HotelPlanner Acquires Online Venue Marketplace EventConnect.com
As HotelPlanner expands in Asia Pacific, this acquisition is expected to bolster the company's robust inventory of venues.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- HotelPlanner, the leading online seller of group hotel bookings and individual hotel stays worldwide, today announced its acquisition of Australia-based online venue marketplace EventConnect.com. The price of the deal was undisclosed but in the 7 figures. EventConnect.com is where destinations, hotels, venues and event suppliers from across Asia Pacific showcase their meetings and events capabilities while promoting their latest news and offers. With this acquisition, the platform will operate as it always has and continue its growth into new markets.
This news comes on the heels of HotelPlanner's continued expansion into the Asia Pacific region with the company's new Singapore office and newly launched sites Hotelplanner.sg, Hotelplanner.com.sg, and Meetings.com.sg. With six offices around the globe, HotelPlanner's move to grow the company's visibility in Asia beyond its Hong Kong and Singapore headquarters underscores the importance of the Asian market to the group meetings and events industry.
HotelPlanner, along with its partner site Meetings.com, provides clients with a seamless, one-stop platform for free event registration, marketing, instant bookable group rates, and unmatched venue sourcing. The robust technology that powers both sites - coupled with the commercial buying power of being the biggest distributor of group rooms - saves customers time and money in the nearly $200 billion global groups and meetings market.
"Our acquisition of EventConnect.com helps further our position as a leader in the global group bookings space and accelerates the company's growth, particularly in the Oceana and APAC region.
EventConnect.com's real-time access to a diverse inventory of venues combined with HotelPlanner's robust travel booking technology will help us continue to drive a great user experience," said Tim Hentschel, Co-Founder and CEO of HotelPlanner.
Within the larger infrastructure of HotelPlanner, EventConnect.com will increase the number of countries in South East Asia that are represented on the platform and will continue to serve as a reliable source of news and information for the global meetings and events community.
"After 15 years of refining the platform and developing the business here in Australia and, most recently, South East Asia, it is very exciting to be joining the HotelPlanner family. The strength and reach that comes with joining a global leader will be invaluable in supporting our growth plans and perhaps most importantly our ability to deliver more value to our clients and site visitors," said Steve Coombes, Founder of EventConnect.com.
About HotelPlanner:
HotelPlanner is the leading provider of online hotel reservations services in the global hotel marketplace, and an established resource for group event planners and hotel partners alike. Today, HotelPlanner.com provides its travel technology expertise to over 5 million customers globally while servicing an estimated $10 billion in hotel sourcing efforts 2019.
The company's robust technology and automated rate checkers provide customers with the guaranteed lowest available rates from a network of more than 100,000 quality hotel partners worldwide, making it easier and faster to book hotels for business meetings, conferences, weddings, conventions, family reunions, extended stays, tours, military reunions, church events, or any other group travels. With its new eRFP group booking system, "Book-in-Block" and licensing technologies, HotelPlanner.com continues to advance the group booking process online for direct clients, market leading affiliates and hotel partners worldwide. With a mission statement geared towards, "Bringing People Together," HotelPlanner & Meetings.com are the global experts for hotel sourcing, providing direct clients and market leading affiliates with unmatched group and event discounted room rates plus localized service levels not available at other travel companies.
Founded in 2002 by CEO Tim Hentschel and CIO John Prince, the company provides 24/7 customer service and has offices in London, England (European Headquarters), Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Singapore (Asian Headquarters), Melbourne, AU, West Palm Beach, FL (Global Headquarters), and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Website: https://hotelplanner.com / http://www.meetings.com
SOURCE HotelPlanner
Share this article