Based in Thailand, HotelQuickly will be joining other travel companies in making ‘experiences’ a core part of their business model

HotelQuickly, a Thailand hotel booking startup, has signed two partnerships that will make the booking of activities and experiences a core part of their services.

The company signed a deal with travelbook, a community-based travel sharing company, and eOasia, a business that helps travellers book activities.

HotelQuickly also raised a “new injection of funding” and moved their headquarters to the Bangkok business district, suggesting it is “go time” for the company.

Besides the partnerships, the investment will be used to upgrade its technology and launch a new website.

Helping travellers book activities has quickly become an important part of the online travel industry.

Typically, the logic is that travellers know where to go to find cheap flights and hotels, but when it comes to activities, a lot of the bookings are done via offline avenues like travel agencies or concierge desks.

Notable travel-booking business models include Airbnb which has made it Experiences feature a core part of the brand. Southeast Asia boasts successful touring startups like BeMyGuest.

In August, the Hong Kong-based travel booking platform Klook raised US$200 million and Taiwan’s KKday has raised two rounds this year, with the first being worth US$10.5 million.

Also Read: Golden Gate Ventures closes oversubscribed US$100M third fund

Let’s take a look at the two companies in the HotelQuickly partnership.

travelbook has integrated a social media function into its booking process. People follow friends who provide pictures and, theoretically, more unique ideas. It also has traditional hotel and airline booking features integrated into the platform.

eOasia is a bit more straightforward but the company has built a nice reservoir of activities. For example, in Singapore, they range from obvious activities like tickets to Universal Studios to more personalised experiences such as a perfume workshop.

eOasia Founder and CEO Elodie Badoual, explained why her company entered into the deal.

“Travel is much broader than where you stay and eOasia adds another level to the HotelQuickly experience by highlighting individual destinations through tours and activities within Asia, whilst HotelQuickly unlocks discount stays so that travelers can spend more during their trip,” she said.

HotelQuickly was established in 2012 and boasts 16 languages along with offices in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney.

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Photo by Zach Inglis on Unsplash

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