Employee Spotlight - Antoine Choain, Business Development Manager

OTA Insight’s workforce is formed of passionate and talented people from 31 different nationalities, ranging from data scientists to product managers – all driven by a set of values and a collaborative culture which come together to make the #BestTeamEver. The Employee Spotlight series aims to give you an insight into the careers of some of the remarkable individuals who make OTA Insight the industry leader for revenue and distribution enablement.

Antoine Choain is a Business Development Manager in the EMEA region in the French market. He joined OTA Insight in September 2019 and while he is usually based in the London office, since the pandemic he has been working in Paris. We caught up with Antoine to find out a little bit more about him, and his time at OTA Insight.

Can you tell us about your role at OTA Insight and how it's changed since you started?

I’m a BDM focused on the French and North African markets. With all the changes in the team recently I have the possibility now to reach out to more hotels than ever and I’m dealing with bigger accounts every day in France, Morocco and Mauritius. Because of the pandemic I tend to be more and more a consultant for hoteliers, trying to help them through these unprecedented times. I have enjoyed it very much as this period is new for everyone, but especially for hotels who have really needed us and our resources to survive through it.

What does a typical day look like for you?

A cappuccino, two or three demos of our products, 100+ emojis on Slack because I love them, and ten calls with hoteliers all around the world.

How have you been able to learn and grow at OTA Insight?

I am very grateful to Léa (Account Manager, France) as she has been a great mentor to me. She is always available to help and she knows so much, having been at OTA Insight for much longer than I have. I believe that having faith and serenity during the pandemic was important to grow and to stay positive.

What has been your proudest moment at OTA Insight?

I’m very proud of my career evolution within the company. I’ve met so many people and been involved in so many projects. I’m nothing compared to the person I was when I started.

At OTA Insight we work hard but we also know how to party and especially during our Team Gathering in Lisbon where the whole company came together from all around the world. On the Friday night we had nothing planned and I was really happy to take the lead and organise a party in a club I knew. 80 people joined! We had such a great time!

Which OTA Insight value do you associate with most and how do you see it put into action at the company?

While each of OTA Insight's values is true, the one that resonates with me most is our passion for great products: I believe in our products and I know how relevant they are for hotels, especially in the current climate. I worked in hospitality as a sales manager, and I know that the OTA Insight tools would have been a huge benefit if I had had access to them then. Within the company I see how the engineers and the product team are dedicated and passionate about the tools. I like how we dedicate a lot of importance to feedback from our customers, which really helps us to provide the best platform that there is on the market.

Recovery looks to be on the horizon, do you anticipate a rebound for the travel and hospitality industry in 2022?

Absolutely, and we can already feel it as more and more people are contacting us to know the temperature of their market. They know something is coming. People want to travel, to enjoy life and hotels must be ready to capitalise on the opportunities. We know it will take time but I'm sure reservations will be back, we simply have to find them.

Once restrictions are fully lifted which destination do you wish to travel to first? 

India, I’ve never been before, and it looks absolutely fantastic and completely different from our European way of life. My brother was supposed to work there and we planned to travel there with my family but everything was cancelled.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Wondering which hotel I will call today and where I will virtually travel. I call hotels in Corsica, Paris, Seychelles, Marrakech, Saint Barthélemy and even New Caledonia!

What’s your favourite activity in your spare time?

I love singing, I used to be part of a choir and I tried to join one in London but it didn’t work out because of COVID. I go to many concerts, musicals, parties, karaoke nights etc. I had a teacher for years who taught me a lot about music and how to express myself, feel comfortable on stage in front of people and to not be scared of their judgement.

What’s an app or piece of software you can't live without?

Project 365: it is an absolutely unknown app where I store one picture a day like a diary. So nice to see where I have been, people I’ve met or simply things I’ve done. I started 3 years ago and I still take one picture everyday.

What book are you reading currently?

‘Abyss’, by Frank Schätzing: It’s a science-fiction novel in which an intelligent species of marine life takes revenge on all the pollution and harm we’ve done to the oceans, and sea creatures begin to fight back against humankind. It’s actually quite believable, which is also terrifying.

What’s the last song you played on Spotify/Apple music?

“Let’s Love” by David Guetta & Sia.

Antoine's experience - alongside that of other OTA Insight champions -  help to bring to market leading business intelligence solutions which are trusted by over 55,000 hotel partners around the globe and have been named #1 Rate Shopping & Market Intelligence Tool, Parity Management Software, and Business Intelligence Software by HotelTechReport.