Dream Hotels & Resorts:

From 132% revenue growth to painted hospital walls

An unusual tech partnership

Solutions at a Glance

Easy-to-use booking system
A familiar, user-friendly platform that allows customers to book direct. Plus, the ability for guests to add activities and experiences personalised to their interests. 

 

 

 

Flexible payment plans
A flexible payment system lets guests book their dream holidays and pay them off over time, unlocking travel for thousands who couldn't afford it before.

 

 

 

 

An open and honest approach When inevitable challenges arise in the onboarding phase, Profitroom don't respond with empty promises or technical jargon – just honest collaboration and hands-on support.

Enhanced loyalty programmes
Instead of rebuilding from scratch, Profitroom supercharged Dream Hotels' existing loyalty programme – delivering more sign-ups and genuine guest connections.

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132%

Revenue increase in initial period

76%

Direct booking share growth (first 9 months)

65%

Sustained quarterly growth

16

Properties launched (started in 2022)

What if your next technology upgrade could boost direct bookings, and help transform your local community?

That’s exactly what happened when Dream Hotels & Resorts joined forces with Profitroom. Over three years, this partnership delivered not only 132% revenue growth and market-first payment solutions for emerging markets, but also introduced a technology partner who shows up when needed, including with paintbrushes to help build hospital rooms for terminally ill children.

For Nick Dickson, CEO of Dream Hotels & Resorts, it comes down to finding a true partner instead of just another vendor:

“For us, Profitroom means ‘friendship’, ‘community’ and ‘pioneering together’.”

And as Kevin Mandlokuwa, Senior Customer Success Manager at Profitroom explains,

“If the partner doesn't win, we also don't win... We're always looking out to make sure that the partner is also winning.”

This isn’t just another software rollout story. It’s proof that true partnership can rewrite what’s possible for hotels in emerging markets.

The numbers don't lie (but they're just the beginning)

Let's start with what matters most to your bottom line:

132% revenue increase in the initial implementation period

65% quarterly growth sustained over multiple periods

76% direct booking share growth in the first nine months

Dramatic improvements in loyalty programme engagement and operational efficiency 

Nick puts it simply:

"Our revenue increased by 132% in the initial period. The continued growth has been sustained over a period of 2½ years."

But here's where this story gets interesting. Those numbers? They're just the foundation of something much bigger.

The Challenge: When digital doesn't match reality

Dream Hotels & Resorts faced challenges that will sound familiar to hoteliers everywhere:

Guests booked elsewhere

Although guests loved their properties, too many booked through OTAs because Dream Hotels & Resorts’ own booking engine felt outdated.

A five-star bed… but dial-up era digital experience

You're delivering five-star experiences offline, but your online booking journey feels like it's still stuck in 2002. 

Personalisation was difficult because guest data was scattered across multiple systems; loyalty became an afterthought rather than a driver of repeat visits.

The credit catch-22

Here's the real challenge for emerging markets: South Africa's young travellers, students, early professionals, desperately want holidays but face a frustrating reality. They can't get credit cards because they have no credit history. Traditional hotel payment systems only accept credit cards or require upfront cash payments most can't afford.

Nick explains the core problem:

"South Africa's young travellers, students, early professionals, desperately want holidays but face a frustrating reality. They can't get credit cards because they have no credit history, so they either can't book at all or must save for months to pay everything upfront." 

So these potential guests either can't book at all, or they're forced to save for months to pay everything upfront, while your competitors with more flexible payment options capture their business.

Nick sums up their challenge:

"We had to up our conversion rate. We had to up our fostering of the brand."

Sound familiar?

The Solution: Innovation that actually solves real problems

Dream Hotels & Resorts didn't want generic tech. They wanted solutions tailored to their market realities. So, when Samantha Williams, CCO Profitroom, knocked on Dream Hotels & Resorts’ door to offer just that, Nick described it as:

"a combination of the perfect storm" where "our walls collided in a wonderful way". 

But chemistry alone doesn't guarantee success. What made this work was a shared philosophy about partnership itself.

Nick explains what he values:

"I love the way Profitroom are open to innovation and pioneering new ways. They were 100% on board with that vision."

Kevin feels the same:

"If you find a partner willing to see you through the journey of developing products that fit into your tech stack? That's the perfect partner."

This wasn't vendor-client dynamics. This was genuine collaboration from day one.

Here's how that philosophy translated into results:

Making booking feel effortless again

The first transformation was immediate: guests could actually enjoy booking direct again.

Nick describes the difference:

"It's user-friendly; it feels familiar so guests book direct."

But beyond the sleek interface, Profitroom built in capabilities that felt almost magical to guests:

They could add activities and experiences while booking their stay
Everything felt personalised to their interests
They could even support Dream Hotels' local charity, Touching Dreams, right from their booking page

"You can create packages within the booking engine, which is vitally important for us," Nick explains.

The result? Guests weren't just booking rooms; they were crafting entire experiences.

Solving the payment puzzle everyone said was impossible

Here's where this partnership became genuinely groundbreaking. Instead of telling South African customers to adapt to international payment norms, Profitroom said:

"Let's build something that works for how your customers actually live."

Together, they pioneered lay-by payments through LayUp and PayFlex, allowing young South Africans to book their dream holidays and pay them off over time, without needing credit cards or massive upfront cash.

Kevin describes the impact:

"They wanted options like PayFlex, scheduled payments that open doors for more guests who couldn't travel before."

Suddenly, entire market segments that had been locked out of travel could book their first holidays. That's not just revenue growth; that's changing lives.

Building loyaty without starting over

Most tech companies would have told Dream Hotels to scrap their existing loyalty programme and start fresh. Profitroom took a different approach.

Kevin explains their philosophy:

"We connected booking data directly into their CRM; loyalty grew fast without starting over."

They preserved everything that worked while making it seamless for guests to engage. The result? More sign-ups, more repeat bookings, and guests who felt genuinely valued rather than processed through another corporate programme.

When implementation actually works

Change management horror stories are everywhere in hospitality tech. This wasn't one of them.

Nick credits the human element:

"Their project management is superb. They have an onboarding team that comes along."

But what impressed him most was how Profitroom handled the inevitable challenges. Kevin describes their approach:

"We always play an open cards approach to our partnership. Where we cannot solve, we will not promise, but we will look into potentially future developments." 

No overpromising. No hiding behind jargon. Just honest collaboration focused on results.

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Real Results on Every Level

The business transformation you can measure

Kevin shares their growth story:

"We started with Dreams in 2022, went live with 16 properties. We've seen direct share growth of about 76% in the first three quarters."

But for Nick, the real transformation was watching his team's daily stress disappear.

"Being automated, the whole process helps reduce calls and emails through central reservations. All the information is right there in one portal," he explains. "When guests arrive, all the information is there and it's relevant and accurate."

Instead of scrambling to find guest preferences and activity bookings across multiple systems, his staff now greet arriving guests with everything they need already prepared.

"We can pre-plan, we can pre-roster, and it just makes life more efficient on the ground."

The moment that changes everything about partnership

Here's where this story takes its most unexpected turn, and reveals what true partnership actually looks like.

Dream Hotels & Resorts runs Touching Dreams NGO, supporting local youth and wildlife conservation. Most tech suppliers might add a donation button and call it corporate social responsibility.

Profitroom's team showed up to a charity golf tournament; not as vendors, but as friends raising money together for a Reach for a Dream hospital room in Cape Town.

Kevin describes it simply:

"We helped raise money for hospital rooms through golf days. We're hands-on partners in their charity work."

But the story gets better. After raising the funds, both teams literally picked up paintbrushes and painted those hospital walls together, creating a space where terminally ill children could feel some comfort away from home. Nick's philosophy suddenly made perfect sense:

"You look after your community; your community looks after you."

This isn't corporate philanthropy or marketing PR. This is what happens when business relationships become genuine friendships.

What this means for your hotel group

This isn't just a feel-good story about community partnership (though that matters). This is proof that the right technology partner can:

Solve real problems

Not just implement features, but address actual market challenges like payment accessibility and local banking integration.

Grow with you

Nick admits they don't use every feature yet, but Kevin explains:

"Eventually as we develop, we hope some of the products will meet their needs."

Innovate for your market

Kevin notes Dream Hotels & Resorts' approach:

"They want to be a trend setter in enabling travel within the local market." Your technology partner should understand and adapt to your specific market needs.

Create lasting value

Beyond the impressive revenue growth, this partnership is building sustainable competitive advantages through payment innovation, loyalty integration, and operational efficiency.

The bottom line (it's not just about the bottom line)

Yes, Dream Hotels & Resorts increased their revenue by 132%. Yes, they're seeing sustained quarterly growth of 65%. Yes, their direct booking share grew 76% in nine months.

But perhaps the real measure of this partnership's success lies in something harder to quantify. As Nick reflects on three years of growth, innovation, and collaboration:

"It's a friendship that's grown over the last three years and that's turned into a wonderful business relationship."

In an industry where technology partnerships often feel transactional, Dream Hotels & Resorts and Profitroom prove that the best business relationships start with genuine partnership. When your tech supplier becomes the team that paints hospital walls with you – while delivering exponential revenue growth and pioneering payment solutions for your market – you've found something rare.

The question isn't whether you need better booking technology. The question is whether you're ready for a partnership that transforms not just your revenue, but how you serve your community and lead your market.

Boost your direct bookings like Dream Hotels & Resorts did. Schedule a meeting today.