Bookassist appoints Account Manager for Catalunya

Bookassist has announced the appointment of Angel Lorenzo as Account Manager for the Catalunya region, to be based in Barcelona. Angel previously worked in Iberrail for more than ten years across several commercial departments. More recently, he has worked in the commercial sales department at Sercotel Hotels in Spain. He holds a TEAT tourism degree from the Centro Delicias in Madrid.

See Bookassist's Corporate Site for Spain and Portugal - bookassist.es

Online strategy and hotel software firm accelerates revenue growth and staffing levels despite economic situation

Dublin-headquartered online marketing and hotel software company Bookassist (bookassist.org) has announced the opening of two new offices in Europe amid continued growth in revenue year on year. The news comes as the company celebrates its tenth year in business this month.

Despite the gloomy news from the hospitality industry in Ireland and worldwide in the last year, the Irish-owned software company has continued its growth both in Ireland and abroad and now serves more than 2200 hotels, hotel groups and apartment providers worldwide. Recent acquisitions include Bewleys Hotels in Ireland and the UK, Quinn Hotel group in Ireland and the UK, Arcotel Hotels and Resorts in Austria and Germany, Roscioli Hotels in Rome and MSN Hotels in Italy.

While it has operated to date in Austria and Italy from its Dublin base, it has now opened its own sales and support operations in Vienna and Rome with the appointment of an initial three new staff in each office. The company currently employs 42 staff in its Dublin, Madrid, Prague and Paris offices.

"Bookassist has grown revenues yet again, to a projected €4.2M this year, a significant increase on 2008 despite the tough economic landscape. Online marketing services have seen revenue growth in excess of 200% alone this year. Today with the official opening of new operations in Vienna and in Rome, and the appointment of new staff in each of those offices, we are underlining our commitment to continue growing revenues at home and abroad. Our growth has been entirely funded by our own revenues and profits from 10 years of operations, with no external inputs and no debts - this is something we are particularly proud of and consider unique in our space", said Dr Des O'Mahony, Bookassist CEO and founder.

Plans for a major expansion for 2010 are in place and will be announced before year's end. "We are very excited about our planning for 2010. We have a major new market announcement shortly that we have been planning for some time, and we expect to increase revenues by up to 25% in 2010 with a combination of new market penetration and increased revenue from our existing markets where we will continue to compete aggressively and yet again set the standards that define the marketplace", says O'Mahony.

Bookassist also recently achieved Payment Card Industry (PCI) security compliance representing the credit card industry's highest standards in online transaction security and data protection. "We have always invested strongly in research and innovation to ensure we can offer industry-beating service levels to our hotel clients, who in turn can be confident of what they offer online to their own customers", says O'Mahony.

Bookassist® creates and manages online strategies for hotels and groups and is the industry-leading hotel booking engine and online marketing provider in Ireland. A Deloitte Fast 50 Technology Company in Ireland and in the Top 100 Deloitte Technology Companies in Europe, Bookassist has received numerous awards in Online Trade, Online Marketing, and Technological Innovation including the Irish Internet Association’s NetVisionary Award for online trade.

Paul Dooley appointed Director of Client Services at Bookassist's Irish operation

Bookassist has announced the appointment of Paul Dooley to the role of Director of Client Services for the Irish operation.

Paul joins Bookassist from StayCity.com where he held the position of Group Director of Operations. Prior to this he spent over 15 years in a wide variety of senior hotel operational roles in Ireland and overseas, most recently with JurysDoyle Hotel Group in the Berkeley Court Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin.

Paul holds a BSc in Management from Trinity College Dublin and a HDip in Hotel & Catering Management from Dublin Institute of Technology, Cathal Brugha Street. Paul's role has overall responsibility for Internet Support Services, Account Management and Business Development in the Irish marketplace and is based in Bookassist's Dublin office.

Bookassist welcomes new team members in Dublin and Paris

Glenn Whitmore has a number of years web development experience specialising in website design and search engine optimisation. He has a BSc in computer science from Dublin City University. Prior to joining Bookassist, Glenn was a contract web developer designing websites for a wide range of companies. He is based in the Dublin office in the Site Builder team.

Owen Kelleghan has a broad experience of web technologies with a degree in Multimedia Computers from the Institute of Wales before moving on to employment as a web developer in the tourism industry for two years. Owen then moved on to One Productions where he was involved in every aspect of the web development process. He is based in Dublin and joins the Booking Engine and Web 2.0 Implementations team.

Pasquale Mellone holds a BA in Political Science and a MBA in Marketing & Communications. Prior to joining Bookassist, Pasquale worked as Web Content Manager for Blink Communications in Italy, with responsibility for Online Marketing and Search Engine Optimization areas. He is based in Dublin and works as Search Engine Marketer in the Traffic Builder team with responsibility for Irish and Italian accounts.

Céline Tcharbatchian comes from a Corporate Travel background and is currently also researching an MBA specialized in Travel Management. She has previously worked with the 17-hotel French chain Astotel. She is based in the Paris office in the Internet Support area.

Bookassist Appoints Director of Sales and Marketing for Czech Republic

Jaroslav Tibitanzl has been appointed as Director of Sales & Marketing for Bookassist in the Czech Republic and joins Bookassist's existing Sales, Account Management and Support team in the Prague office.

Jaroslav is well known in the hotel industry in the Czech republic, having previously been the General Manager of the Hotel Sax, the award winning design hotel in Prague, as well as being the Director of Finance for the famous Prague landmarks the Hotel Aria and the Hotel U Zlate Studne. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from the Hotel University in Prague.

Bookassist Appoints new Search Optimisation Specialist

Bookassist announces the appointment of Paul Ferry to the position of Search Optimisation Specialist. The role forms part of Bookassist's Traffic Builder team and will be based in the Dublin office.

Paul has extensive web design experience with hotel and hotel group websites in particular. Bookassist continues to expand its strategic marketing teams as well as its development teams in its Dublin office, and in its offices abroad, as hotels increasingly seize the opportunity to build direct booking business on their websites.

Bookassist Appoints new Development Project Manager

Bookassist has announced the appointment of Diego Núñez as Development Project Manager. Diego will work directly with the Core Development team based at Bookassist's Madrid offices and will be responsible for leading, organizing and scheduling development for Bookassist, reporting to CTO Dr Robert Whittle.

Prior to joining Bookassist, Diego was IT Architect and Business Consultant at Panel Company. He has worked on software projects in several business fields such as Air Traffic Control, Financial Risk Analysis and Logistics/Distribution, involving Societé Generale Equipment Finance, Leroy Merlin, AENA and others. He brings considerable experience in development methodology, in particular with Java technologies, to the Bookassist team.

Bookassist Appoints new Support Coordinator in the Czech Republic

Leading online marketing consultant and booking technology company Bookassist has appointed Andrea Houdková as Support Coordinator to join the team in Bookassist's Prague office. Andrea will coordinate the set-up and training of hotels and groups using the Bookassist Booking Engine and other products such as GDS Manager.

Andrea has previously worked as a professional trainer for internet banking at Raiffeisenbank in the Czech Republic. Prior to joining Bookassist she was with Citibank as Account Manager with responsibility for international payments.

Recruitment - Bookassist is expanding and hiring in multiple offices

Bookassist is recruiting to build its teams in a number of its offices over the coming months in order to deal with the increasing client list and ongoing expansion of its geographical reach. Despite the economic downturn in many areas, Bookassist business has continued to see year-on-year growth with March showing record booking numbers.

Bookassist has introduced a number of new products recently which are bringing added value to its partnerships with hotels and hotel groups in all its operational areas and which are allowing it to more quickly enter new markets with a very mature and established product offering.

Bookassist growth is accelerating and we will be announcing major new acquisitions and market developments in the coming weeks.

For further information on positions available at Bookassist, see Bookassist Jobs http://www.bookassist.org/jobs.jsp

Bookassist appoints new Operations Manager in Prague Office

Leading online marketing consultant and booking technology company Bookassist has announced the appointment of Jaromir Pazout to its Czech Republic team as Operations Manager, based in Bookassist's Prague office.

Jaromir comes to Bookassist from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Prague and has extensive experience in the industry, particularly in online business and marketing. He has previously operated as a consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and has worked with eBanka Internet Bank in the Czech Republic.

Commenting on the appointment, Bookassist's Head of Business and Operations Yahya Fetchati said: "Bookassist has a strong and focused presence in the Czech Republic for some years now and is rapidly growing there thanks to the skill of the existing team. Jaromir will be an ideal addition to expand our presence to the wider region centered on the Czech Republic. Bookassist has built its reputation in Ireland in particular on having a strong local presence, on focusing on the local market and in delivering the best possible local support and service. This localisation model is a model we are committed to and won't deviate from, and even as we expand in other regions, our strategy is to build local teams to re-create that winning Irish formula."

Jaromir will join the Prague team with responsibilty for Bookassist's Central Europe sales.

New Appointments at Bookassist Spain and Ireland

Bookassist Spain

Bookassist has appointed Almudena Sampò as Sales Manager for Spain, based in Madrid office.

Almudena has a broad experience in the tourism industry, from sales positions in tour operators to GDS representation and other technology account management positions. Prior to Bookassist she worked for Pegasus Solutions as account manager for Utell Hotels in Southern Europe and in the international contracting department in Bancotel.

Almudena will coordinate the expansion of the company in Cataluña and in the Mediterranean area.

Bookassist has also appointed Luis Miguel Llopis to the Traffic Builder team responsible for online marketing services to increase the online visibility and direct sales of Bookassist client hotels in Spain. Luis is based in Madrid office.

Luis has more than 10 years experience in the tourism online industry as project manager with responsibility for operations teams implementing website applications for travel agencies, airlines companies and hotels. He brings considerable experience working in SEO, SEM, Social Networks and email marketing for the tourism industry.

Bookassist Senior Management

Mary Collins has been appointed to the position of Head of Internet Marketing based in the Dublin office. The role oversees online marketing strategy for the company as a whole, covering the Traffic Builder and Site Builder products as well as affiliate programs and web presence for the company.

Mary was previously Web Presence Team Leader at Bookassist Ireland and in her new role will report directly to the CEO.

New Business Development Manager Appointed in Scotland Office

Bookassist has appointed James Kennedy as Business Development Manager for Scotland, based in the Ayrshire office. James is well known across the Scottish Tourism industry and has been working in Business Development over the past four and a half years for VisitScotland.com.

"We've been expanding very rapidly over the past twelve months with Bookassist performing exceptionally well across all accommodation sectors but we recognised that we needed to increase the reach as we go into a challenging period for Scottish tourism. James' understanding of the market place and most importantly the people in that market place made him easily the the number one person for this position", said Ian McCaig, Operations Manager for Bookassist in Scotland.

James will now be reponsible for a raft of new marketing opportunities for Scottish tourism businesses including the rolling out of Bookassist's Web 2.0 tools, the new and exciting Sitebuilder product and the continuing growth of the Bookassist Trafficbuilder programmes. "I'm delighted to be joining the Bookassist team and look forward to working with clients old and new over the coming months and years. The Bookassist suite of products offers real and affordable solutions for all sizes of operators throughout Scotland and will be able to help many hotels, guest houses and self catering businesses get their product to the market more directly", said James.

Bookassist appoints Pascal Gauthier as Director of Operations in Paris office

Bookassist has appointed Pascal Gauthier to head its operation in France.

Pascal has in excess of 20 years experience in the hotel industry, with a specific focus on sales, promotions and marketing at various hotel groups in Paris and beyond. He has a strong knowledge of national and international markets, global distribution systems and internet distribution networks. He will be based at Bookassist's office at Rue Faubourg Montmartre in Paris, represented online by the localised corporate website bookassist.fr.

Ciaran Rowe appointed to lead the Trafficbuilder team at Bookassist's Irish office as Bookassist continues to grow rapidly

Ciaran Rowe will be responsible for operations in the Trafficbuilder service team for the Irish market at Bookassist. Ciaran has been with the company since early 2007 and has been involved in the planning and strategy behind the rapid expansion of the Trafficbuilder team throughout 2007 and 2008. He is Senior Search Engine Marketer with Bookassist and is a qualified Google Adwords Professional.

Bookassist has doubled its total staff in the 12 months since February 2007, in all areas ranging from strategic management and finance to sales, research, development and online marketing expertise.

Bookassist appoints new Business Development Advisor

Christina Roche has been appointed as Business Development Advisor in Bookassist's Dublin office. Christina will work directly with Bookassist partner clients to help increase direct revenue through their hotel websites.

Christina is a graduate of the Dublin Institute of Technology at Cathal Brugha Street where she studied for a degree in Hospitality Management. Prior to her appointment with Bookassist Christina worked as Reservations Manager in the Irish Management Institute.

Bookassist appoints new financial controller

Vivian Kelly has joined Bookassist as Financial Controller for the Group. Prior to this role, Vivian worked in Property Development and IT Consultancy working with various Companies in both the Hospitality and Travel Reservation Software Industry.

Vivian is an associate of the Irish Institute of Taxation and also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

Mary Collins to head Trafficbuilder strategy development across all offices at Bookassist

The Board has appointed Mary Collins, Web Presence Team Leader at Bookassist, to also head overall Trafficbuilder strategy development across all Bookassist offices. Bookassist Trafficbuilder services for online marketing are operated out of a number of Bookassist offices in different countries, since the service often requires localisation.

Mary has been with Bookassist since its formation in 1999 and is a Physics graduate of the Dublin Institute of Technology and a Management graduate of the National College of Ireland. She has held a number of development and management positions over the years at Bookassist.

Bookassist appoints Operations Manager for the Spanish Office

Cristina Arano joins Bookassist Spain office as Head of Operations in Spain

Bookassist has announced that Cristina Arano has joined the company as Operations Manager for Spain. Cristina Arano has over 12 years experience in the travel industry, working in the UK and Spain, occupying various positions in intermediary companies such as hotel Contracting Manager for international markets and Director of Sales. She will have direct responsibility for the 10 staff currently in Madrid and will oversee expansion.

Cristina Arano is based in Bookassist's office in Madrid and oversees the development and growth of the company in Spain

Bookassist appoints Sales Manager in Ireland

Bookassist appoints Sarah Collins to head Sales in Ireland

Sarah Collins has joined Bookassist as Sales Manager (Ireland). Sarah will obtain new business to partner with Bookassist, who provide an award-winning booking engine and proven online marketing expertise. Bookassist are at the forefront of online reservations technology with offices in Ireland, Spain, Scotland, Czech Republic and Argentina. Prior to this Sarah held the position of Sales and Marketing Executive with the Irish Hospitality Institute. She is delighted to continue working within the Hospitality Industry, where she can maintain the relationships she made during her time with the Irish Hospitality Institute.

A native of Co. Limerick, Sarah spent 4 years in Cardiff where she obtained a Degree in Marketing.

Bookassist appoints Sales Manager in Spain

Ismael García-Ortega Camino has been appointed to head the sales division in Spain and Portugal markets to grow business and introduce the Bookassist Bookingengine and Trafficbuilder services, as the perfect technological partner to mainly drive bookings directly into the hotel's website and reduce distribution costs.

Ismael García-Ortega Camino brings significant experience in the world of tourism, particularly in hotels. Since he graduated in Business and Tourism Activities at the UNED over the past ten years his career has led him to play different positions in chains such as Rafael Hoteles and Hoteles Porcel and also on the side of the Tour Operation in companies such as Bancotel.

Bookassist appoints Head of Business & Operations

Bookassist appoints Yahya Fetchati as Head of Business and Operations.

Bookassist has announced that Mr Yahya Fetchati has joined the company as Head of Business & Operations. Yahya Fetchati brings considerable industry experience to the management team at Bookassist and is a former Director of Hotel Partner Marketing at Lastminute.com and former Managing Director of Hotels for Europe at Hotels.com.

Yahya Fetchati has worked in the online hospitality industry for well over a decade. He is based in the Dublin office and will oversee all strategy and sales operations at Bookassist in all marketplaces, reporting directly to the Board.