In the series hospitality influencers, we provide insights into the future of hospitality through interviews with inspiring individuals actively shaping the industry. These thought leaders share their stories and provide industry perspectives, challenges, opportunities, and innovations. Join us in exploring the future of hospitality.
In this article, we’ll be interviewing Alexander Edström of Atomize. In his position as CEO, Alexander has led the development of lean revenue management software for hoteliers on the cutting edge. It is based on the latest innovations in price automation – offering technology that relieves the pain of setting prices manually.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden, with five siblings. I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in International Business at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, in the US. I then moved back home to Sweden and earned my Masters Degree in International Business at Gothenburg University.
I’m happily married and a proud father of four. And I’ve always been fascinated by sales and business development – even more so in a global context.
What was your first job in the hospitality industry?
I entered the hospitality industry as CEO of Atomize back in 2018. I came from the AdTech industry and could see how much the hospitality industry differed from most others. It’s friendly, warm, and welcoming in a way that many take for granted – especially those who have always worked within it. But the hospitality industry is truly unique in that sense.
What triggered you to start your company?
My dear friend, the original founder of Atomize, sat next to a hotelier at a general dinner. The hotelier explained the pain of setting rates for his hotel over the course of the meal. This made us reach out to a random set of hoteliers to see if this was a shared concern – and it was. Our Adtech industry heritage and experience building world-leading optimization algorithms prompted us to start Atomize.
What is the story behind your company?
After selling our previous company in the AdTech industry in 2014, we discovered how painful it was for hotels to set prices for their rooms manually. So, we started Atomize in 2016 to help hoteliers save the tedious effort and cost of setting prices and increase their revenue. All while automatically setting optimal prices in real time.
What does your company solve?
Atomize is a lean revenue management software system designed for hoteliers who want to do more with less. Atomize transforms market data into revenue by delivering optimal price automation in real-time up to two years into the future. And all based on the latest innovations in price automation. Offering technology that relieves the pain of setting prices manually is truly amazing.
What challenges did you face while developing and launching your technology? How did you overcome them?
The biggest surprise and challenge was the general state of technical fragmentation and legacy tech stacks. This has improved, but it’s still challenging for the hotel industry. Today, we have integrations with most of the biggest and most forward-leaning PMSs. Systems that either offer modern APIs or have integrated towards Atomize’s 2-way API.
Who were the people that have been the most helpful in getting you to where you are today? How did they impact your life and your success?
This might sound like a cliche, but it really does come down to the people. All of the employees at Atomize have been hand-picked for our mission. And it really could not have been done without them. We also have a very competent and experienced board of directors. They’re serial entrepreneurs and have the experience to act as a helpful sounding board – and to challenge me personally as CEO and Atomize as an organization.
How do you balance the traditional touchpoints of hospitality with technology?
I’m a big believer in both AI and automation. Everything that can be automated will be automated as long as that automation doesn’t sacrifice the value of the end user/guest experience or product. So we are not so much trying to find a balance between traditional touchpoints and technology, but rather continuously asking ourselves – How can we improve or make that smarter – more lean – and can it be fully automated?
How do you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and advancements in the hospitality industry and technology? How do you incorporate them into your product roadmap?
We read extensively and combined it with deep-dive client interviews and discussions with other forward-leaning tech vendors and entrepreneurs. This occurs both within the context of hospitality and outside of it. Great ideas about how to do and build things are often found in other industries. Industries that have already gone through the journey of digitalization.
How will technology change the hospitality industry over the next five to ten years? Where do you see your company fitting into that future?
As mentioned earlier – everything that can be automated will be automated as long as it does not affect the guest experience or product value. When it comes to our identity as a tech vendor? It means that we’re already measuring “user disengagement.” It’s a process where we strive for our users to spend as little time as possible in Atomize. Consider a client happy with what we deliver and hasn’t touched or even logged in to Atomize in the last six months. That would be considered a true success.
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