Travelopia

Seamless Global Connectivity with DRC

Company Overview

Travelopia is a leading provider of unique, high-end travel experiences, offering everything from wildlife encounters and polar expeditions to cultural tours and bespoke yachting adventures. With a diverse portfolio of brands, including Quark Expeditions, Exodus, Enchanting Travel, and Kalos Golf, Travelopia caters to corporate clients, individuals, group bookings, and private charters worldwide.
Managing a global workforce of over 2,500 employees, including 680 in the UK, Travelopia required a robust and scalable telecoms solution to support their extensive operations. Their Head of Technology, Mo Mead, oversees all business-as-usual (BAU) functions, including first and second-line support, network management, service management, and procurement. Ensuring seamless connectivity across multiple regions was a critical priority for him.

At a Glance

Challenges

Standardising costs
Managing a global estate
Ensuring rapid issue resolution
Minimising bill shock
Self-service abilities to accommodate various time zones

The Solution

Mobile and data services
An always on Tariff
Hydra – DRC’s analytics platform
One to One Service Management
Agile billing system with caps and safeguards
Scalability for global expansion

Benefits

Unmatched customer service
Faster problem resolution & service deployment
Effective cost management
Scalable and flexible
Uninterrupted connectivity
Data driven decision making

The one-to-one relationship is really special. Having that continuity with a provider who truly understands our business is a differentiator. KYC (Know Your Customer) is nailed down with DRC - you never get that level of service with larger providers. We don’t want to go large scale and feel like a small fish in a big pond, we want to feel like a big fish in a small pond and DRC makes us feel like that.

THE CHALLENGE

Travelopia’s global presence meant managing mobile and data services across various countries with multiple vendors. This created inconsistencies in costs, service levels, and support. Mo’s key challenges included:

Standardising costs and support across different regions.
Managing a mobile estate of 1,000–1,500 employees with SIMs across multiple countries.
Ensuring rapid issue resolution, especially for roaming employees who rely heavily on mobile connectivity.
Gaining better insights into mobile usage, costs, and efficiency.
Finding a provider that prioritised customer service, rather than treating them as just another large corporate account.
Minimising bill shock by effectively managing data usage and consumption.
Enabling self-service account administration to accommodate the various time zones their business operates across.

THE SOLUTION

When Mo first joined Travelopia, he was surprised to learn that the company hadn’t initially opted to work with the network directly, given its scale. However, after experiencing DRC’s exceptional service and aftercare firsthand, he quickly realised their unique value and what set them apart from other providers.

Travelopia partnered with DRC for:

Mobile and data services across their UK operations, with global roaming capabilities.
An Always on Tariff designed to keep them online even when they have exceeded their allocated data pool at no extra cost.
Hydra – DRC’s analytics platform for detailed insights into mobile data usage, costs, and efficiencies.
One-to-one service management, ensuring personalised support and rapid issue resolution.
An Agile Billing Management System with restrictions, caps and safeguards to minimise data overages, bill shock and ensure better spend control.
Scalability and flexibility to support their global expansion strategy.

IMPLEMENTATION

1. Unmatched Customer Service

One of the standout advantages of working with DRC has been the personalised support. Mo highlights:

A dedicated account manager, Debbie, who deeply understands Travelopia’s business, challenges, and aspirations.
A consistent support team, ensuring that when issues arise, they are handled quickly by someone familiar with their setup.
Highly responsive support, particularly for urgent requests like roaming issues in remote locations.

2. Faster Problem Resolution & Service Deployment

Immediate response times for issues such as roaming failures in international locations.
Rapid provisioning of SIMs and data cards, often delivered within 24 hours for urgent projects.
A seamless process for deploying mobile connectivity across various regions, improving operational efficiency.

3. Effective Cost Management & Data-Driven Decision Making with Hydra

Travelopia was an early adopter of Hydra, DRC’s advanced analytics platform, which combined with our dedicated support, enables the implementation of user restrictions and safety measures to control spending:

Comprehensive cost visibility across multiple regions.
Usage insights to optimise mobile spend and reduce inefficiencies.
Actionable data to support strategic decision-making.
Robust and agile spend controls with restrictions, caps and safety measures to prevent bill shock, giving Travelopia the flexibility to adjust them at any time knowing our speed and agility allows their users to always be connected.
Peace of mind with spend management tools and thresholds to mitigate risk.

4. Scalability for Global Growth

Travelopia is actively expanding their partnership with DRC, aiming to:

Extend DRC’s mobile and SIM services beyond the UK.
Transition more international offices from local providers to DRC for better cost and service standardisation.
Explore eSIM technology for faster provisioning and seamless service delivery worldwide.

5. Uninterrupted Connectivity

DRC introduced Travelopia to a market-leading tariff enabling them to:

Maintain continuous business operations, even after exceeding their allocated data pool, without incurring additional charges.
Benefit from cost predictability and eliminate the risk of unexpected expenses associated with data overages.
Enjoy peace of mind regarding their expenditure.

THE RESULTS

Standardised mobile services with a single, trusted provider.
Improved cost control through Hydra’s analytics capabilities and DRC’s dedicated account management.
Enhanced user experience with faster support and resolution times.
Scalable telecoms infrastructure to support future growth.
Robust connectivity performance with a network consistently rated as the top-performing provider in biannual supplier reviews.

“As we scale globally, we need a provider that grows with us. The UK model with DRC works, and we’re looking to replicate that success internationally.”

IN SUMMARY

Travelopia and DRC continue to strengthen their partnership, with ongoing discussions to expand mobile connectivity across more regions. Mo and his team are also assessing eSIM adoption to further streamline deployment and enhance service flexibility.
Looking ahead, we are working to offer international localised SIM cards, giving Travelopia complete control over their mobile estate. Currently relying on multiple providers globally, this solution will streamline their operations, and we’re excited to explore this niche opportunity to help them achieve their goals and strengthen our partnership.
Through their partnership with DRC, Travelopia has successfully tackled the complexities of managing a global mobile estate, ensuring reliable, scalable, and cost-efficient connectivity for their employees who roam worldwide.
With a customer-first approach, rapid response times, and powerful analytics tools, DRC continues to be a strategic partner in Travelopia’s journey toward seamless global communication.