Closing 2025: A note from Ali and Arden

Dear Valued Partner,

As we approach the end of 2025, we look back with deep gratitude for a year defined by strategic growth, bold innovation, and meaningful partnerships across the global travel and hospitality ecosystem. This year marked another leap forward in our mission to build the most connected and intelligent travel technology network in the world.

This year, we reached important milestones across connectivity, platform innovation, financial technology, strategic partnerships, and market expansion. We are proud to share some of the standout achievements of 2025.

HotelRunner was once again recognized as a preferred and strategic partner by the world’s leading travel platforms. We earned the Expedia Group Preferred Connectivity Partner status for the fifth consecutive year and were named a Strategic Partner in Agoda’s Connectivity Partner Program once again. We were also honored as Booking.com’s Premier Connectivity Partner for the eleventh consecutive year. These recognitions reinforce our long-standing commitment to delivering reliable, high-performing, and scalable solutions to our global community of partners. 

This year, we showcased our unified platform at ITB Berlin 2025, welcoming visitors from across the world to our stand at Messe Berlin. We proudly sponsored the Travolution Awards, celebrating innovation and excellence across the travel and hospitality industry. We strengthened our position in the B2B travel ecosystem as the Platinum Sponsor of MarketHub Europe by HBX Group. At the Arabian Travel Market, we unveiled three exclusive pilot programs focused on finance, B2B, and data. These pilots introduce next-generation capabilities and give select partners early access to innovations that will shape the future of connected travel. We also attended The Phocuswright Conference in San Diego as a sponsor, joining industry leaders and representing HotelRunner at one of the most influential gatherings in global travel technology. We participated in the invite-only TOURISE event, engaging with a curated group of industry decision-makers to explore the future of travel innovation.

A defining milestone of 2025 was our global strategic partnership with Visa. By combining Visa’s financial infrastructure with HotelRunner’s travel-native technology, we enabled secure, seamless cross-border payments and greater financial transparency for travel businesses. Building on this, we launched HotelRunner Ruby, an embedded finance infrastructure that unifies bookings, payments, and compliance in real time, setting the foundation for a new era in how travel businesses manage and grow money.

To put the year we have just completed into numbers, HotelRunner powered 4,852,265 reservations globally. Through our Booking Engine, partners saved 5 million USD in channel commissions. With Autopilot, 102,000 actions were triggered based on real-time signals, delivering an average 7% increase in ADR. Our HotelRunner Elite partners achieved a 35% growth in online business volume. 3 million reservations were managed via the Channel Manager, while 39,000 reviews were replied to through the Review Center. With HotelRunner Connect, we facilitated 9,000+ contracts between hotels and travel agencies. Our team attended 24 events worldwide, and we closed the year with a 90% partner satisfaction rate.

These achievements reflect the dedication, creativity, and tireless work of our entire team, as well as the trust of you. Together, we continued to build a global platform that unifies bookings, operations, distribution, payments, and connectivity for every type of travel business.

As we step into 2026, we look forward to growing together and helping you stay ahead in an ever-changing market. Our platform’s innovations will continue to give you a competitive edge, empowering your business to grow with the power of technology. Through ongoing improvements and innovative support, we are committed to ensuring you achieve the highest possible results and maximize your performance.

Thank you for your partnership and trust. We are excited to continue this journey with you and wish you a prosperous and successful year ahead.

Ali Beklen & Arden Agopyan
Founders and Managing Partners of HotelRunner