The Hague-based travel start-up intends to use the investment to grow its salesforce and local teams in Berlin, Athens, Barcelona and Cracow among other European cities.
THE HAGUE – Bidroom.com announced it has secured 1m. euros in funding from informal investors in a new round of investment which will help it expand its European operations and worldwide reach. The Hague-based travel start-up intends to use the investment to grow its salesforce and local teams in Berlin, Athens, Barcelona and Cracow among other European cities. The capital injection will also enable Bidroom.com to invest more heavily in their online booking technology.
Making Online Booking Easier
Founded in 2013, Bidroom.com has steadily been trying to chip away at the market share of industry giants Booking.com and Expedia. The start-up focuses on finding consumers the best hotel deals by offering discounts on the lowest available rates advertised online by competitors. On the platform, users can search for hotels and compare different room rates. A price comparison tool shows the rates of major competitors and calculates the special Bidroom rate by taking at least 5% off the lowest competitor rate.
Transparency in the Hotel Sector
The platform is able to offer these high discounts due to its modest commission agreements with hotel providers. At 2% Bidroom.com has the lowest commission rates for hotels in the sector. Aiming to bring more transparency in the hotel sector, the start-up takes pride in its social business model that allows both consumers and hoteliers to save costs.
One-Stop Platform for Booking Accommodations
Since this week consumers are also able to book stays at Bed & Breakfasts, apartments and holiday rentals. With more holidaymakers seeking alternatives to the standard hotel experience, Bidroom.com is aiming to become the one-stop platform for easy online booking. Co-founder Michael Ros explains: “The growing number of enquiries from alternative accommodation providers and the feedback we were getting from users made this a natural choice. We want to offer our customers the widest selection possible and this will allow us to do so.”
Fast-Growing Hotel Booking Platform
The platform has been gaining a lot of popularity among consumers searching for low-cost hotel deals. Currently, the number of active users on the website is 200,000 and according to Michael Ros their user base is growing with 23% each month. At the moment, users can choose from over 14.000 hotels in 21 countries. But the start-up has ambitious plans to scale up planning to roll out its full international expansion by the end of the year.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
