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SPONSOR CON-X 2023: Interview Rafa Rivera, CEO Methabook

rafa

- We live in a period of high uncertainty, in which the main challenge for managers is decision-making. At Con-X we will talk about this, but could you tell us about your own case? How do you deal with decision-making in your company?

- The biggest challenge we have when making decisions in these times after a pandemic like the one we have suffered these years ago, is to have the versatility to be able to make and execute decisions in a very short space of time and start applying them with the as fast as we can. In this sense, the tools provided by XTG allow us to make quick decisions that are implemented at the moment, when it comes to connecting suppliers and customers, and this versatility makes the product offered by travelgate of high value for decisions. and strategies that we take in Methabook.

- What do you see as the main trends in tourism distribution today?

- Obviously the current differentials are in how fast the market moves both at the client level and at the provider level and in this regard XTG is a clear ally to always be technologically up to date and well related. Relations after the pandemic have become more complex due to uncertainty, but with good technology, honesty and good work, the business would be advancing in the market. I think that time is needed for all the players in this sector to return to their place and for everyone to be more comfortable. As a future trend, undoubtedly technology at an affordable cost.
- Have you taken daring decisions in your company, and can you tell us some anecdotes?
- When making decisions, you come across all kinds of situations, some positive and some negative. It is part of our work to be responsible for everything that happens in the company, be it positive or negative. At a personal or business level, we have not had any noteworthy anecdote other than the usual ones from our work. Perhaps one of the most controversial decisions I made a few years ago was for a time to remove the music on hold from our call centre and replace it with jokes, since we saw the music on hold from our customers on the phone very heavy, and apart from anecdotal to Our clients really liked that little detail. The customers laughed instead of always listening to the same music, and we even had customers calling us to be put on hold, so they could hear the jokes.
 
- What are your perspectives for this year? Where do you want to go?
- As is normal, every person who runs a company has several concerns, of course increasing sales and profits, and in this regard this year has started very well for us, shooting both. Then, for another matter, it is the co-workers, which is one of my obsessions that the people who work at methabook feel comfortable and at home and this has been a team for years and if people last a long time in a job it is because it is comfortable And finally, obviously, I take care of our clients, based on better technology, better service, better conditions and always maintain healthy relationships and in which we all win. This year, we aim to consolidate ourselves in a market that for years has been basic for us, such as the Asian market, where we have always found ourselves very comfortable and very grateful for how our clients and suppliers from Asia treat us.
 
- Why should CON-X participants talk to you, what can you offer them?
- As I mentioned in the previous question, the most important thing for our partners is that we understand that we are in this business so that all companies can earn money and this point of view makes us very understanding and thoughtful with our clients when studying Win sales strategies. to win. Methabook has a mature product market in many parts of the world that we have been working on for years and apart from this direct product that we can offer, we mix it with a fast technology that makes us always be among the first in any part of the world for many millions of requests managed. Our offer is clear, experience, product, technology, price. 
 

- What is your experience with the events organized by TravelgateX, would you recommend them to other companies? 

- My personal opinion of the TravelgateX event after several experiences is that those of us who are used to normally attending fairs and having meetings from one place to another, one day and the next, etc. TXG has managed to compress any fair in the world into two days in which you meet almost all the colleagues in the sector and all this without leaving the event. I have ever referred to the travelgate event not as another event in our tourism sector but as "THE EVENT" which if you want to have visibility, relationships with customers and suppliers is IMPRESDINBLE, attend. If you want your company to be visible (also serves to drink one or two beers).
 
 
ABOUT METHABOOK
Methabook is a tour operator created in Dubai in 2014 and since then we have had a life as a company based on commitment to our customers and suppliers. We have two differentiated pillars in our company, which are the people who make this company the wonderful place it is to work. And the second of them is the responsibility that we always keep in mind for our clients and suppliers. Our business model is based on product and technology and having a capacity to react to the market effectively and quickly. This makes us differential when our sector moves in more complex or easy moments. We have a portfolio of some 600,000 establishments throughout the world, of which we have our own contracting product of 7,000 establishments throughout the world, but with top destinations such as: Dubai, Italy, Spain, Thailand, Indonesia, the Caribbean or the USA. . If we unite all these characteristics we can provide an interesting product to customers and of course all this as added value of a customer service with the highest demand for our customers and their customers at destination.