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here’ s a Dutch proverb that
T goes:“ Wie goed doet, goed ontmoet.” Translation:“ Who does good, meets well.” The saying means that if someone performs good deeds, they can expect good things to happen to them in return. It’ s a practical way to help explain the now 11-year journey of Ireckonu. CitizenM is one of the pioneers in tech-forward boutique hostelry, but back in 2014 it faced tech-stack challenges. Its search for inventive solutions to improve the guest experience |
led them to a former software engineer at Microsoft and founder of Ireckonu, Jan Jaap van Roon. CitizenM’ s successful integration with Ireckonu led to future deals with the likes of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Loews Hotels— good things coming in return for good work done. van Roon deftly frames the importance middleware, especially for an industry that historically has been slow to adapt to new technology and which is known to operate myriad propertylevel |
systems.“ Without [ it ], you don’ t know what’ s going wrong, and there are no insights,” he said.“ Only with middleware can you manage so many connections. Without it, data gets fragmented, operations slow down and the guest experience suffers.” AI, according to van Roon, should elevate the guest experience even more and make operations that more seamless and smart.“ AI is absolutely a part of that and middleware will play a big role in supporting it,” he said. |
Jan Jaap van Roon, founder, Ireckonu |
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TigerTMS |
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HQ: Hampshire, England |
Find them @: tigertms. com |
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TigerTMS’ s origins date back to the early 1980s, all the way back to call accounting, which in hotels meant tracking records and analyzing guest phone usage for billing purposes. How things have changed. Today, TigerTMS’ focus has shifted given the broad scope of PMSs and hotel systems transitioning from a traditional PMS-centric architecture to a more flexible, distributed middleware model. TigerTMS accomplishes this through its iLink Middleware system, now deployed at some 10,000 hotels.“ Hoteliers strive to deliver seamless and personalized guest experiences, |
from uninterrupted Wi-Fi to secure room access,” said Adrian Seymour, managing director of TigerTMS.“ These services require integration with the PMS, leading to a growing number of system connections. This is where middleware becomes essential.” Seymour refers to middleware as the“ invisible enabler” that ensures operations run smoothly, revenue increases and guest experiences improve. The traditional set up of a PMS requires every application to have its own connectivity, each incurring its own license fee. Adding new technology means developing new interfaces, |
which not only increases costs but also leads to long development timelines and integration delays. TigerTMS, like its peers, addresses this challenge through a distributed middleware architecture that enables hotels to gain the freedom to choose solutions tailored to their needs, without being limited by costly interface requirements.“ There is no need for multiple interface licenses— one connection will suffice,” said Seymour.“ The PMS remains the core operational hub, while still maintaining connectivity with all other systems— efficiently and flexibly.” |
Adrian Seymour, managing director, TigerTMS |
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74 hotelsmag. com July / August 2025 |