Archipelago International Looks to New Horizons

An Interview with Gerard Byrne, Managing Director of Archipelago International

In this new exclusive interview with Caribbean News Digital, Gerard Byrne, Managing Director of Archipelago International, sheds light on the company’s innovative strides in hospitality and its global expansion strategy. 

With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Archipelago has emerged as a leader in seamlessly integrating technology into hotel management. A prime example is the development of Sentinel Technology, a sister company launched during the pandemic to revolutionize property management systems and streamline operations. 

From Front and Back of House, POS to Financial Reporting, Sentinel’s cloud based solutions are crafted "by hoteliers, for hoteliers," offering a comprehensive system that is now in use across over 80 of its hotels. Byrne highlights the company's forward-thinking approach to technology adoption, underscoring its impact on efficiency and adaptability in a traditionally slow-to-evolve sector.

Beyond technological advancements, Archipelago is preparing for an ambitious year in 2025, marked by significant expansions across Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The company is opening its first hotels in the Dominican Republic and unveiling projects in Mexico and Cuba, collectively adding thousands of keys to its growing portfolio. 

Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, Archipelago is making bold moves with the development of the ASTON Knowledge Economic City Hotel and Residences in Medina. Byrne also hints at future opportunities in Europe, particularly Spain, where strong ties with investors may pave the way for new ventures. 

Through strategic growth, cultural adaptability, and its signature emphasis on personalized service, Archipelago International is poised to redefine hospitality across diverse global markets.

What has the company been working on in terms of technological breakthroughs?

Sentinel Technology (Sentec) is a sister company of Archipelago International. We set it up four years ago, at the start of the pandemic, specifically to develop a property management system and other technology for our hotels.

Over the last few years, we've developed the technology and the software behind it, property management system, employment management system and booking engine. The great thing about these is that it's front and back of house, financial reporting, employee management, so everything you need in a hotel system, it has it, and it works really well. So it's a hotel system developed by hoteliers for hoteliers.

That's the punchline really, because we have over many years used various PMS’s and tech stacks in Asia, and they either didn’t work to the level we required or have the full capabilities that we needed. So when the pandemic hit, it just gave us a moment to then take a step back and go: “okay, this is something we want to do”, and thankfully it's been hugely successful and efficient to roll out. Sentec is operational across 80 of the hotels in our Indonesian portfolio and is now being implemented across the rest of our hotels in 2025.

That's the technology side, and I think it's a really important conversation piece in our discussion here, because generally speaking, hotel chains and brands have historically been very slow to adapt to new technologies. We have always focused on and invested in technology as a major priority for our business over the last 25 years, and it's really been a key differentiator between us and our competitors. 

Other than technology, what other strategies do you have in store for 2025?

Well, 2025 is going to be really exciting because we are opening our first hotels in the Dominican Republic and Mexico with seven property openings scheduled. Looking at our portfolio in totality in the Americas region, there's been huge growth in the Dominican Republic, and now we're seeing that in Mexico as well. We've signed 21 management contracts (5,217 keys) there, with a further 17 projects (4,955 keys) growing that pipeline over the coming months. In addition, we have a further opening in Cuba in the Aston Panorama Hotel in Havana. This growth trajectory is very promising and tells me that owners and developers are understanding what we are bringing to the table in terms of attractive fee structures, flexible partnership models, brand freshness, technological capability and of course, our renowned Asian service standards. 

The other exciting part is that in the Middle East, we’ve just signed a major hotel and residences project in Medina, Saudi Arabia: ASTON Knowledge Economic City Hotel and Residences. That comprises 649 rooms in a fantastic and very large master development project of 6.5 square kilometers. We are very confident in that market as we have probably the most compelling business case of any brand - being the most well known brand (ASTON) in the second largest tourist source market for Saudi Arabia (Indonesia).

Further than the Caribbean and Indonesia, you didn't mention Europe. Are you waiting for something here?

Europe and indeed the US are interesting of course however they are much more mature markets. We haven't made any major investment in those markets in terms of launching our brands and at the moment we have no plans in terms of the U.S. We see a logical step into Spain, because a lot of our developer and investor clients in Latin America are either from Spain or are funded through Spain. We've signed, for example, with a large Spanish public company who's developing a major project in Punta Cana called Larimar City. We are gaining traction there, at least from a brand awareness perspective, so that to me would be the most logical entry point into Europe.

As we’re in Spain now. What are you expecting from FITUR this year?

This is our first year with a stand in FITUR and the reason for that is we wanted to wait until we had a portfolio of projects in LATAM that we could present, and that we're opening, more importantly. So we open our first project in the Dominican Republic next month, and then it's one after the other for the rest of the year.

Obviously, we've come to FITUR for the last five or six years however we got the stand this year with the idea in mind of introducing SENTEC as well. So it's really an opportunity to introduce ourselves to people who may not know us and of course for us to meet travel and tourism partners both new and old. 

So we are introducing ourselves, the projects that we're doing and we're introducing the differentiators as to why we should be a chosen management company and a brand for investors and developers. That business case is very, very strong. We're a private company and have a very responsive, flat organization that can react quickly to situations. Both developers and investors like that. We also have fee structures that, on a general level, are much, much lower than the global brands. This is being received very well.

We're very much an owner-centric business, and I don't say that lightly. I mean, every project is a pet project for us. We really put our heart and soul into it, and our expansion is not based on planting flags everywhere in the world. We're being strategic in where we do business, where we can show our capabilities and know that we can perform. That's very, very important for us. It's about the right project, the right fit for us and for the owner, and then giving the owner the technology and the systems and then those fee structures that can really drive the bottom line for the owner. That's really important for us.

How much do cultural factors come into play when expanding into new countries?

Culture is a massive issue when you're expanding globally, and we've thought about that very, very carefully, it's so important. At all levels it comes into play and it’s really about taking your time, doing the research and understanding the dynamics of the new market. 

We've set up corporate offices in Punta Cana with a local team and we'll do the same in Santo Domingo to support projects that we have there and likewise in Playa Del Carmen in Mexico and probably Mexico City as well. The local teams from there will help us on cultural adaptation and understanding.

But we always want to bring a bit of Indonesia, a bit of Southeast Asia to everything. Part of what we do really really well is service. It's from the heart, it's really meant, it's very attentive and that is something that we want in all our hotels. 

How has Archipelago been working with global hotels after the pandemic?

We developed a specific product using our systems called Powered by Archipelago (PbA) and we have rolled that out over the last 2 years. It's been very, very successful for us because after the pandemic, a lot of independent hotels really struggled to reopen and compete against the big brands. They didn't have the systems or technology to ramp back up, particularly online. So instead of doing full management, we come in and say, we'll do all your online business, we will redesign your website and manage your distribution and revenue online and that will bring up your performance. It's been so successful, we've added about 20,000 keys to our portfolio with that product. So it is targeted at and significantly helps independent, non branded hotels and hotel groups to maximize their online competitiveness and results. 

Some final words...

I am confident that the coming year is going to be a defining one for us as a group and that you'll be hearing a lot more about Archipelago in 2025!