HotelTonight

HotelTonight is a travel agency and metasearch engine owned by Airbnb and accessible via website and mobile app. It is used to book last-minute lodging in the Americas, Europe, Japan and Australia.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Hotel Tonight, Inc.

Type of site	Subsidiary of Airbnb
Founded	December 2010; 13 years ago (2010-12)
Headquarters	San Francisco, California
Area served	United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan
Owner	Airbnb
Founder(s)	Sam Shank Jared Simon Chris Bailey
Industry	Hotel, Tourism
Services	Travel agency
URL	hoteltonight.com
Native client(s) on	iOS Android

HotelTonight advertisement in New York City.

History

HotelTonight was founded in December 2010 by Sam Shank, Jared Simon, and Chris Bailey.^[8] When it first launched in January 2011, the mobile app was only available in the US and on Apple products.^[9] The app launched on Android devices in July 2011 and now includes cities in Europe, Canada, Central America and South America.^[10][11][12]

Fundraising

In May 2011, the company raised a $3.25 million Series A round from Battery Ventures, Accel Partners, and First Round Capital.^[13] In November 2011, they raised $9 million from Accel Partners, Battery Ventures, and First Round Capital.^[14] In June 2012, a Series C round from U.S. Venture Partners, Accel Partners, Battery Ventures, and First Round Capital raised another $23 million.^[15] In September 2013, the company raised $45 million in a Series D round led by Coatue Management, bringing its total funding to $80.5 million.^[16]

Operations

In October 2014, HotelTonight expanded from same-day only bookings to allowing users to book rooms up to 7 days in advance.^[17] In September 2018, they began allowing bookings through the website.^[18]

In March 2019, HotelTonight was acquired by Airbnb for approximately $450 million in cash and stock.^[19][20][21]

References

1. Perlroth, Nicole (December 11, 2012). "Wallflowers of Silicon Valley Get Asked to Dance". The New York Times.
2. Leo, Jen (February 20, 2011). "Web Buzz: Hotel Tonight app alerts travelers to same-day deals". Los Angeles Times.
3. Brady, Paul (February 4, 2013). "Mobile Booking Taking Off As Early Adopters Become Evangelists". HuffPost.
4. "Touch here for a bed". The Economist. February 4, 2013.
5. Cohen, Jennifer (January 7, 2014). "Overwhelmed By Options? Try These 10 Must Have Apps for 2014". Forbes.
6. Kennedy, John (March 12, 2014). "Co-Sign: How You Can Book Last-Minute Hotel Deals For SXSW Music". Vibe.
7. Van Grove, Jennifer (April 15, 2014). "Same-day booking app HotelTonight predicts the future too". CNET.
8. O'Shea, Dan (April 26, 2011). "How a New App Is Helping Hotels Fill Rooms". Entrepreneur.
9. O'Neill, Sean (November 22, 2012). "A boom in same-day hotel booking apps". BBC News.
10. Price, Emily (June 20, 2012). "HotelTonight Expands Into Europe, Now Offering Deals in London". Mashable.
11. Ha, Anthony (December 11, 2012). "HotelTonight Expands To Continental Europe, Adds Language Support, And Launches Gift Credits". TechCrunch.
12. Mott, Nathaniel (April 26, 2012). "HotelTonight Expands to Europe and Canada, Partners With Look.io for Better Robo-Human Relations". PandoDaily.
13. "HotelTonight Secures $3.25 Million Series A Funding from Battery Ventures, Accel Partners and First Round Capital" (PDF) (Press release). Battery Ventures. May 10, 2011.
14. Rao, Leena (November 18, 2011). "Battery And Accel Put $9M In App For Last-Minute Hotel Deals, HotelTonight". TechCrunch.
15. Ogg, Erica (June 5, 2012). "With $23 million in new funds, Hotel Tonight is going global". Gigaom.
16. Shontell, Alyson (September 5, 2013). "HotelTonight Raises A $45 Million Round Led By A Hedge Fund To Help You Book Cheap, Last-Minute Rooms". Business Insider.
17. LEE TREJOS, NANCY (September 26, 2014). "HotelTonight to let guests book hotels next week". USA TODAY.
18. O'Neill, Sean (September 4, 2018). "Mobile-First Booking Startup HotelTonight Expands to Desktop". Skift.
19. Griswold, Alison (March 7, 2019). "Airbnb is buying into the hotel industry by acquiring HotelTonight". Quartz.
20. Ting, Deanna (March 7, 2019). "Airbnb Is Buying HotelTonight: Here's What That Means". Skift.
21. Forman, Laura (March 11, 2019). "Airbnb Wants to Be a Contender". The Wall Street Journal.

External links

• Official website