BUSINESS Loans Scotland has issued a £60,000 loan to Renfrewshire-based company, Hotellivechat.
It is the first business in the Renfrewshire area to receive such a loan from under the funding through the Scottish Growth Scheme and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Providing a bespoke reservation service to the luxury independent hotel sector, Hotellivechat intends to improve hotel revenues, online conversion and website return on investment all from their head office located in Bridge of Weir.
Gaining a first-hand insight into the luxury hotel industry through his current telephone reservation business Hotelfone, director Roderick Whiteford, identified a gap in the market for hotels to increase their number of online bookings by engaging more effectively with website visitors.
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Implementing software into hotel websites, this allows one of Hotellivechat’s 23 customer care professionals to chat online with potential website visitors and the company claims it can help increase booking conversions by 25%.
Having conducted a six-month pilot period for the technology, Whiteford was keen to take this service to market and secured an investment of £60,000 from Business Loans Scotland.
Fully funded through the Scottish Growth Scheme and the ERDF, Business Loans Scotland (BLS) provides business loans to Scottish SMEs from £25,000 to £100,000 and aims to ensure that good, commercially viable proposals, such as Hotellivechat, don’t fail from a lack of access to finance.
Fund manager for BLS, Andrew Dickson said: “I am delighted that Business Loans Scotland has been able to support Hotellivechat with loan finance to grow the business and take this bespoke reservation service to market.
"This loan demonstrates our passion and commitment for supporting Scottish SMEs with the working capital they require to fulfil their growth aspirations. I look forward to watching the business prosper and would encourage all Scottish SMEs looking for access to finance to speak with the team at Business Loans Scotland to see how we can help.”
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