Sergey's Path: Building a Global Foundation from Within

Q: How did your journey with Hoteza begin, and what led you to join the company?

I've always had an IT mindset, and before moving into the hospitality industry, I built my career in technology, focusing on multimedia solutions. That path eventually led me to a company that was one of Hoteza's competitors.

I first met Nick, Hoteza's Founder and CEO, at a hospitality industry event. It was a memorable meeting. I was immediately impressed by his empathy, vision, and leadership style. At the same time, Hoteza stood out to me for offering a unique opportunity to combine my IT expertise with products and services designed to improve the guest experience.

From the very beginning, I believed in the team and shared Nick's vision of building a truly global company. So, when I received the job offer in June 2017, the decision was easy.

Interestingly, 2017 was also a life-changing year for me personally, as I was expecting the birth of my second child. Joining Hoteza changed my perspective entirely. It inspired me to set ambitious goals and aim for the very top of the hospitality technology industry. That ambition continues to motivate me and helps me overcome every challenge along the way.

Q: What were your biggest achievements after joining Hoteza, and what challenges did you face while scaling the company?

When I joined Hoteza, the company had already established partnerships in China and Croatia.

The key to our success has always been teamwork. Together, we built a strong partnership network that now covers almost every country you could think of. This local presence allows us to expand globally while remaining an agile and efficient team, without compromising the quality of our products or services.

One of the main reasons Nick invited me to join Hoteza was to help build a system for measuring performance and business results. At that time, Hoteza was a team of dedicated professionals who were deeply committed to what they were building. The entrepreneurial spirit was strong, but many business processes, performance metrics, and management systems were still in the early stages of development.

Implementing new processes wasn't easy. Like any fast-growing company, we sometimes faced resistance to change. However, through collaboration, persistence, and a shared vision, we have built a scalable management framework that continues to evolve alongside the business. While there is always room for improvement, today we have much greater transparency, clearer performance measurement, and a strong foundation that supports our continued growth.

Today, Hoteza has grown fivefold in terms of the number of employees, continues to achieve steady growth in its customer base, and has built a partnership network spanning nearly every continent. 

Looking back, I'm proud not only of the business results we've achieved but also of how we've structured our processes, built a scalable organization, and laid a strong foundation for future growth.

Q: Hoteza Family and Hoteza Days have become an important part of the company's culture. How did these initiatives come about, and how do you preserve that spirit as Hoteza continues to grow?

As we expanded our partner network, we made a conscious decision to build it in our own way. From the very beginning, we wanted our relationships with partners to be based not only on business, but also on trust, openness, and genuine human connection. That philosophy became what we now call Hoteza Family.

At the same time, Hoteza was growing as a company: we were formalizing business processes, introducing product management, and creating product documentation. Even as we became more structured, it was important for us to preserve this personal approach and the culture that had become one of Hoteza's greatest strengths.

That philosophy inspired us to launch Hoteza Days — an event where partners and the Hoteza team could share knowledge, discuss solutions and challenges, exchange feedback, and have joy together. The first Hoteza Days in 2018 was a great success and quickly became an annual tradition, hosted in a different country each year. Later, we introduced Hoteza Team Days with the same goal: strengthening relationships within our team.

Today, although Hoteza has grown into a larger international company, we remain committed to the values that helped us get here. We continue to invest in long-term partnerships built on trust and personal connections, because we believe that people are at the heart of every successful business.

Q: How have you personally changed over the years at Hoteza?

I've been with Hoteza for almost ten years, and during that time I've grown alongside the company. My responsibilities have expanded, and I've taken on more challenges, but more importantly, I've gained a much more comprehensive vision of the business as a whole.

Earlier in my career, I adapted to whatever came my way. Today, I set the course myself, committing only to directions I genuinely believe in. It's no longer about circumstances; it’s actually about making a thought-through choice.

Q: What are your main priorities today, and what areas are you currently focused on?

Today, my efforts are concentrated on three key areas:

1. Sales Team Empowerment: We focus on helping our colleagues ask the right questions, understand each customer's real operational bottlenecks, and demonstrate how Hoteza can deliver value to both new and current clients. Because our solutions are sophisticated, continuous product education is essential.
2. Accountability Culture: We are building a culture of structure, accountability, and delivering on our commitments. This includes introducing new tools and reporting systems to improve visibility and performance across our internal processes.
3. Partner Enablement: We are investing heavily to equip our partners with the knowledge and confidence they need to independently and successfully sell and support Hoteza's solutions.
   
   

Q: How do you balance your professional and personal life?

Hoteza has become an integral part of my life. I'm a big believer in "work-life blend" rather than strict balance: the two sides of my life naturally feed into and strengthen each other. The flexibility and trust embedded within the company's culture make this possible.

Outside of work, family always comes first. I enjoy simple traditions like family dinners and traveling together, and I always try to make time for friends. Having both keeps me motivated and gives me the energy for everything I do.

Q: What qualities are most important for someone joining Hoteza?

A: First of all, a genuine willingness to learn. Our industry is constantly evolving, so curiosity and the desire to grow are essential.

Good communication skills are just as important because we achieve the best results by working together. And finally, I value people who take ownership of their work, think things through, and care about delivering quality. Those are the qualities that really help people succeed at Hoteza.