Skift Take
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Kayak won't be opening any new hotels near you, but still hopes to make a go of building a hotel tech business. That, too, could be a big challenge.
Kayak exited the business of opening hotels and branding them as Kayak hotels, Skift has learned.
Kayak co-founder and CEO Steve Hafner confirmed the news, adding that the company laid off around 10 employees in connection with the move.
"We made the decision towards the end of 2022 to focus on hotel tech instead of building a chain of K-branded properties," Hafner said. "As a result, we unfortunately parted ways with a small team of folks focused on that effort. We still have engineers on the tech side."
The news hasn't been reported until now.
Hafner said Kayak intends to keep developing hotel tech.
Kayak entered the hotel business in 2021, and the first property it
