Piotr Furmański will lead Szallas Group to reach CEE market leading position

Budapest, 2nd September, 2024 – Szallas Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Piotr Furmański as its new Chief Executive Officer. With over two decades of international experience, Piotr is committed to guide Szallas Group in its journey to become a leading Online Travel Agency (OTA) in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region in domestic traveling.

This leadership transition marks an exciting new chapter for Szallas Group, building upon the strong foundation established by József Szigetvári and under the capable interim leadership of Ferenc Rigó. Ferenc, the successful entrepreneur behind Travelminit.ro (previous Szallas shareholder and board member), has skillfully steered the company through a period of dynamic growth, notably including the recent acquisition in Romania.

Piotr’s extensive international experience spans across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. His passion for growth and innovation, coupled with his leadership experience at companies like Google and Delivery Hero, positions him well to lead the company into its next phase of success.

„I am honored to join Szallas Group.” – said Piotr. “The company has tremendous growth opportunities, leveraging the strength of our local travel brands across the CEE region. I’m excited to work with the talented team to strengthen and expand our position, delivering exceptional experiences to our customers and partners.”

Ferenc Rigó expressed his confidence in Piotr’s leadership: „Piotr’s proactive approach and dedication to understanding our company culture and values have been impressive. I am confident that his fresh perspectives and innovative insights will open an exciting new chapter in Szallas Group’s success story. His vision and energy will undoubtedly help the group achieve new heights and fulfill our ambitious growth goals.”

The company’s parent organization, Wirtualna Polska Holding, fully supports this leadership transition and shares the enthusiasm for the future of Szallas Group.

From left: Piotr Furmański, Ferenc Rigó

Piotr Furmański

About Szallas Group

Szallas Group manages 16 products across 5 countries, with operations spanning 6 offices. As a leading player in the online accommodation booking industry in Central and Eastern Europe, the group represents several renowned brands. Their platforms—Szallas.hu in Hungary, Nocowanie.pl in Poland, Travelminit.ro in Romania, Hotel.cz in the Czech Republic, and various services in Croatia—offer access to over 80,000 bookable properties. Beyond traditional accommodation booking services, the group also provides a wide range of additional services, including discount vouchers, travel agency support, and wellness packages.

Since 2022 Szallas Group has been part of Wirtualna Polska, a Poland-based digital investor.

We are looking for a Senior Financial Controller / FP&A!

About Szallas Group

As a group of leading digital travel products from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland, Szallas Group is a multi-product travel platform in the Central and Eastern European region. Following a “local-to-local” strategy, the group is the market leader in the technology- and customer-driven Central and Eastern European online travel agency market with its 11 online travel products, more than 80,000 bookable accommodation partners, and a team of more than 500 people, being part of Wirtualna Polska’s travel portfolio since late 2022.

How could the Financial Controller/FP&A help Szallas’s growth?

  • Taking full responsibility for controlling tasks of Hungary based Szallas Group Zrt.
  • Preparing financial forecasts and ongoing analysis of deviations, monitoring the revenue and cost budget
  • Develop, present, and oversee financial budgets
  • Ensure all budgets and financial processes align with company goals
  • Collaborate with executives, project managers, and cross-departmental leadership to set budget goals and ensure they’re followed
  • Evaluate budget proposals and financial requests for viability
  • Creation of management reports and reports on business indicators (including PowerBI reports)
  • Optimization and development of controlling tools and reporting processes to increase their effectiveness and transparency
  • Supporting the Management Board and the Financial Director by preparing management analyses and assessing the impact of future projects on P&L and cash flow
  • KPI control for individual business areas
  • Participation in the monthly closing of books
  • Cooperation with other company departments, such as sales, human resources and payroll
  • Leading a Hungary based reporting team of 3 people

Professional expectations

  • Min. 5 years in senior controller position
  • Reporting abroad in an international team
  • Higher education degree in economics, knowledge of accounting and finance
  • Communication skills with C and B level leaders – driving them in reporting and planning responsibilities
  • Team leading skills – having led a team of 2-3 people
  • Highly developed analytical skills
  • Very good knowledge of Excel
  • PowerBI tools (optional)
  • Very good work organization (working to deadlines and under time pressure)
  • Initiative, accuracy, commitment
  • high level of English
  • experience as a “builder” – you won’t have all the flows standardized

What we offer?

  • Employment contract
  • 3 days at home office weekly
  • Private medical care, fruit days, training and events
  • Possibility of development, exchange of knowledge and participation in projects involving specialists from various companies within the Wirtualna Polska Group and Szallas.HU
  • Honesty, openness, sense of humor 🙂
  • Work in a modern office in BUD  – the package includes delicious coffee 
  • Work in an experienced, committed and goal-oriented team

How to apply?

Please send your CV and motivation letter to Krisztina Agárdi at krisztina.agardi@szallas.hu.

We are looking for an Internal Applications Product Manager!

We would like to expand our product manager team with a senior product manager colleague.

WHY CHOOSE US?

  • By joining our team, you will have the opportunity to make a direct impact on the travel experiences of 100 million individuals in Central and Eastern Europe.
  • You will have the chance to take on regional responsibilities within a reasonably-sized organization.
  • As the product manager of market-leading products, you will face daily professional challenges that push you to excel.
  • As a member of our senior team, you will benefit from ongoing professional development and work in a knowledge-intensive environment.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Evaluating and identifying the development requirements and business needs associated with all the internal applications of the regional platform at Szallas Group. 
  • Responsible for overseeing the internal applications serving Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Czech Republic.
  • Collaborating with the development team to implement these projects.
  • Managing the entire life cycle of completed developments, including introduction, monitoring, performance evaluation, and identifying the need for new versions or necessary changes.
  • Engaging in consultations with both internal and external stakeholders, effectively communicating projects within and beyond the organization. This includes preparing detailed specifications and documentation.
  • Contributing to the planning and execution of projects originating from other departments in the organization that impact the internal applications.

OUR EXPECTATIONS

  • The ideal candidate should possess a significant amount of professional experience in product management. 
  • Necessary to have previous experience in development projects and project management. 
  • Demonstrate knowledge in online application developments and have a solid understanding of online product trends and platforms. 
  • Proficiency in English at a negotiation level is required. 
  • The ability to think and work strategically and operationally simultaneously is highly desired. 
  • It is important for the candidate to be adept at handling chaos and be able to create an effective implementation plan after considering multiple options. 
  • An analytical mindset is crucial for this role. 
  • The candidate should be comfortable with prioritizing tasks, saying no when necessary, and thinking in terms of milestones. 
  • Lastly, the candidate should thrive in a team environment and enjoy collaborating with colleagues from various departments such as development, design, legal, sales, etc.

WE WOULD PREFER

  • You possess practical experience in travel products.
  • The candidate should be comfortable with change and able to adjust their strategies as necessary.
  • You have experience in management and project communication.

WHAT WE OFFER

  • Job security and professional respect in a thriving and established organization, providing you with the opportunity to collaborate with top-tier professionals.
  • Annual performance-based bonus tied to the achievement of business objectives.
  • Provision of a company mobile phone and laptop to aid in your daily tasks.
  • Comprehensive health insurance package to prioritize employee well-being.
  • Enjoy the perks of our employee loyalty program benefits.
  • Ongoing growth prospects, including participation in domestic and international conferences, external and internal training sessions, and access to enlightening podcasts.
  • Celebrate your special day, as we offer an additional day off on your birthday.
  • Flexible work arrangements, including the option for working from home.

PLACE OF WORK

  • Miskolc/Budapest – Hungary, or
  • Cluj-Napoca – Romania, or
  • Liberec – Czechia, or
  • Lublin – Poland

Szallas.hu’s loyalty program, Hű! was launched successfully

The members of our loyalty program can save significant amounts of money even on this year’s vacation.

Our new loyalty program, Hű! has already been chosen for nearly 1,500 bookings since its launch that was just a few weeks ago. The Hű! membership is free, but requires registration. In exchange for joining, guests can access discounted offers from more than 2,000 accommodations so far. With the membership, guests will also receive program coupons as a gift for domestic bookings, so they can save an additional 10-50 percent  from the price of entrance tickets and restaurants.

Prior to the introduction and development of the program, with the cooperation of Frontira, we conducted representative research among the Hungarian population, in which we examined attitudes related to loyalty. According to the survey, more guest nights can be generated thanks to the discount offers. Every second respondent would travel 1-6 days more per year than without the discount. „Two-thirds of the respondents would prefer to travel more than once a year if they received more discount offers, 22% would rather spend longer time in one place, while 13% would not be affected by this,” explained Beatrix Trepess, the marketing manager responsible for the Szallas.hu loyalty program. The research also revealed that four-fifths of respondents are open to loyalty programs and are already members of many of them. Most people register because of the feeling of personalized offers and collecting points. „When using an online accommodation booking portal, price, quality, previous experience and comfort are the most important,” added Beatrix.  She also said that the percentage if the discount proves to be the most valuable, followed by discount coupons for attractions and restaurants near the accommodation. „The results show that even a 10% discount is motivating, but for a third of the respondents, the 15% level is the lower threshold, and almost two-thirds would prefer a level above 20%,” said Beatrix.

Hű! has nearly 10,000 users who have already registered for membership in less than 2 weeks, and they booked nearly 1,500 discounts in one of the Hungarian, Croatian, and Romanian accommodations that joined the program. „The loyalty program benefits both guests and accommodation providers,” said Beatrix. „Guests registered for the loyalty program can get significant discounts, and accommodation providers participating in the program, in addition to getting better visibility on our site, can also benefit from more guest nights.” Members are entitled to a 10% discount at the initial loyalty level at more than 2,000 selected hotels in Hungary, Croatia and Romania. They can also save on the price of entrance tickets and restaurants. The loyalty levels can be increased with a higher discount: the next level is a 20% discount. „We are constantly expanding the new loyalty program based on our preliminary survey and market feedback, so we will soon add more campaigns and benefits to the program,” said Beatrix. She also added that the registration of hotels, tourist attractions and restaurants is also open, they can join the loyalty program at any time, for which they will receive a free interface and appearance on the Szallas.hu website.

Why is it worth joining?

As the research shows, price is one of the most important criteria for the majority of guests when choosing accommodation, which is why they can be moved towards booking with a discount. „This is a great opportunity for accommodation providers, for example, who don’t have their own loyalty program or don’t have the opportunity to carry out major marketing campaigns – said Beatrix – But it also benefits the big players, as they can be higher in the search results list, so they get better visibility.”  As a result of the better price, the majority of guests can travel several times or for a longer period of time on an annual basis, so the number of guest nights increases.

Thank you to all colleagues who participated in the implementation, communication and introduction of the loyalty program. Congrats for reaching another milestone in Szallas’s history!