A tech firm co-founded by a Highland Perthshire hotelier has broken into the US and African markets, shortly after cementing a deal with BBC ‘Dragon’ Duncan Bannatyne.
Richard Drummond, owner of McKays Hotel, Restaurant and Bar in Pitlochry, established the company Hop in 2017 alongside partners Jon Erasmus and Ronald Tweedie.
The trio developed their hotel property management software company creating single-point software which could handle everything including bookings, multi-system payments, orders and check-ins.
Now, after penning a contract with five English hotels in Duncan Bannatyne’s Bannatyne leisure portfolio, the company is celebrating new business in Florida and Nigeria, with a deal also closed in Barbados.
Hop, which will be part of the ScotHot hospitality showcase at SEC in Glasgow in March, already enjoys a significant market share in Scotland, with software operational in 65 hospitality venues.
Perthshire clients include Atholl Arms Hotel in Dunkeld and the Loch Rannoch Hotel, Estate and Spa in Kinloch Rannoch.
“We have a good presence and foundation in Scotland. This is probably because Jon and I have over 40 years of experience running our own hotels here,” said co-founder Richard, who recently invested £1.25m alongside J and R Group Ltd partners in 12 new bedrooms and a 100-seat function suite at McKays.
“That gives us a ground-up, daily insight into the Scottish hospitality sector and we are keen to continually build on that, with the knowledge we have.
“Securing the Bannatyne contract was really important for us, as a business, while the international deals take things to a new level.
“Like all businesses, Covid-19 was a challenge for us, but the aim now is to effectively double the size of the business in the next few years.”
Hop’s Florida tie-up sees them provide solutions for Skyborne Aviation, which operates a 314-room campus hotel as part of an airline training academy at Vero Beach.
The company is also providing systems for CheckInn, which is a multi-property organisation, in Nigeria. Another partnership with a holiday complex in Barbados in the Caribbean is due to go live within weeks.
As well as securing integration agreements with the major international payments platforms, Hop was voted Property Management System Partner of the Year 2022 by SiteMinder.
“These awards, as well as the contracts, are positive external validation for the solutions we are providing and our standing within the industry,” added Richard.
