The latest startups news, launches and more from around the travel, tourism and hospitality industry in June 2013.
Friday 28 June 2013:
- OneFineStay aims to give consumers the inside knowledge on local areas. The company has been collecting recommendations (around 19,000 tips and reviews) from its property owners over the past three years and has created a dedicated channel where guests can view things to do in a destination via a series of guides. There are currently 71 guides for London and New York, all of which are also available on the brand's iPhone application.
Thursday 27 June 2013:- Room 77, the Mountain View-based startup, has appointed two executive roles: Jessie Becker, a former Netflix marketing head, will become the company's first CMO, and Doug Aley will become vice president of product and corporate development. The company recently hired Drew Patterson as CEO.
Wednesday 26 June 2013:- HotelQuickly (TLabs here), Hong Kong-based startup that released its mobile app (three months ago) for same day hotel bookings has now crossed 100,000 downloads. This number is collectively from its app in iOS, Android and BlackBerry platform. HotelQuickly has established partnership with 300+ hotels in 10 countries: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia.
Monday 24 June 2013:- Housetrip grabs ex-Skype CEO as new chairman. Michael van Swaaij was also head of Europe for eBay and his appointment coincides with current chief business officer at Housetrip, George Hadjigeorgiou, moving to a new role of chief operating officer. Hadjigeorgiou originally joined the company in January 2012.
Monday 17 June 2013:- TourWrist used by Royal Caribbean to highlight features on unfinished ship. The 360-degree panos were created and then showcased to media for the preview of the cruise line's new Quantum of the Seas ship. The pano was created by 360iTours in San Diego for the cruise company. Clip below:
Tuesday 11 June 2013:
- Parking Panda raises $4.7 million via share sale to investors. An SEC filing says the company secured the funds through the sale to 21 of its backers, two years on from its original launch. Parking Panda is a web marketplace and management platform for car parking facility owners.
Wednesday 5 June 2013:- HotelQuickly (TLabs here), Asia-based last minute hotel reservation company has launched its app for BlackBerry platform. To date, collectively, its mobile apps (iOS, Android) have been downloaded 80,000 times.
Tuesday 4 June 2013:- GetGoing adds to its board of directors. Fred Reid, former CEO of Virgin America, and Nilesh Lakhani, a former CFO at Yandex, have joined.
Sunday 2 June 2013:- RouteHappy claims industry first with quadruple comparison tool. The recently relaunched startup says travelers can now compare the quality and amenities of up to four flights in the same search, with each result showing a flight's "Happiness Factors", alongside price and schedule. The addition coincides with a new feature called a "Happy & Cheap" filter being added to the search tools.
Previous roundups:NB:Startup image via Shutterstock.