Strengthening the Hospitality Industry with Data-driven Room Pricing

Founding RoomPriceGenie was a step Ari Andricopoulos took when he found himself at a crossroads, unsure of what to do next in his career. "I didn't want to stay in finance, but I couldn't find another job in Switzerland. So, I started my own thing," Ari recalls.

The idea for his own venture sparked when Ari visited his father at his Bed and Breakfast in England. He could see the competition getting stronger, and his father wasn't getting his pricing quite right. The B&B was sometimes empty and sometimes booked up too early at too low a price. 

Even a Great Idea Can Have a Tough Start 

Having spent 15 years creating trading algorithms for financial markets, Ari could build a solution that would revolutionize how small hotels and similar businesses manage their pricing to increase their revenue. Ari started with a simple plan: calling potential customers to test the market's interest in this idea. While they expressed a need and willingness to pay for such a service, actions didn't follow. It took him almost two years to acquire the first paying customers. "I often asked myself, 'Am I totally crazy?'". he shares. With a family to support, the pressure to make business was immense, but Ari's belief in the value of what they were building kept him motivated. "I knew we were doing something good, something that would eventually work. That belief carried me through the hard times."

Secret Sauce: Grit and Team Spirit

Luckily, Ari wasn't alone in this. His team shared his level of grit and his vision, which would make them stick together through thick and thin. Be it in the early days, when Ari teamed up with co-founders Marvin and Jörg, developing the product and working tirelessly to refine it. When the fundraising environment became challenging or when COVID-19 brought the hospitality sector to a halt.

Ari is very proud of this company's culture. "Our team environment is amazing. People from all different backgrounds feel they can be themselves here. There's openness, support, and a strong team spirit."

COVID-19 Set the Timing Right for the Business to Take-off

The COVID-19 pandemic was a double-edged sword for RoomPriceGenie. The company faced unprecedented uncertainty as the hospitality industry had to stop its operations almost entirely. "We didn't know how long covid would last," Ari says. Fundraising became challenging, but the crisis also forced hotels to embrace technology at a faster pace, setting the timing right for RoomPriceGenie to get deeper into the market.

"We also used downtime to improve the product and customer journey. It became a time of solidarity, and when the market recovered, we were well-positioned for the future," Ari explains. The company's resilience paid off, and by January 2022, business had picked up significantly.

Keeping Sight of the Vision Paid Off

Today, RoomPriceGenie is recognized as one of the top two revenue management systems by Hotel Tech Report. Customers praise the software for its tangible results and ease of use. The customer reviews say, "RoomPriceGenie provides prices we never thought possible. Compared to local competitors, their recommendations hit the market price perfectly. In the first year, we saw a 26% revenue increase thanks to their software."

RoomPriceGenie's journey is a testament to perseverance, strategic thinking, and an unwavering belief in its mission. For Ari, the decision to step into entrepreneurship wasn't just about filling a gap in the market; it was about creating something meaningful. "The journey was hard, but looking back, it was worth every step," he reflects.