris Jackson, Principal of GCommerce at Metadesk, said the partnership brought together complementary strengths.
“Hop’s technology combined with Metadesk’s metasearch optimisation creates a powerful framework for direct booking success,” he said.
“Hotels and resorts will see more efficient spend, stronger performance across Google Hotel Ads, and clearer insight into how metasearch drives real revenue.”
Together, the two firms believe the partnership will give independent hotels and resorts the tools they need to compete more confidently in an increasingly digital, commission-heavy marketplace.
