Interview with José Uscátegui, Phoenix Travel Group (Colombia)
Between doubt and renewed trust: José Uscátegui (Phoenix Travel Group, Colombia) recounts his 4 months with a competitor — and why he came back. "A complex hotel loaded in 5 to 10 minutes, versus 1.5 hours elsewhere."
TOOGO spoke with José Uscátegui, director of Phoenix Travel Group, about his experience with the software and the journey from doubt to renewed trust.
At one point, you considered leaving TOOGO. What led you to that doubt?
Yes, we considered migrating from TOOGO to one of your major competitors, and we set off on a 4-month adventure that didn't pan out. What pushed us to attempt the switch was the feeling that TOOGO was evolving, but that we weren't part of that evolution. We didn't feel involved or informed about the changes. We were discovering new features, but we didn't know how to use them.
On top of that, a decisive factor — and one I still see as an area for improvement at TOOGO — is the handling of the various sales taxes. As a DMC in Latin America, we face varied tax realities: tax exemption in Colombia, taxes of up to 15% in Brazil and 10% in Ecuador. Yet it's not yet possible for us to configure this by destination.
What ultimately convinced you to stay with TOOGO?
TOOGO's advanced technology isn't comparable to the other system's. With TOOGO, we optimised the loading of a complex product such as a hotel in Colombia, which can go through more than 40 season changes a year: we complete that process in 5 to 10 minutes. With the other system, it used to take us between 1 hour and 1.5 hours per product.
What do you appreciate most about using the software today?
It's very intuitive and easy to use. It's clear that there are people with real DMC experience behind the ideas and the development.
What do you expect from TOOGO for the future?
Very promising. TOOGO looks for solutions for its clients and doesn't wait for its clients to adapt to what it wants to design. We also know that a lot of changes are coming with AI, and they're not afraid of them.
TOOGO is very intuitive and easy to use. It's clear that there are people with real DMC experience behind the ideas and the development.
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