Accor’s Gekko Group launces standalone white label technology division

Firm is working with the French hospitality giant and ResaEvents on large-scale projects

Accor owned hotel distribution and loyalty specialist Gekko Group has launched a new technology division.

Gekko Technology will create and manage white label solutions for clients in the travel, hospitality, and events sectors.

The new venture will be led by Adele Ridgway, who joined Gekko in 2017 as sales director for the Infinite brand.

She will work with Matthieu Chevrier, Gekko chief digital officer, who has been with the Group since 2009.

Gekko Technology will be established as a fully-fledged entity within the Gekko Group during 2022.

Fabrice Perdoncini, chief executive of Gekko Group, said: “The launch of Gekko Technology is an exciting step forward.

“It will create new revenue streams for our Group and build greater resilience, which following the recent uncertainty in the travel and hospitality sectors caused by the pandemic is vital.

“The move is already proving successful, with large-scale projects now underway for major clients.

“Delivering these innovative new digital platforms is just the starting point for opportunities of additional revenue, and EBIDTA potential this venture will bring to the group.

“Led by a strong team, Gekko Technology gives us the assurance that we can continue to gain in resilience, all while being able to pivot, invest, and innovate.”

Accor and ResaEvents are Gekko Technology’s first clients for which it has begun work on large-scale projects.

The French hotel giant has appointed it to create the Accor Leisure Partner Platform (ALPP) to centralise and streamline relations between its hotels and their partners.

From 2022, B2B customers such as Hotelbeds and Infinite will be given special rates, availability, and richer content across the operator’s portfolio of 5,200 hotels.

Patrick Mendes, group chief commercial officer of Accor, said: “With our combined distribution expertise and Gekko’s agile technology, we were able to fully customise how we will distribute our hotels within the global B2B marketplace.

“Now more than ever our hotels need to be able to act at a local level within an international ecosystem.

“As we continuously strive to efficiently extend our sales reach, it was key for us to provide our hotels with an innovative, versatile platform.

“ALPP will guarantee increased revenue and incremental, high-value bookings for our hotels.

“ALPP will also ensure that our clients will benefit from a seamless connection to our portfolio.”

Gekko Technology is supporting the building of a hotel booking platform for future major sporting events for ResaEvents, a reservation platforms outsource firm.

Other completed projects include a new digital booking platform for one of the leading travel agency networks in France.

The platform delivers access to over 1.2 million accommodation properties, and transfers and activities to its network of 1,200 travel agencies.’