Articles tagged “hoteltonight”

Same-day booking is a trend that's here to stay, especially given its popularity during a season when most travelers try to book ahead for the holidays.

Does HotelTonight really provide incremental bookings without detracting from the hotels' own websites and apps? Several big hotel chains and Barry Sternlicht are now on board and apparently believe so. But, what happens down the road when the humble startup gets too powerful? That's something to consider, as well.

HotelTonight's new Shake feature in its iPhone app streamlines an already streamlined hotel-booking app. It won't be useful for users who want to check out available properties and aren't concerned with the lowest rate. But, for HotelTonight customers in a hurry and looking for the lowest rate, this tweak should speed things up.

Putting tonight-only deals into the Groupon App isn't going to put HotelTonight or other competitors out of business, but it adds a competitor with a huge user base. Game on.

HotelTonight has succeeded by having a singular focus on mobile. It provides a model for how startups can take on incumbents without losing focus.

It will be interesting to see whether HotelTonight's user base will really go for 12,000-square-foot, two-story penthouses that are bookable starting "tonight." While some people can afford to shell out $700 for a suite at the last minute, that will probably not be most people's preferred option. Are suite options here to stay in the app? Stay iTuned.

The tonight-only hotel space in Europe is hardly even beginning to take shape, and there will be plenty of room for several players. But it is getting interesting now.

How long will it be before we talk about travel websites as always having an essential, if limited place, in much the same way that we sometimes talk about print guidebooks? Smartphones with bigger screens, tablets of mini and maximum dimensions ... buckle your seatbelts.