Skift Take
Understandably, CEO Clare Gilmartin didn't want to play up moves into other travel areas too much at such an early stage, but we'll be keeping a close eye on how the company evolves over the next few years as it looks to diversify away from rail tickets and make more money in other areas.
Once upon a time, Trainline just sold rail tickets to UK consumers for one company — Richard Branson's Virgin Rail Group. Now, over two decades later, as with so many other technology firms, it wants to offer more things to more people.
So alongside moves into 44 other markets and the addition of long-distance coach bookings and travel insurance, the company is now testing hotel bookings.
It’s an interesting decision and sees Trainline, which went public earlier this year, moving firmly into the territory of the online travel agencies, albeit at a very limited level.
Asked about the monetization model for hotels on Trainline’s first-half earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, CEO Clare Gilmartin was fairly coy about the company’s plans.
