Airbnb buys HotelTonight

Airbnb first saw the light of day in August 2008. At that time, it was an unknown party that wanted to rent out private accommodations via a sharing-economy model. And as is often the case, there were also many non-believers. Today, Airbnb is a global phenomenon with a market value of more than 36 billion. It is currently working on the acquisition of booking site HotelTonight and is thus taking an important step to penetrate further into the hotel industry.

It is perhaps a good test for Airbnb's long-term plans. The champion of the 'sharing economy' recently took over companies such as Gaest - a booking platform for meetings and events - and Luxury Retreats - a platform for luxury holiday homes in special locations around the world. These are logical additions that broaden the existing Airbnb range to new target groups.

HotelTonight focuses primarily on last-minute bookings at very attractive rates. The company, founded in 2010, has agreements with more than 25,000 hotels in 1700 cities worldwide. With the acquisition of HotelTonight, Airbnb is now sailing directly into the territory of giants such as Booking.com and Expedia.

The price that Airbnb paid for HotelTonight is unknown, but the value is already estimated at around $ 450 million. After the acquisition, the app and website of HotelTonight will continue to exist separately.