Introducing Revenue Intelligence: A New Way to Manage Pricing inside freetobook
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You’ll see plenty of stats, slogans and celebratory posts today; some inspiring, some a little… performative.
That’s not really our style.
At freetobook, we’d rather keep things simple and honest.
We’re proud to employ 17 women across the business, spanning every single team. Across the company, we sit close to a 50:50 gender split, and if you take our two directors out of the equation, we actually tip slightly over.
We didn’t set out to hit a number. We don’t hire to quotas.
We look for smart, curious, capable people, and we’re proud that doing that consistently has naturally resulted in strong female representation across the company.
But numbers only tell part of the story.
What really matters is where those women are across the business and the influence they have.
Representation at freetobook isn’t concentrated in one “expected” area. It runs right through development, product, support, marketing, finance and people.
That matters, especially in a business that sits between hospitality and technology, two industries with very different gender dynamics.
Here’s what that looks like in reality.
Let’s start with the tech, because at the end of the day, that’s why we’re all here.
Across the wider industry, development teams are still heavily male-dominated. That’s just a fact. So having women in technical roles, building, testing and shaping the systems our customers rely on every day, genuinely matters.
Different perspectives influence the way a feature works, the way a workflow feels, and the way a problem gets solved.
“Working in hospitality tech is really rewarding. I get to use my love of programming and problem-solving to build software that improves people’s work lives and travel experiences.
Representation in tech matters because it shows you’re not alone and that there’s a place for you here too. There are so many women in tech supporting each other and cheering each other on.”– Anya, Software Developer
If development builds it, the product team decides what gets built.
Our product team sits at the centre of freetobook, balancing customer feedback, company priorities and long-term vision. Eleanor has been at the heart of that for almost the entire existence of the company.
Her leadership has helped shape freetobook’s journey, guide major feature decisions, and evolve the platform into what it is today. Longevity brings context, and context builds better products.
Eleanor explains:
“Working closely with a variety of customers helps us shape the direction of the software; reading between the lines of what they say they want and what they actually need.
Over the years, the system has evolved massively; things like channel manager connections used to be handled manually via OTAs, and now it’s mostly just a couple of clicks. It’s a brilliant industry to be in, with everyone supporting one another.
I hope I’m encouraging young women to push their boundaries too and make this largely male-dominated tech world a better place for all of us.”
Seeing women leading in product, an area still underrepresented across tech, isn’t just symbolic. It shapes how decisions are made and whose voices are heard.
If you’ve ever contacted us, you’ll know support is the heartbeat of freeobook.
Hospitality is a people business, and so are the tech businesses that support hospitality.
Our support team, made up of women, speaks to independent hosts every single day. They help untangle tricky scenarios, calm stressful moments, and celebrate wins. It’s not just problem-solving; it’s more like a partnership to help our users’ businesses thrive.
Sandra, our Customer Support Team Leader, sums it up beautifully:
“The freetobook support team excel in customer service. We have such a breadth of knowledge and so much experience between us, so it’s great being able to help our lovely properties with even the most random questions!”
Culture doesn’t happen by accident. Behind every strong team is thoughtful hiring, onboarding and development.
Kit, who leads our people function, keeps us grounded in something simple: hire great people, then give them room to grow.
“We seek the brightest minds with innate curiosity and a desire to learn every day. We listen to individual purpose and respond with opportunities to fit each employee.”
We don’t hire to hit gender targets; we hire great people on merit.
Fairness, opportunity and growth are built into our hiring process, and the outcome has been a naturally balanced team.
Marketing shapes how freetobook shows up in the world. It’s the voice in your inbox, the blog you read, and the events and webinars you attend.
Marketing isn’t just promotion; it’s translation, taking technical features and turning them into something meaningful for our users.
“I love telling the stories of independent hotel and B&B owners and representing their challenges well. Getting to see how the tech our brilliant developers build really makes a difference to the day-to-day of our users is so rewarding.” – Jess, Marketing Manager
If you’ve had a freetobook demo call, it’s unlikely you haven’t met Heather.
As our dedicated Account Manager and a former B&B owner herself, she brings real hospitality experience into every conversation.
She explains:
“Building long-term relationships with the properties I work with is one of the most important parts of my role. Having run my own B&B, I genuinely understand the pressures hospitality businesses face; these aren’t just accounts to me, they’re real livelihoods.
I love working closely with customers over time, understanding their goals and helping them make confident decisions with their technology.”
That human continuity, speaking to someone who understands your business and remembers your setup, makes all the difference.
Finance might be behind the scenes, but it’s absolutely critical.
The team don’t just keep freetobooks’ accounts in order. They ensure our customers’ accounts are accurate, clear, and running smoothly too.
In a world where cash flow matters hugely to independent properties, clarity around billing and payments isn’t a small detail.
Our Finance Department is an all-female team made up of Emma S, Emma K and Rachael. Accuracy and attention to detail are at the heart of everything they do, helping to keep billing transparent and straightforward for our properties.
As they explain:
“We work hard to make the billing process for freetobook customers clear and transparent. We support the customer service team with billing queries and help explain how payments move through the system. When clarification is needed, we call customers directly; talking things through often makes everything easier to understand.
Managing multiple payments accurately and on time can be complex, so it’s important we’re there to answer questions promptly. We also try to be proactive and contact customers if we notice any payments are failing, so we can help ensure they’re paid on time.”
Behind every invoice, there’s a team making sure things add up, so our properties can focus on their guests.
International Women’s Day can sometimes drift into self-congratulation. That’s not the point.
Representation matters because:
Especially in development and product areas where women remain underrepresented across tech more broadly, seeing women leading and shaping decisions is important.
But we’ll say it again: we don’t hire to tick boxes; we hire talented people.
We’re proud that doing that well has naturally led to strong female representation across freetobook.
There’s another side to this, too. A huge number of our customers are women running independent hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses. They’re founders, operators, hosts, and business owners, often wearing every hat at once.
Independent hospitality has long been powered by women. Our job is to support them with tools that increase direct bookings, technology that simplifies operations, and support that feels friendly and accessible.
When independent accommodation providers thrive, so do their communities.
Today, we’re celebrating the 17 women across seven teams who help make freetobook what it is.
We’re also realistic; the tech industry still has progress to make.
International Women’s Day isn’t about ticking a box. It’s about continuing to build businesses where opportunity is real, leadership is earned, and the best ideas win, no matter who they come from.
And that’s something we’ll keep working on long after 8th March.
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