HotelTonight is revolutionizing the online hotel booking arena and offering great pricing for last minute hotel deals in different categories: hip, basic, solid, charming, etc. It is considered one of the top travel apps for business and leisure travelers alike.
CEO and co-founder Sam Shanks has led the effort to brand the app as a made-for-mobile, simple tool for one-day booking of unsold hotel space. Based in San Francisco with an office in London, HotelTonight is backed by some of the top venture firms and travel-industry pioneers in the world. The company received $23 million in C-funding last year.
Current Volume and Future Growth Opportunities
When HotelTonight launched in 2011 it became instantly popular as a “must have” app. With over 4 million downloads, HotelTonight has expanded its presence to 10 countries and over 80 destinations around the world and is planning to expand further into Europe.
HotelTonight recently purchased the assets of San Francisco based PrimaTable, its first acquisition. HotelTonight intends to use PrimaTable’s forecasting and pricing tools to make it easier for the company’s hotel partners to sell their rooms.
How are people using HotelTonight?
The app gives users deeply discounted rates at three hotels available in a chosen city every day at noon local time. The whole booking process can be completed in 2 minutes, and users can log in with their Facebook credentials. This app is particularly advantageous for travelers faced with last minute flight cancellations or other travel delays.
HotelTonight’s App Features and Business Model
In September 2012, HotelTonight released an updated version of the app with personalization tools to present users with a list of recommended hotels based on tracked user ratings. In three simple clicks, users can take advantage of the personalized, last-minute discounts with the option to book a room up to 2:00 a.m. local time.
HotelTonight was the first on the market with its single-function app for same-day bookings. Now it faces heavy competition from international followers such as Blink Booking in Spain and JustBook in Germany. These companies use the same simple model of partnering with hotels and receiving a percentage profit from each booking.
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