Fending off global copycats: Lessons from HotelTonight’s story
Photo Credit: HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank speaking at the Kellogg School of Management. HotelTonight
Skift Take
HotelTonight blazed a trail in the U.S. as a first-mover in same-day, mobile hotel bookings. Although it has strong financial backing, achieving the same rate of success abroad may be a lot more problematic.
How well does HotelTonight translate into European expansion?
Launched in late 2010, the mobile-only and same-day hotel booking app now offers rooms in 12 countries, including nine in Europe, with a modest portfolio there of 27 cities.
With 15 of its approximately 100 employees working out of a London office, HotelTonight's "expansion is unbounded in terms of our aspirations," says Sam Shank, CEO and co-founder. "We are interested in being everywhere."
Success in the U.S., though, doesn't necessarily equate to a slam-dunk abroad. Consider that Kayak, which struggled for years to gain a foothold in Europe, and had to acquire swoodoo in Germany and Checkfelix in Austria to begin to dig in. Travelocity bought UK-based lastminute.com, and Expedia purchased Italy-headquartered Venere in their drives for European relevancy.
San Francisco-based HotelTonight has spawned mobile-only imitators in Europe, including Hot Hotels and Blink Hotels, both based in Spain, as well as Just
