HotelTonight
{{Short description|Online travel agency}}
{{Infobox website
| type = Online travel agency
| name = Hotel Tonight, Inc.
| logo = Hotel Tonight logo.svg
| founded = {{Start date and age|2010|12}}
| location = San Francisco, California
| area_served = United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan
| founder = {{ubl|Sam Shank|Jared Simon|Chris Bailey}}
| services = Travel agency
| url = {{URL|hoteltonight.com}}
| native_clients = {{ubl|iOS|Android}}
| owner = Airbnb
}}
HotelTonight is a travel agency and metasearch engine. It serves for users to book last-minute lodging in the Americas, Europe, Japan and Australia.{{cite news | url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/wallflowers-of-silicon-valley-get-as… | title=Wallflowers of Silicon Valley Get Asked to Dance | last=Perlroth | first=Nicole | work=The New York Times |date=December 11, 2012 | url-access=subscription}}{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2011-feb-20-la-tr-webbuzz-20110220-story.html | title=Web Buzz: Hotel Tonight app alerts travelers to same-day deals | last=Leo | first=Jen | work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 20, 2011 | url-access=subscription}}{{cite news | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mobile-booking-taking-off_n_2591320 | title=Mobile Booking Taking Off As Early Adopters Become Evangelists | last=Brady | first=Paul | work=HuffPost | date=February 4, 2013}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/02/hotel-booking-apps | title=Touch here for a bed | newspaper=The Economist | date=February 4, 2013}}{{cite news | last=Cohen | first=Jennifer | title=Overwhelmed By Options? Try These 10 Must Have Apps for 2014 | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jennifercohen/2014/01/07/overwhelmed-by-your-app-options-try-these-10-must-have-apps-for-2014/ | work=Forbes | date=January 7, 2014}}{{cite news | title=Co-Sign: How You Can Book Last-Minute Hotel Deals For SXSW Music | url=https://www.vibe.com/2014/03/co-sign-how-you-can-book-last-minute-hotel-deals-sxsw-music | first=John | last=Kennedy | work=Vibe | date=March 12, 2014}}{{cite news | last=Van Grove | first=Jennifer |title=Same-day booking app HotelTonight predicts the future too | url=https://www.cnet.com/news/same-day-booking-app-hoteltonight-predicts-the-future-too/ | work=CNET | date=April 15, 2014}}
History
HotelTonight was founded in December 2010 by Sam Shank, Jared Simon, and Chris Bailey.{{cite news | url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219459 | title=How a New App Is Helping Hotels Fill Rooms | last=O'Shea | first=Dan |work=Entrepreneur | date=April 26, 2011}} It first launched in January 2011, in the US on the iPhone App Store.{{cite news | url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20121120-a-boom-in-same-day-hotel-booking-apps |title=A boom in same-day hotel booking apps | last=O'Neill | first=Sean |work=BBC News |date=November 22, 2012}} The app later launched on Google Play in July 2011 and serves cities in Europe, Canada, Central America and South America.{{cite news | url=https://mashable.com/2012/06/20/hoteltonight-london/ | title=HotelTonight Expands Into Europe, Now Offering Deals in London | last=Price | first=Emily | work=Mashable | date=June 20, 2012}}{{cite news | url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/11/hoteltonight-continental-europe/ | title=HotelTonight Expands To Continental Europe, Adds Language Support, And Launches Gift Credits | last=Ha | first=Anthony | work=TechCrunch | date=December 11, 2012}}{{cite news | url=https://pando.com/2012/04/26/hoteltonight-updating-iphone-app-with-new-support-system-expanding-internationally/ | title=HotelTonight Expands to Europe and Canada, Partners With Look.io for Better Robo-Human Relations | last=Mott | first=Nathaniel | work=PandoDaily | date=April 26, 2012}}
Fundraising
In May 2011, the company raised a $3.25 million Series A round from Battery Ventures, Accel Partners, and First Round Capital.{{cite press release | url=https://www.battery.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/HotelTonight-Secures-3.25.pdf | title=HotelTonight Secures $3.25 Million Series A Funding from Battery Ventures, Accel Partners and First Round Capital | publisher=Battery Ventures | date=May 10, 2011 | access-date=June 23, 2020 | archive-date=October 23, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023223236/https://www.battery.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/HotelTonight-Secures-3.25.pdf | url-status=dead }} In November 2011, they raised $9 million from Accel Partners, Battery Ventures, and First Round Capital.{{cite web | url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/11/18/battery-and-accel-put-9m-in-app-for-last-minute-hotel-deals-hoteltonight/ | title=Battery And Accel Put $9M In App For Last-Minute Hotel Deals, HotelTonight | last=Rao | first=Leena | work=TechCrunch | date=November 18, 2011}} In June 2012, a Series C round from U.S. Venture Partners, Accel Partners, Battery Ventures, and First Round Capital raised another $23 million.{{cite web | url=https://gigaom.com/2012/06/05/travel-app-hotel-tonight-gets-23-in-new-funding-to-go-international/ | title=With $23 million in new funds, Hotel Tonight is going global | last=Ogg | first=Erica | work=Gigaom | date=June 5, 2012 | access-date=June 23, 2020 | archive-date=April 8, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408205726/https://gigaom.com/2012/06/05/travel-app-hotel-tonight-gets-23-in-new-funding-to-go-international/ | url-status=dead }} 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.{{cite news | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/hoteltonight-raises-45-million-series-d-2013-9 |title=HotelTonight Raises A $45 Million Round Led By A Hedge Fund To Help You Book Cheap, Last-Minute Rooms | last=Shontell | first=Alyson | work=Business Insider |date=September 5, 2013}}
Operations
In October 2014, HotelTonight expanded from same-day only bookings to allowing users to book rooms up to 7 days in advance.{{cite news | last=LEE TREJOS |first=NANCY | title=HotelTonight to let guests book hotels next week | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/dispatches/2014/09/26/hotel-tonight-booking-next-week/16274063/ | work=USA TODAY | date=September 26, 2014}} In September 2018, they began allowing bookings through the website.{{cite news | url=https://skift.com/2018/09/04/mobile-first-booking-startup-hoteltonight-expands-to-desktop/ | title=Mobile-First Booking Startup HotelTonight Expands to Desktop | first=Sean | last=O'Neill | work=Skift | date=September 4, 2018}}
In March 2019, HotelTonight was acquired by Airbnb for approximately $450 million in cash and stock.{{Cite news | url=https://qz.com/1567574/airbnb-is-buying-hoteltonight/ | title=Airbnb is buying into the hotel industry by acquiring HotelTonight | first=Alison | last=Griswold | work=Quartz | date=March 7, 2019}}{{Cite news | url=https://skift.com/2019/03/07/airbnb-is-buying-hoteltonight-heres-what-that-means/ | title=Airbnb Is Buying HotelTonight: Here's What That Means | first=Deanna | last=Ting | work=Skift | date=March 7, 2019}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnb-wants-to-be-a-contender-11552302000 | title=Airbnb Wants to Be a Contender | first=Laura | last=Forman | work=The Wall Street Journal | date=March 11, 2019 | url-access=subscription}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.hoteltonight.com/}}
{{Travel ticket search engines}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:HotelTonight}}
Category:American travel websites
Category:American companies established in 2010
Category:Hospitality companies established in 2010
Category:Internet properties established in 2010
Category:2019 mergers and acquisitions
Category:Online travel agencies