h2c
h2c GmbH is a vendor-independent hospitality technology consultancy founded in 2001 in Germany, serving international hotel chains with advisory services, proprietary global research studies, and the Conttessa SaaS content management platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersRatingen, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What h2c does
h2c GmbH is a privately held, vendor-independent hospitality technology consultancy founded in 2001 and headquartered in Ratingen, Germany (commercial register HRB 53431, District Court of Düsseldorf). The firm serves international and regional hotel chains, offering advisory services across technology stack strategy, RFP management for core hotel systems (CRM, CRS, PMS, IBE, website), GDS and OTA content optimization, and direct booking acceleration. Revenue is generated through three streams: professional services fees from consulting engagements, subscription-based research studies (both publicly sponsored and custom), and SaaS revenue from the proprietary Conttessa static content management platform.
The core technology product is Conttessa (originally branded CONTtest and rebranded in February 2023), a centralized content distribution platform that pushes hotel descriptions to OTA and metasearch channels from a single entry point. Conttessa covers up to 8,000 content criteria per room type across multiple channels and reportedly reduces manual content update time from 90 minutes to 3 minutes per update cycle, with hotels generating approximately 8,000 change log entries per year on average. The software is offered on multi-year subscription contracts with onboarding fees. Complementing the software, h2c publishes annual proprietary global research studies on AI & Automation, Direct Booking, Digital Operations, Distribution, CRM, PMS, CRS, and IBE & Metasearch topics; the 2025 AI & Automation Study aggregated 189 quantitative responses and 26 executive interviews from 171 hotel chains representing more than 11,000 properties and 1.3 million rooms globally, supported by 15 industry sponsors.
h2c reaches clients through direct B2B consultative sales, participation in major industry conferences (ITB Berlin, WTM London, HEDNA, HSMA, ATM Dubai), the h2c Perspectives podcast launched in 2024, a March 2025 email newsletter, and ongoing thought-leadership content. The company has operated continuously for 25 years without disclosed external funding and is led by Managing Director Michaela Papenhoff, with Christin Hänsel serving as Data Protection Officer.
h2c firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- h2c
- Legal name
- h2c GmbH
- Website
- https://h2c.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- h2c GmbH is a vendor-independent hospitality technology consultancy founded in 2001 in Germany, serving international hotel chains with advisory services, proprietary global research studies, and the Conttessa SaaS content management platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
h2c industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Hospitality Technology Consulting
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)
- akta.pro primary industry
- B2B OTA/White-Label Booking Platforms & Affiliate Networks (THAKAAAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Guest Experience & Engagement (CRM, Messaging, Loyalty) (THALACAF)
Keywords
Where h2c is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ratingen
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
h2c business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Hospitality Technology Consulting: Vendor-independent consulting services including strategy workshops, RFP processes (CRM, CRS, PMS, Website, IBE), content optimization (GDS, OTA), and project management for hotel technology implementations.
- Research Services: Both sponsored (publicly available studies funded by multiple industry partners) and custom research (confidential, company-specific research projects) on hospitality technology topics.
- Conttessa Software: Static content management SaaS solution distributed to OTAs and metasearch channels. Offered as subscription with onboarding fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Conttessa Onboarding - 50% discount for new customers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
h2c product offering
Product offeringCore offering
h2c provides vendor-independent hospitality technology consulting, proprietary market research studies, and the Conttessa SaaS platform for centralized distribution of static hotel content to OTA and metasearch channels. Services include strategy workshops, RFP management for CRM/CRS/PMS/IBE/website selection, content optimization across GDS and OTA channels, and project management for hotel technology implementations. Target customers are international and regional hotel chains seeking technology stack strategy, vendor selection, and multi-channel content management.
Product overview
h2c is a hospitality technology consultancy offering a portfolio of consulting services and a proprietary SaaS product. The core product is Conttessa, a static content management system that centralizes hotel content distribution across OTA and metasearch channels. Complementing the software are professional services including hospitality technology consulting (RFP management, system selection, strategy workshops), sponsored and custom research studies on industry trends, and education services including speaking engagements and webinars. The company positions itself as vendor-independent, helping hotel chains optimize their technology stacks, distribution strategies, and content management processes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Conttessa: An easy-to-use static content manager that distributes hotel descriptions to OTA and metasearch channels via one central platform. Originally launched as CONTtest in 2015 and rebranded to Conttessa in 2023.
- h2c Perspectives
Products and services
- Conttessa An easy-to-use static content management SaaS platform that distributes hotel descriptions to OTA and metasearch channels via one central platform, supporting up to 8,000 content criteria per room type and enabling content parity across multiple distribution channels. Sold to hotel chains and used to reduce manual cross-channel content update time from 90 minutes to 3 minutes.
- Hospitality Technology Consulting Vendor-independent consultancy offering tech stack strategy development, project and implementation management, and RFP services for hotel chains, including Strategy Workshops, CRM RFP, CRS RFP, PMS RFP, Website RFP, IBE Optimization, GDS Content Optimization, and OTA Content Optimization.
- Research Services Market research services including sponsored (multi-sponsor) studies on hospitality technology topics (AI & Automation, Direct Booking, Digital Operations, Distribution, Automated Personalization, IBE & Metasearch, CRM, PMS, CRS) and custom confidential research for specific business questions.
- Project Management Project and implementation management services for hotel technology deployments, supporting hotel chains through system rollouts and integrations.
- Education Services Training and knowledge transfer services including speaking engagements, webinars, and workshops for hospitality technology professionals, building competencies in distribution, technology, and content management.
Quantifiable outcome
- 90 minutes of manual content updates across 10 channels reduced to 3 minutes with Conttessa
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use h2c
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
h2c technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature3 records
h2c partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Access HospitalityminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - a leading global hospitality IT provider.
- ApaleominorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - hospitality platform provider.
- BlastnessminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - hospitality technology provider.
- CendynminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - hospitality marketing and revenue management solutions.
- CloudbedsminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - cloud-based hospitality management platform.
- dailypointminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - hospitality data management and CRM.
- Hospitality SolutionsminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study.
- IDeaSminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - revenue management solutions.
- IreckonuminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study.
- Oracle HospitalityminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - global hospitality technology provider.
- PlanetminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - payment solutions for hospitality.
- ProfitroomminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - direct booking and revenue management.
- RobosizeMEminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - revenue automation technology.
- SuitePadminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - in-room tablets and guest engagement.
- ZucchettiminorSponsor of h2c's 2025 AI & Automation Study - hospitality management software.
- sitegeistminorCollaborated on LIVE h2c Perspectives session exploring AI and automation transformation in hotel operations.
- PhocuswrightminorPartnership for hospitality travel research collaboration. h2c offers Phocuswright partnership as part of their research services portfolio.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
h2c competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EyeforTravel: Travel and hospitality research and events company. Comparable research-led content output and conference presence targeting similar hotel chain executives as h2c.
- Phocuswright: Global travel industry research and consulting firm. h2c maintains an explicit Phocuswright partnership for hospitality research collaboration, making them the most directly comparable research-led peer.
- Skift Research: Travel and hospitality research arm of Skift producing subscription studies on distribution, technology, and consumer trends. Directly comparable research output and distribution channel overlap with h2c's annual studies.
- Hotel Tech Report: Hotel technology marketplace and research platform producing vendor rankings, buyer guides, and industry reports. Comparable in producing hotel-tech intelligence consumed by chain procurement teams.
Broad incumbents
- SiteMinder: Hotel commerce platform providing channel management, booking engine, and distribution technology. Comparable in the OTA distribution space where Conttessa operates, but with broader product scope.
- Shiji Group: Global hospitality technology platform spanning PMS, POS, guest experience, and distribution. A broader incumbent whose suite overlaps with several categories h2c advises on via RFP processes.
- Cloudbeds: Cloud-based hospitality management platform serving hotels and hostels. A 2025 h2c research sponsor and broader incumbent whose PMS and channel manager suite competes in categories h2c advises on.
- Sabre Hospitality: Global GDS and hospitality technology provider. Comparable in CRS and GDS content distribution — the same domain h2c's Conttessa product and consulting address for hotel chains.
- CoStar (STR): Global hospitality benchmarking and analytics provider (via STR). Comparable to h2c in producing subscription-based hospitality performance research used by hotel chains for strategic decisions.
Emerging players
- Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight): Hotel revenue management and market intelligence SaaS provider. Comparable in providing data-driven insights for hotel distribution and pricing decisions; partial overlap with h2c's research and advisory scope.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
h2c social profiles
Digital presenceh2c financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
h2c leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
h2c funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
h2c M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about h2c
What does h2c do?
h2c provides vendor-independent hospitality technology consulting, proprietary market research studies, and the Conttessa SaaS platform for centralized distribution of static hotel content to OTA and metasearch channels. Services include strategy workshops, RFP management for CRM/CRS/PMS/IBE/website selection, content optimization across GDS and OTA channels, and project management for hotel technology implementations. Target customers are international and regional hotel chains seeking technology stack strategy, vendor selection, and multi-channel content management.
Is h2c a public or private company?
h2c is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was h2c founded?
h2c was founded in 2001. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is h2c based?
h2c is headquartered in Ratingen, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does h2c make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Hospitality Technology Consulting is the primary driver. The others are research Services and conttessa Software.
Who are h2c's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are EyeforTravel, Phocuswright, Skift Research and Hotel Tech Report. Broad incumbents are SiteMinder, Shiji Group, Cloudbeds, Sabre Hospitality and CoStar (STR). Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight) is listed as an emerging player.
Does h2c have an API?
No public API is recorded for h2c.
What industry is h2c in?
h2c's product category is Hospitality Technology Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKAAAO, B2B OTA/White-Label Booking Platforms & Affiliate Networks, with a secondary code of THALACAF, Guest Experience & Engagement (CRM, Messaging, Loyalty). Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 8744.