We`re Celebrating 10 years!
Since 2001 when myself, Peter Shearn and Chris Dowding started CaterBook, the hospitality industry has altered dramatically. We had very few competitors with only a few other products on the market.
A few of these companies are still competing with us and we genuinely salute them. We have also seen a great deal of products appear and promptly disappear too!
Hospitality is not a simple industry, and technology working for hospitality needs to be well designed, robust and simple to use and I think we can confidently say we have achieved this
Technology since 2001.
Chris and I had a real battle on our hands when we started. Convincing a hotel owner that a system like CaterBook would simplify and make an establishment more efficient was an uphill battle.
I lost count of times we were shown a diary plonked heavily on a table with "This`ll do me!" finalizing a conversation!
It`s amazing to think that 10 years ago the vast majority of our potential clients hadn`t used a computer, let alone owned one.
It was clear to us very early on, that the internet would change hospitality, and that we planned to engage with the changes. Our remit was (and still is) to enable hoteliers to take advantage of developments rather than be overwhelmed by them.
One of our boasts is that we were the first UK company to provide online booking systems for independant hotels for use on their own websites.
Steady Growth
CaterBook has developed both as a system and as a business with year on year growth. I admit we wouldn`t make Alan Sugar particularly proud, but we now have well in excess of 300 systems in active use with 1000`s of users. Importantly, as a business, we have sound and solid foundations. CaterBook is well established in business years, hospitality experience and financially. Our client base is increasing all the time and much of our new business is generated from referrals from existing clients. We`re not terribly interested in being the biggest, I believe being the best is a preferable ambition.
This is a good opportunity to thank all our clients for choosing to use our products, so - thank you.
The future
No matter what anyone says - we can`t predict the future. Few could have forecast the last 10 years - within the first few days of our business started, the Twin Towers were attacked changing a great many things. Along with other industries the web has rewritten the rulebook on marketing and selling hospitality. Here at CaterBook Towers, we plan ahead as much as sensibly possible, our current systems are as up to the minute as they can be with channel management alongside commission free online booking systems. And an in-house booking system that has all the facilities for managing a hotel or guest-house very effectively.
We`re proud of what we do, we can always improve of course and endeavour to do so but on the whole it`s been a great 10 years!
Peter Shearn - MD
