In today’s hyper-accelerated travel landscape, transformation is no longer a buzzword – it’s a business imperative.
Legacy systems, fragmented teams, and endless spreadsheets can’t keep up with a market driven by instant bookings, AI-enhanced personalization, and skyrocketing customer expectations. But as many Destination Management Companies (DMCs) and Tour Operators already know, scaling smart isn’t just about buying the right tech – it’s about reimagining the business itself.
At this year’s Travel Tech Show in London, Lemax hosted a panel featuring leaders from Hotelplan Group, TourAxis, and TourRadar – three travel brands that have faced the challenge of modernization head-on. The conversation went far beyond software; it was a masterclass in scaling with strategy, empathy, and clarity.
Here are 7 transformative insights every travel business should consider before taking its next leap.
1. Digital Transformation Doesn’t Start with Tech – It Starts With Pain
For TourAxis and Hotelplan, technology wasn’t a proactive upgrade but a survival tactic. They didn’t digitize because they had a clean roadmap; they digitized because their systems were cracking under pressure.
“You reach that point. For example, when we started breaking the limits of Google Sheets, we knew something needed to change… that definitely accelerated the digitization process,” said Niel Koekemoer, CTO at TourAxis.
Growth wasn’t smooth, it was uneven. Sales outpaced product. Marketing outpaced operations. Financial data lagged, and decisions suffered.
At that point, they realized the issue wasn’t about isolated systems or inefficiencies, but the lack of connection. As Koekemoer concluded: “As a C-suite, when you start this journey, you should stop seeing this as project implementations, but more as business enablers.”
2. Technology Projects Fail Because of People, Not Platforms
One of the clearest takeaways from the panel was this: technology is the easy part. Change management is the hard part.
“I do find the tech easy… When you start dealing with the organizational transformation, that’s when it becomes super messy,” said Koekemoer.
People don’t resist tools; they resist what those tools threaten: identity, control, routine. That’s why transformation efforts often trigger emotions similar to grief, from denial and anger to eventual acceptance.
Craig Randell, Group IT Director at Hotelplan Group, put it bluntly:
“You’re asking your business to change the fundamental way they’ve been working for 20 years. And you’ll always overestimate their digital knowledge. And while tech is challenging, it comes with a reset button. You can turn it on and off. People, on the other hand, are not built with reset buttons. You have to take them on the journey with you and build trust.“
The takeaway? Invest in clarity. Celebrate small wins obsessively. And bring people in, not just the platform.
3. Operational Pain Is Real, But the Payoff Is Bigger
Digital transformation in travel isn’t linear. Both TourAxis and Hotelplan shared stories of initial productivity losses, resistance, and even revenue hits. For TourAxis, entire teams built around legacy tools had to relearn how to work. For Hotelplan, employees questioned the value of the tech altogether.
But once the systems clicked, the results were impossible to ignore.
“If I look at the operations team of one of our brands, by putting Lemax in, we’ve taken out 42 operational tasks that were done every day. They’re all automated. We don’t do any of that anymore. And the teams love that! And we’ve got TourRadar running for Explore and the TourRadar and Lemax integration. We don’t touch a booking that comes from TourRadar into Lemax. It gets booked, it comes through, and it goes out to the customer. It’s all automated, and it’s those stories that keep people engaged in the chaotic journey that we’re on as a business,” states Craig.
The lesson? Discomfort is temporary. Clarity and scale are permanent.
4. Build for Marketplace Success With 3 Pillars
For travel businesses looking to increase distribution, marketplaces like TourRadar can become rocket fuel – but only if the backend is ready.
Nicholas Trieb, COO at TourRadar, highlighted three pillars that set successful operators apart:
- High-quality content – Clean itineraries, correct pricing, accurate availability.
- Instant bookability – Via reservation systems like Lemax or APIs.
- Verified trust – Reviews that build credibility.
Trieb explained that tour operators who integrate their booking process – seamlessly connecting TourRadar with systems like Lemax – achieve conversion rates up to 4x higher than those still handling bookings manually.
And that impact isn’t limited to TourRadar. It ripples into the operator’s entire ecosystem, from their website to OTAs to distribution partners.
5. AI Isn’t a Hack – It’s a Strategic Shift
The hype around AI is real. AI isn’t just a new tool; it’s a new paradigm.
Niel Koekemoer shared how TourAxis applied AI to streamline contract loading, which was a huge operational lift. But the real challenge wasn’t technical; instead, it was emotional.
“AI is not a replacement. But the wins are not what process or what system you can really automate. It’s much more about how you can start reimagining what is possible when human creativity and machine learning start to emerge. And that is where you start needing to really invest in your time and your energy, but more importantly, in your data strategy, because AI, at the end of the day, is only as good as the context that you are feeding it. And for us, that was an eye-opener,” concludes Niel.
He cautioned leaders to avoid the trap of plugging AI into broken systems. AI is really only as good as the context we’re feeding it.
Craig Randall, Group IT Director at Hotelplan Group, underscored this point with a sharp reminder: “Technology hasn’t changed in the 30 years I’ve been in it – garbage in, garbage out. AI doesn’t fix that.” To drive the point home, he ran a mock AI test for his board. By intentionally corrupting the input data – telling the model that Father Christmas delivers Easter eggs – he demonstrated how misleading outputs can be. “Do you trust AI now?” he asked. The answer was a clear no.
If your data is broken, AI won’t save you. Start by fixing your data, upskilling leadership, and building a culture of curiosity. Only then can AI become a competitive advantage in scaling a travel business.
6. Belief Must Scale Before Technology
Panelists repeatedly emphasized that digital success hinges on people, not platforms.
“Don’t scale the tech. Scale the belief in the people. When people understand the why and the where, they’ll come on the journey with you,” said Craig Randell.
At TourRadar, this meant launching an internal AI task force, creating Slack channels for use case sharing, and boldly requiring every hire to be AI-fluent, regardless of department.
Why? Because in the age of AI, English is the new programming language. Everyone has access. The playing field is leveling.
And the companies that move first, with intentionality and readiness, will win.
7. Transformation Is Messy. But It’s Worth It.
Each panelist offered advice to companies ready to take the leap:
- Niel Koekemoer (TourAxis):
“Don’t start with the tech. Start with the pain and opportunity. Focus on outcomes. Identify what will break as you scale, and also what business value you can unlock and build your strategy around that. If you focus on the tools and not the outcomes, you’re going to spend a lot of money and change very little in your company.”
- Craig Randall (Hotelplan Group)
“Don’t scale the tech. Scale the belief in the people. When people understand the why and the where, they’ll come on the journey with you, and the tech will just go with it. The tech’s the easy bit. Bring the people on the journey. That’s the most important thing in the whole transformation.”
- Nicholas Trieb (TourRadar):
“Cheaper isn’t always better. And don’t go after all use cases within one system, because you can have an endless project in the end.”
These tips come from battle-tested leaders who’ve done the work, seen the friction, and now enjoy the results: operational clarity, instant scalability, and team-wide momentum.
The Bottom Line: Reinvention Isn’t Optional – It’s Inevitable.
The travel industry is evolving faster than ever. From traveler expectations to team enablement, everything is speeding up, and the only way to keep pace is by stepping back, resetting your foundations, and building with intention.
In the end, this isn’t about systems. It’s about travel business automation and creating a connected business that can grow confidently.”
So the real question is no longer if you’ll transform. It’s how intentionally you’ll do it.
And for travel companies ready to take that first step – whether it’s through digitization, automation, or AI-readiness – clarity is power.
Ready to Dive Deeper?
This blog is just a taste. Download the full whitepaper “Scaling a Travel Business in a Tech-Driven World” to explore:
- Full stories from TourAxis, Hotelplan, and TourRadar.
- Real-world examples of tech implementation pitfalls and wins.
- Practical frameworks for your next transformation initiative.
- Get a link to watch the full video recording of the panel.
👉 Download the full whitepaper and start scaling with confidence.
