Airbnb Talked to HotelTonight About an Acquisition But Would It Make Sense?
Photo Credit: HotelTonight advertisements on the exterior of Madison Square Garden in New York City. Skift
Skift Take
Is Airbnb flailing at a way to build an expansion narrative ahead of an initial public offering? Buying HotelTonight would save some time and effort in making inroads with boutique hotels, but does Airbnb really need HotelTonight to do that? In travel, everyone is always talking to everyone so we're unsure how serious these informal talks ever were.
Airbnb conducted informal talks with HotelTonight as it onboards hotels and seeks to create more of a growth narrative ahead of an eventual initial public offering.
The Wall Street Journal disclosed news of the talks, but said they have "gone cold."
HotelTonight co-founder and CEO Sam Shank reacted to the report with a statement: "We have heard rumors like this since our inception and we don't comment on them but I can provide you with an update on HotelTonight.
"2018 was a great year for Hotel Tonight — we were profitable and saw room night growth and revenue growth at multiples of our OTA (online travel agency) competitors. We also added over 50,000 hotels to our expanded booking window, launched a desktop presence, and an industry-first ephemeral deal called the Daily Drop. We continue to focus on working with the best boutique, independent inventory and 90% of our revenue comes from boutique hotels and independent properties."
Kayak co-founder and CEO Steve Hafner was
