HBX Group outperforms market with double-digit year-on-year growth despite global headwinds, confirms newly appointed Chief Distribution Officer
HBX Group, the global B2B TravelTech leader, is accelerating its investment in the Middle East, cementing the region's status as a core growth engine for its worldwide business. David Amsellem the newly appointed Chief Distribution Officer asserts that despite geopolitical challenges the region has demonstrated remarkable resilience and a sustained appetite for high-end travel.
"The Middle East has always been a region that is fairly resilient to new challenges. Despite the geopolitical situation, people here continue to travel," Amsellem told TTN Middle East. "HBX Group has outperformed the market with double digit year-on-year growth. We have strengthened our partnerships and invested in our presence in key markets such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates."
Amsellem’s strategy is built on solving two major hurdles for the regional travel trade: the demand for seamless high-end luxury and the logistical complexities of a fragmented B2B landscape.
The group's luxury brand The Luxurist is central to its premium strategy. Amsellem stressed that luxury is about more than just expensive rooms. "The Luxurist was created with the idea that the luxury process should begin the moment an advisor contacts us. That's why we've created a dedicated concierge service that takes care of everything: from restaurant booking to sold-out tickets for events." This highly personalised approach is designed to meet the elevated service expectations of luxury travellers from the Gulf.
The Bedsonline retail agency platform is simultaneously being aggressively localised to remove friction for agents. Amsellem noted that this means ensuring partners can "easily make reservations pay locally and get assistance quickly."
This localisation includes accepting payments in local currencies such as the Saudi riyal and the United Arab Emirates dirham; offering credit lines to help agencies manage cash flow; and ensuring customer service teams truly understand the market and its unique dynamics.
Amsellem identifies market fragmentation—the lack of large agency networks—and limited API distribution as the primary challenges for the Middle Eastern retail landscape. HBX Group is addressing this by leveraging its technology platform.
"The good news is that Bedsonline is designed to thrive in both environments. Our technology is perfectly suited to working with both large groups and independent agencies," he explained. The company is successfully driving digital adoption having tripled the number of agencies connected to its API over the past year.
As a B2B TravelTech leader, HBX Group uses its vast data lake to empower partners. The platform sees more than seven billion searches per day, giving the company unique insight into real-time demand. "We share that information with our partners so they can adapt quickly. They can promote a new destination or adjust their prices based on trends."
Looking ahead, Amsellem is optimistic. With the region expected to see steady growth as a source market until 2032, he sees the Middle East as a key growth engine for HBX Group globally.