After becoming aware of the headaches in the meetings industry via corporate sales roles at IHG and Starwood, Nour Mouakke set about building a platform that gives travel buyers visibility on spend and patterns while considering content, rates and billing for hotels with an OTA-style experience for travellers and bookers. We spoke to the Wizme founder and CEO ahead of appearing in the Business Travel Show's Launchpad.
When were you launched?
Wizme will officially launch in November 2017. UK-based TMC Inntel is our first client.
How many people are working for the company?
There are three of us in the team and we work closely with our advisory board made of Douglas O'Neill, Steve Allen and Sandy Moring.
Sum up what your company/product does in one sentence.
Wizme is the online venue booking platform that is going to revolutionise the world of booking conferences, meetings and events for the corporate, agent and venues.
Why is it unique?
Although many tried to crack the "venue hire segment", most of the entrants have been limited, technologically-driven products and ignored the market complexity (eg nobody is solving the problem for all the parties involved).
I believe what makes Wizme unique is our knowledge and understanding of the whole landscape of the business: operations, processes and systems. This allows us to deliver the most comprehensive and advanced venue booking system offering a streamlined process for everyone involved.
We are so fortunate to be backed and supported by our 'family' in the industry which will make a difference.
What problem does it solve?
It's 2017 but about 80% of external meetings are still booked offline and to this day, it can take several days' time to confirm even a small meeting room. Finding the right venue within budget and making a booking is a very complex and inefficient process for most companies.
Travel buyers have struggled for decades to get a true hand on the management of meetings within their travel programmes. Most companies do not have a process, let alone a system to manage this and TMCs/agents have additionally struggled with the negative productivity impact of handling these meeting transactions, especially those with few attendees.
Within the hotel industry, the current process to book these meeting rooms is also labour intensive and non-dynamic.
Opportunities are being lost by all parties and Wizme is addressing that in an easy to use, clear and intelligent way which will increase policy compliance, productivity and drive savings.
What platforms is it available on and can integrate with (anything from GDS to OBTs, mobile platforms etc)?
Our system is versatile and easy to integrate into others. The system can push preferred agreements and suppliers, for example through TMC technology or platforms like Concur and Locomote so small meetings can be booked instantly. We've created a widget that can feature own websites so bookers can go direct.
We are on a mission to deliver a world class user experience to all our partners bringing the coolness of the consumer products to the business travel world. Wizme is a mobile-friendly web app but we will develop native apps as businesses require.
What markets is it available in?
The booking platform can be used in any location. The majority of rooms and venues are currently in the UK.
What do travel managers like about it?
It's an end-to-end system that brings complete transparency, control and order in all meetings space and venue hire activities across the entire organisation. Travel managers receive quick team on-boarding, rich data and reporting, complete control over policy, duty of care, preferred suppliers, internal meeting room management and a whole lot more.
Why do travellers like it?
Booking meeting rooms or venues with Wizme is an easy, streamlined process, designed for operational efficiency and user comfort. In essence: great properties, instant bookings, direct contact with venues and a great deal of productivity features.
What are your growth plans?
We have aggressive plans around the further development of functionality and its inventory, particularly growing the number of meeting rooms and venues available in Europe, the Americas, GCC, China to name few. We will align our strategy where our corporate and TMC partners are booking the most meetings.
A dynamic matching feature is also in the pipeline that is a win/win optimisation element for both content providers and customers. It's a long journey but we are confident we will change the landscape of the business forever.