Before going into detail, what is the background to today's announcement?
Arnaud Katz - To understand this, we need to start from one premise: unlike business travel, prices and availability in the MICE sector are not fixed, determined in advance. They are not "off the shelf". Each event is unique: the date, seasonality and content vary. For a technology like Kactus, the challenge is to create fluidity by connecting with ad hoc service providers, to grow in volume.
Hence the need to build a specific infrastructure?
Arnaud Katz - Exactly. The starting point for Kactus was to create an interface for service providers. That's the heart of our product. Today, I think I can safely say that we're the preferred tool for suppliers - not just because it's pretty, but because it really saves them time. Event organisers want three things: more offers, better conditions and faster quotes. To achieve this, we need to build an infrastructure that is diametrically opposed to that of the business travel industry. That's always been our vision. Because trying to disrupt the events industry without supply chain tools is like trying to launch Amazon without warehouses or logistics software. Today, in terms of ratios, an agency needs five times as many operational staff as we do for the same volume. This is what makes us structurally more efficient. These efficiency gains mean that our advisers can spend more time on the biggest events and the least autonomous customers.
Let's get back to this announcement. What steps have led you to this point?
Arnaud Katz - There are three steps. Step one: create a multi-partner tool. Step two: draw up contracts with each service provider - we currently have 40,000 contracts with service providers in Europe, which is a colossal number. And the final stage, the one we're announcing today, is to create a direct connection between the management tools for MICE venues and hotels and our platform. This will bring us closer to business travel.
So what new direct links has Kactus put in place?
Arnaud Katz - Kactus connects to the main Channel Managers such as MeetingPackage, as well as to hivr.ai and Backyou. This makes Kactus a player capable of interacting with any hotel ecosystem.
Backyou or hivr.ai are reminiscent of the groups Accor and Radisson. So which hotel chains are concerned?
Arnaud Katz - Today, Radisson and Accor are connected, with Backyou being one of the technologies used by Accor. But all hotel chains are being equipped. So eventually the major chains will all be involved, and they will follow. The advantage is that technologies like hivr.ai or MeetingPackage are agnostic: they connect to all tools. This is becoming the norm. It will take longer for independents.
In practical terms, how does connecting to tools like Backyou work?
Arnaud Katz - You don't connect directly to tools like Backyou. We connect to the channel manager, who in turn connects to Backyou and other hotel management systems. Because hotels can use different management tools. The channel manager makes it possible to synchronise the connection with all the management tools at a single point.
What does this mean in practical terms for event organisers?
Arnaud Katz - In practical terms, this means better performance from the service provider, who will be able to offer higher-quality services more quickly. When the hotelier fills in his quote in his interface, it is automatically generated in Kactus. This avoids the need for double entry, and the hotelier stays with his day-to-day tool. Kactus doesn't add another tool, we integrate with the one they're already using.
It's not real time yet?
Arnaud Katz - No, not yet. This is the first building block, which should make it possible one day. The next step is real-time availability.
What's on the horizon?
Arnaud Katz - It's hard to say exactly. The first attempts will be made in the coming months, that's for sure. But it will take several more years for the whole market to be equipped. Because all service providers need to be equipped. This rise in maturity has already taken a big step forward, but it still needs to continue. The more places realise that they are gaining in conversion and performance, the more they will embrace it.
What stopped you from doing this earlier?
Arnaud Katz - These technologies, such as hivr.ai and Meeting Package, are fairly recent in terms of maturity. Now, tools like Backyou are becoming mature, secure, reliable and powerful. Everyone has found their place: on the one hand, management tools for venues; on the other, channel managers who propel the information.
What's stopping your competitors from doing the same thing?
Arnaud Katz - First they need the other two building blocks: the management tool and the contracts with service providers. Will they eventually do so? Certainly. In one, two, three years? I don't know. What is certain is that today we are the first to initiate this and that we have been approached by hotel chains to be the first player to support them.
Is the challenge technological or commercial?
Arnaud Katz - The issue is more technological, but it's not a very complicated one. It's all about connectivity, which is very standard in business travel. The challenge is more one of change management, getting hoteliers used to the tool. It's a question of creating fluidity so as to provide the right answers to customers in the best possible conditions. The real difference is that to do that, you first need to have the management and quotation tool. Tools like Kactus on the service provider side are where we stand out in the business: we're the only ones today to have taken this supply angle.
What role does AI play in MICE management?
Arnaud Katz - In the MICE sector, the major challenges for AI lie in helping decision-makers to choose service providers and creating effective service tools. Today, we combine 10,000 customer reviews with a booking history that is the largest on the market. As a result, 25% of our events are entirely automated thanks to AI. Out of 50,000 projects per year, 25,000 are managed without any human intervention on the Kactus side, and 25% with suggestions generated entirely by our artificial intelligence. This is not a declaration of intent, it's a reality in our figures today.
How does AI help in practical terms?
Arnaud Katz - On the organiser's side, this involves assistance with sourcing suppliers, automatic comparison of offers, recommendations based on historical data, etc. For suppliers, it involves standardising quotes and improving responsiveness. The hotelier uploads his quote and the AI digitises it in the standard Kactus format in 5 seconds. No more double data entry.
There have been a lot of announcements in recent weeks about the digitalisation of MICE. How do you explain this?
Arnaud Katz - The market is in the process of being intermediated, which is a very good sign. Travel operators are realising that they are missing out on part of their business by not covering MICE, and they are looking to remedy this. TMCs are also looking at this market. MICE is a very natural growth path for many players. There is a certain competitive emulation.
Are you still confident in the face of this competition?
Arnaud Katz - Completely. We work with 70 major international groups as clients, including 11 CAC 40 companies. We have the most pharmaceutical companies on our books - 12 of them on an exclusive basis - because we need very strong event expertise. We've shown that our product works: we're profitable and highly productive. We're convinced that we can't win this market without the service providers. We are building the world leader with this philosophy.
Why has it taken so long to digitalise MICE?
Arnaud Katz - Is ten years [the age of Kactus] a long time in a market that is not as easily automated as travel? The key point is that, structurally, you can't have the price on the shelf. You need availability AND a price. Each event is unique, and you can't manage stock like you would hotel rooms or train tickets. This is the fundamental point of differentiation that makes this ecosystem so different. And that's why so many TMC players have fallen by the wayside. Creating fluidity means creating an Amazon for the sector: you need the software AND the stock, and you need to create this interconnection between organisers and service providers. Our mission remains the same as it was on day one: to create fluidity in a complex market, by putting suppliers at the heart of the system. This announcement is an important step, but it's only a step. The future of MICE lies in this gradual automation, and we will continue to be at the forefront of this transformation.
