Months before we kicked off our Growth @ K10ok series, we put out a call to Klookers for career growth stories. Sparking our interest was a submission by Holly Hou from Hong Kong, who's part of our Hotel business vertical.
The highlight that grabbed our attention? Holly wrote, "It was our Hotel Vertical Summit in Shenzhen where we had a super extensive brain-cell-killing 2.5-day team building. Everyone was so fun to work with in person, even though they came from different offices!"
So, like part-time FBI agents, we dove into Holly's LinkedIn profile. Her diverse experience across different industries instantly piqued our curiosity.
A glance at your LinkedIn profile, we noticed you joined us as Connectivity & Partnership Manager at first. 8 months later, you transitioned to Partner Development & Connectivity Manager. How are these 2 roles different? And how has your job scope changed?
In my first position, I was assigned to look after our Connectivity partnerships with our key channel managers and partners across the globe to ensure our users have access to real-time inventory and pricing information when booking hotels online via Klook’s platform.
My scope later expanded to looking into our overall partnership, including our relationship with global 3rd party suppliers so we can continue adding more rooms and hotels to our platform to support our growing customer base.
Long story short, both roles support our customers in booking various types of hotels and rooms across the globe with competitive pricing. We want to serve our customers well, meet their varying needs, and ensure they have the best accommodation experience.
Dropping by the booth of SiteMinder, one of the global leading hotel channel manager platforms. Spot our logo right there!
Throughout your 1-year journey here, what skills have you developed since joining?
I have developed 3 main skills since I joined Klook, and I'm still continually developing them every day.
They are partnership & account management, planning and strategy, and hotel OTA industry knowledge. Working with our partners across the globe, I continually learn from them and strategize win-win situations for both parties. Additionally, I learned about planning and strategy because we want to see the most return on our limited resources. Being a newcomer to the hotel OTA industry, I'm fascinated by its endless opportunities. I've learned how to stay ahead of the competition and leverage our technological strengths to attract a wider customer base.
I appreciate that Klook allows me to grow these skills!
Holly celebrated Klook's 9th anniversary with her colleagues in Hong Kong in her second month here. Spot two of our co-founders Eric and Ethan in their pilot uniforms!
Wow - you've got several new skills under your belt! It feels like you've packed several years into just one. While your memories are fresh, we'd love to hear about your most memorable experience at Klook!
From an outsider's perspective, we might be perceived as a “work and no fun” type of team, but in reality, we're the opposite. This year, we had a 3-day Hotel Team Summit in Shenzhen with teammates flying in from around the globe. This was the first time I got to meet everyone in person. Daytime brainstorming and role-playing were very intense (oh well, my poor brain cells, there weren't many left after the summit). But at night we enjoyed team dinners, chit-chat, and massage. I realized we're the "work hard and play hard" type of team! Good memories, good times.
Our 3-day Hotel Team Summit in Shenzhen was jam-packed with brain-stimulating activities. It was oh-so-fulfilling!
We learned that you didn’t have prior experience in hotel or hospitality but had been in a tech startup. How did you venture into your current role? And how have you exemplified the qualities of a global citizen, such as being adaptable and open-minded through what you’re doing now?
I've always wanted to be in the travel tech industry since it is dynamic and goes beyond ages, races, and geographical boundaries! I also believe in spending money on experiences rather than goods, so I was waiting for the travel industry to rebound post-COVID.
I was fortunate to join the Klook Hotel team, where I combined my tech background with the wealth of industry knowledge from my colleagues. The first few months were intense, with so much to absorb. While there's still plenty to learn, I’ve embraced an open-minded approach, continuously researching, asking questions, and engaging in thoughtful discussions with my teammates, managers, and partners.
Learning from the best! 🌟 The Klook Hotel team is eager to share their knowledge. As a newcomer to the industry, I’ve picked up so much from these experienced pros!
With just how much you've grown in a year, what’s your secret recipe for career growth at Klook?
Be inquisitive. I don't hesitate to ask questions whether they are within or outside the scope of my work duties. Learning from various cross-functional teammates is how I gradually advance my career growth at Klook and gain knowledge in this industry (curiosity and learning are free!).
For instance, I often set up catch-up calls with team members from Product, Business Development, Pricing, Marketing, and Planning to understand what they're working on and how it will impact my work. Klookers are so open to sharing knowledge, so humble and so supportive!
Klook is like a university where leaders give you opportunities to try various projects, listen to you, and let you partake in decision-making. Embrace new projects or ideas, stay open-minded to learning, and speak up whenever necessary!
#KeepLooking: Join Holly in opening a new growth chapter at Klook!
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