Latest / GAIN Momentum / What Tech Looks Like for Turkish Hotels | with Selin Yigitkus
Transcript
- GAIN Momentum episode #115: What Tech Looks Like for Turkish Hotels | with Selin Yigitkus === Adam Mogelonsky: Welcome to another exciting episode of the GAIN Momentum podcast. We're here today with BookLogic. She's the co-founder and chief marketing officer. Selin, how are you? Selin Yigitkus: Thank you. I'm good. How are you? Adam Mogelonsky: Doing fantastic. And we have our co-host here, Vincent Somsen, as usual. Selin, to start off, give us the elevator pitch for BookLogic. What does this company do? Selin Yigitkus: So BookLogic is a commercial operating system for hotels. We connect reservation, distribution, payments, revenue maximization, and AI-driven commerce into one platform that helps hotels maximize profitability, not just occupancy. For more than 15 years, we've been helping hotels' commercial performance increase. Today, we work with thousands of hotels and connect them to more than 700,000 travel agencies and over 1,000 online distribution channels worldwide. But what really defines BookLogic isn't the number of integrations we have or the partners we have; it's the philosophy behind the platform. We believe hotels shouldn't spend their day managing systems. Instead, they should spend their day growing their business. That's why we don't describe ourselves as a PMS company or even channel manager or booking engine. Hospitality technology has traditionally been divided into many separate products. You buy one for your PMS, another for your channel manager, another for booking engine, another for payments, another for revenue management, and another for reporting. The hotel becomes responsible for connecting all those pieces together. So we questioned that approach, and instead of asking, "How do we build another hotel software?" we asked a different question: "How do we help hotels make better commercial decisions?" That's why we describe BookLogic as a commercial operating system. Every commercial decision affects profitability, including but not limited to pricing, distribution, payments, and conversion. So if those systems don't communicate with each other, hotels lose opportunities every day, even without realizing it. Our mission isn't just digitizing hotel operations. Our mission is to help hotels continuously make smarter commercial decisions and maximize their profitability. Adam Mogelonsky: Okay, so you touched on the whole idea of revenue management and this term revenue maximization. There's some nuance there because, as many hotels know, you gotta fill the hotel before you can optimize the bottom line, the profitability. So revenue maximization—what does this term mean, and what's the difference between that and traditional revenue management? Selin Yigitkus: Revenue management has traditionally focused on optimizing price, inventory, and demand. Those remain essential, of course, but we believe they are no longer enough. Today's hotels compete through much broader commercial decisions. Revenue is influenced by pricing, but it's also influenced by how successfully you convert direct bookings, how much demand you generate, how much ancillary revenue you create, and how seamlessly guests move through the booking journey. That's why we prefer the term revenue maximization. It's about looking beyond a single pricing decision and optimizing the entire commercial journey. From attracting demand to converting bookings and maximizing the value of every guest constitutes the whole part, so we cannot focus on only one single part of those. We don't optimize individual functions in isolation, as they are all connected in our platform. It actually behaves like one commercial ecosystem, so we optimize them all together. It's like the utility function in economics—they need to be optimized all together so that the profitability is much higher at the end of the day. Vincent Somsen: Okay, that makes sense. And is there any feature that you highlight when you talk to hoteliers? Any feature that you're most proud of today? Selin Yigitkus: Actually, there is no single feature that I would say, "This is the single button that's gonna make everything much better than someone else's company does." The hospitality industry has become too feature-focused, I believe. Everybody has a checklist: We have this feature. We integrated that partner. We launched another dashboard. Hotels don't buy software because of one feature. They buy outcomes. Our competitive advantage isn't that we have one better button than somebody else, but it's that everything we build works towards one objective: increasing commercial performance and maximizing profitability. For example, if our booking engine increases direct conversion, but our distribution strategy sends our guests to an OTA instead, we have failed, because OTAs charge high commission rates and direct booking has a much lower cost. Creating greater revenue doesn't necessarily mean more profit. Other than that, if revenue management increases ADR, but acquisition costs rise even more, we've failed. Every module should improve the same commercial outcome. That's why our biggest differentiator isn't one feature—it's the way the platform thinks. Adam Mogelonsky: Yeah. You raised a very interesting dilemma for revenue directors, which is this whole idea of third parties and filling the hotel with high commission or high acquisition cost guests. A lot of times when you have that holistic picture, like what you're offering with BookLogic, you can see that a lower occupancy, but also a significantly lower customer acquisition cost, can result in greater profitability. Can you speak to how BookLogic helps to reveal that logic for hotels to show how we can maximize revenue, but also maximize profitability by controlling and optimizing our channels? Selin Yigitkus: Basically, the mechanism behind it is the dynamic system. We do not base our system onto static assumptions. It's all dynamically deciding with AI at its base. Sometimes systems do not work properly and cannot adapt to market changes rapidly. In our system, as the pooled inventory works dynamically—and also considers factors like IP location and other circumstances—it compares them all. After comparing them, it directly gets to the point where profitability is higher. The AI actually tries to decide between those options. Adam Mogelonsky: Wow. Within that artificial intelligence you've developed under the hood, BookLogic connects to 700,000 agencies and 350 OTAs, as you've advertised. How do you make all that work with artificial intelligence and prevent it from breaking as well as delivering high quality results for channel optimization? Selin Yigitkus: We designed BookLogic around synchronization rather than simple connectivity. People often assume that integration is simply about building an API connection with all those channels, but in reality, that's only the beginning. Our job isn't just connecting systems, as I said before. It's making thousands of constantly changing connections behave like one reliable platform. That's the main difference, I believe. Every distribution partner operates differently, of course. They have different APIs, different business rules, different reservation flows, commercial requirements, and update frequencies. But when you're connected to hundreds of thousands of different sales channels, the challenge isn't making individual connections; the challenge is making all of those connections behave as one reliable ecosystem. Every availability update, rate change, or reservation needs to be synchronized accurately and almost in real time. If one connection lags behind another, hotels can face many problems like overbookings, pricing inconsistencies, or lost revenue opportunities. These pricing inconsistencies and overbookings might even result in the disappointment of loyal customers—or customers willing to return—who might give up on your hotel just because you failed them on their first or even fifth visit. That's why we've always focused on synchronization rather than connectivity alone. For us, success isn't measured by the number of integrations; it's measured by whether the entire distribution network behaves consistently, reliably, and predictably. Hotels shouldn't have to think about hundreds of different integrations; they should experience one platform that simply works. The engineering is the challenging part, actually. Scalability matters there—connecting systems is easy, but keeping thousands of them synchronized is where the real engineering begins and where the whole functioning of the system actually is. Adam Mogelonsky: Yeah. So Selin, you're coming in right now, recording from Istanbul. Is that correct? Selin Yigitkus: Yes. Adam Mogelonsky: Okay. The Turkish market for hotels is massive and beautiful, and there are so many good places that are established like Istanbul, Bodrum, and Antalya, but also emerging places. I'm sure everyone here wants to know, technology or otherwise, what makes the Turkish hotel market unique and special, and potentially different from the European Union? Selin Yigitkus: Turkey is actually one of Europe's most commercially dynamic hotel markets. Hotels operate in an environment where demand can fluctuate very rapidly due to seasonality, exchange rate movements, geopolitical developments, and a highly diverse mix of international source markets. They also manage a broader distribution ecosystem, often working simultaneously with OTAs, tour operators, wholesalers, DMCs, corporate accounts, and direct bookings. That makes commercial agility incredibly important. The Turkish market is genuinely known for its agility, I believe. Hotels need technology that allows them to react quickly without adding operational complexity. That's actually how BookLogic was designed. We try to make our system as agile as possible. Rather than treating revenue distribution, direct bookings, payments, guest acquisition, brand management, campaign management, etc., as separate systems, we bring them together in one commercial hospitality platform so hotels can make faster and better-informed decisions. Turkey is one of the most dynamic and agile countries, which helped us develop these features to be even more advanced and at a faster pace. Vincent Somsen: Okay. And Selin, would you say BookLogic is more for hoteliers that are looking to improve their direct booking strategy, or want to perhaps explore different channels and go beyond their direct booking strategy? The reason why I'm asking is that it seems that you guys are very in sync with the OTAs, travel agencies, and third-party websites. But I'm wondering if the direct booking strategy is part of the value proposition that you're offering to hoteliers today? Selin Yigitkus: Of course it is. In the beginning, like 20 years ago or so, it was never the case for them to be that technologically into such a platform or software. But recently, they became extra interested in those software programs because they realized the high commission percentages they pay to OTAs or other sales channels. Having their direct booking system actually enables them to, for instance, create promotions for their own loyal customers, give vouchers, or remind guests of their brand again and again using that data. We also have a loyalty club feature built directly within the booking engine software so that customers can sign up and get the specific percentage discount that the hotel has defined for them. I think hoteliers have generated a much better understanding of that in recent years. Vincent Somsen: Yeah, and that's going to be so important in the coming years, I think, right? We're talking about AI, data, personalization, and revenue maximization. But it all starts at the end of the day with that profile of the guest. If you don't have that profile—if you don't have the real email of a guest that comes through one of the large OTAs or even a travel agency—it's going to be really hard to personalize that journey without configuring that profile. So I think that's going to be really, really important indeed. Adam Mogelonsky: Yeah. On that note—what Vincent just said about having that personal email—one big point of friction that hotels have is duplicate records in the PMS. I'm not saying BookLogic has to solve that whole mess, but what solutions could you offer to a hotel where, let me say, a guest comes in the first time through an OTA or a travel agent, and then they become loyal in some way because they really liked their stay? Next time they book direct, how would you tackle that problem of bridging that divide—where the first time they come via a travel agent, tour operator, or OTA, and the next time they book direct—to have that information unified in some way to help personalization? Selin Yigitkus: Our platform works with three-way communication. When a booking comes in through the channel manager, it directly pops up in their PMS as well, or vice versa. We have an in-house PMS, but in addition to that, we are integrated with global tech providers across 40 PMS systems worldwide. We always have two-way communication so we can understand if a person has visited again and become loyal. It's not a problem in our system technically. As I said, it's an all-in-one platform, so when something repetitively happens, it is directly understood by the system itself. Adam Mogelonsky: Yeah, that's a tremendous value add. As Vincent said, just being able to identify that a guest is coming back twice and treating them as such is such an important value add. On that front, Selin, I'm curious—an all-in-one platform is the dream of hotels, but we're dealing with live products. In an ideal world, we would rip out all the old software, all the legacy systems that have these horrible data connections, and go with one all-in-one provider like BookLogic. But in reality, we have to sunset and onboard new systems one at a time and make that work. How do you bring new hotels onto your platform and deal with this tech stack migration problem? Selin Yigitkus: We have a dedicated team to launch the hotel onto our platform, and then we teach them module by module based on what they have requested. Our platform is flexible because not every hotel has the same needs. Resorts, boutique hotels, city hotels, or vacation rentals all have different operational needs at the end of the day. We do not force every single hotel to adopt all the modules we have. Instead, we enable the ones that are necessary for them, creating a tailored platform that makes the most out of their specific inventory and profitability. Other than that, we provide structured onboarding and education. Although our platform is very user-friendly, there are simple automated features—like automated decision-making for internal hotel operations or rate management plans—powered by our built-in AI system. It's very straightforward. Adam Mogelonsky: Oh, wow. So looking ahead, what would you say is the biggest myth right now about revenue management, and how does BookLogic logically solve that current problem? Selin Yigitkus: The biggest myth—that's a tough question! I think it's the belief that better prices create more revenue. Almost everyone believes that. Even when I attend industry exhibitions, everyone I talk to focuses solely on pricing. Pricing matters, of course; it's a major variable in the equation. But the best price doesn't necessarily mean you got the most profitable booking. For example, imagine two hotels that have the exact same room rate. One receives a direct booking through its own website, and the other receives a booking through a high-commission intermediary. On paper, they generate the same revenue. In reality, they generated very different net profits. In addition to pricing, there are many layers we need to account for because pricing is only one part of the commercial equation. These layers include distribution, conversion, customer acquisition, direct booking performance, payment costs, ancillary revenue, and more. When you look closer, distribution matters because where a booking comes from directly affects profitability. Customer acquisition cost matters a lot because attracting a guest costs money, and if you spend too much on acquisition, higher revenue doesn't equal higher profit. Direct booking performance matters because every direct booking gives you more control over the guest relationship and reduces dependency on third parties. Third-party data leaks or connection breaks directly affect your bookings. Some of my colleagues have experienced issues where bookings failed because of a third-party breakage or because payment processing was delayed. When you can't rely on booking data from a third party, you risk losing both the revenue and the booking directly. As for ancillary revenue, guests who purchase breakfast, airport transfers, spa treatments, or other extra services are often far more profitable overall. A higher room rate doesn't automatically mean a guest was more profitable. Being able to offer those extras through your own direct booking engine and having full control over that journey is much more profitable at the end of the day. That's why we see revenue management as part of a broader commercial ecosystem. Hotels don't maximize revenue by optimizing just one variable; they maximize it by connecting all of them. Adam Mogelonsky: Yeah, that makes total sense, and that's a great point to finish on. Selin, last question here: give us a sense of your favorite hotels in Istanbul or Turkey in general to share with the audience just how great it is to visit the country. Selin Yigitkus: I am in love with Istanbul first of all! I always recommend visiting Istanbul before heading to Bodrum, Antalya, or Marmaris and Bozburun. Turkey's natural views and seas are truly among the best in the world. I've been to over 38 countries, and I haven't seen such a beautiful sea and nature combined anywhere else. Istanbul has a unique character where the West and the East melt together in one pot. It's an incredible experience to explore the city, see the historical side spanning thousands of years, and also experience the modern culture, nightlife, and Bosphorus views. It's a wonderful blend, but I believe Istanbul's city hotels are the best choice for a first visit. Adam Mogelonsky: Wow. Yeah, Istanbul is absolutely beautiful. I've been there—the food is incredible, the history, the grand mosques, the cisterns... everything about it is amazing. Selin, was there any final comment before we close out? Selin Yigitkus: Yes! In a nutshell, we see BookLogic evolving into an autonomous commercial platform that directly suggests everything hoteliers need to decide to drive better profits. Human capacity has its limits when dealing with the dynamic changes in the world today, whether it's shifting market dynamics or geopolitical developments that cause high demand volatility. We are approaching a fundamental shift. The future won't be about adding more systems, dashboards, or reports. It will be about a platform that continuously analyzes demand patterns, booking pace, market behavior, channel performance, and commercial opportunities in real time. In the future, AI will recommend or automatically execute optimal decisions based on the hotel's commercial strategy—though execution remains under the hotelier's control, as they don't have to follow everything blindly. This allows hoteliers to focus on strategy, guest experience, and business growth, while AI handles complex and repetitive optimizations at a speed no human team could achieve. BookLogic is building for that future. Adam Mogelonsky: Wow, that's an incredible place to finish off. Selin, I can't thank you enough for coming on the show. It's been an absolute delight having you on to talk about the tools that are going to help drive profitability for hotels going forward. Thank you! Selin Yigitkus: Thank you very much as well, Adam. It was a pleasure. Vincent Somsen: Thank you!