Destination Marketing Services (DMS) is ditching its domestic hotel division and turning its focus to the international market as it embarks on a major overhaul of its operations.
Following 20 years of operation, DMS managing director Leila Fiedler this week announced the company will concentrate solely on the international market as it looks to realign its structure with the “rapidly changing” global environment.
Closing its domestic division will be a key component of the overhaul, while several new destinations and DMCs will also be added to its portfolio. DMS has also signed two major international hotel representation deals and is now in the process of moving its office to the CBD.
Speaking to The Nibbler yesterday, Fiedler revealed that changes follow a lull in the domestic market, which saw DMS leak 25% in revenue over the past 10 years.
“We’re trying to regain what we’ve lost from domestic revenue,” she said. “It might be a while until we get back to where we were, but investing all our focus in the international market will allow us to see better outcomes in the long term.”
Fiedler admitted the domestic market was becoming a “challenging” field as a lot of smaller properties were being snapped up by larger chains, such as Accor. And with further growth predicted in the international market, Fiedler said it “made sense” to turn to go global.
“We had the domestic market quite stitched up, but just couldn’t make money out of it. We wanted to focus where the growth will be, so focusing on our strengths in the international market will be more beneficial,” she said.
DMS has picked up two international clients, The Waldorf Astoria and Kerzner International hotel group, which will extend its grasp in 11 international locations. The company has also added to its DMC representation, with recent additions in Taiwan, Korea, Holland, The Baltic States, Israel and Croatia.
