Scottish hospitality software goes to work in Greenland hotel

Scottish hospitality tech firm Hop Software has secured its first ever Arctic contract with a hotel in Greenland,

Part-founded by Highland hoteliers, Hop has developed award-winning software packages to handle all aspects of hospitality, including online bookings and payments.

In the last 18 months, the company has secured several new contracts outside the UK, with deals in Barbados, Florida, Nigeria and Europe. Staff were nonetheless intrigued to receive a contact from much further north – Hotel Narsaq in Southern Greenland.

Sitting at 65 degrees latitude, with views from the shores of Tunulliarfik Fjord out over Arctic ice sheets, Hotel Narsaq comprises 11 rooms, plus six family apartments and guest houses.

Co-owners Fridrik and Kattie Magnusson were looking for an online booking system, so the Hop team worked with them remotely integrate their new booking system, at a distance of 1600 miles from the company’s Edinburgh base, managing to get the system live ahead of the main summer tourist season.

“It’s probably one of the last places we would have imagined Hop to be, at the outset, if I am honest,” said Hop co-founder Richard Drummond, who also manages McKays Hotel Bar and Restaurant in Pitlochry.

“You don’t really plan for this, though I think it shows the flexibility of our product. Our home is firmly in Scotland and the UK, however, the Hop team enjoy setting up the platform in these locations which are far from home.”

Iceland-born Fridrik Magnusson, who has co-owned Hotel Narsaq for 10 years with his Greenlandic wife, Kattie, praised the Hop team for overcoming international barriers to introduce the software.

“We had a few issues to do with Nordic laws but the Hop team was quick to add these features to the system,” said the hotelier, whose principal custom is with business travellers heading to the port, which is clustered with multi-coloured, wooden dwellings.

“It was important for our business customers to be able to book easily online and also to amend bookings, themselves, which many systems can’t do.”

Alongside Drummond, Hop was founded by Jon Erasmus, who co-owns the Glen Mhor Hotel, Inverness, and Ronald Tweedie.

From its conception in 2017, Hop has continued to expand steadily, with over 250 hospitality businesses now running its all-in-one property management system, including over 70 Scottish hotels.

As well as Edinburgh, the firm has offices in Chester, England, and Durbanville, South Africa, and its UK clients include Bannatyne leisure group, Trivelles group and Petite Hotels.

Chief operating officer Sharon Smith said: “We look forward to fostering new relationships with further properties in Greenland. Moving into new territories is part of our ongoing overseas commitment for growth and innovation.”

IMAGES: 0826: Hop co-founder and Highland Perthshire hotelier, Richard Drummond, admits the Greenland contract was unexpected but welcome.

Travel: The distance between Hop’s Edinburgh base and the hotel in the Arctic.

Homes in Narsaq: The traditional dwellings of Narsaq are wooden and painted in bright colours

Hotel Narsaq in the ‘Greenlandic Riviera’, seen here in summer.