Today 'Ask the CEO' features Adam Healey from the US hotel meta search engine hotelicopter.
1. What problem (s) your company is trying to solve? (quick snapshot of the company)
hotelicopter helps online travelers find the perfect hotel at the best available rate.
We do this by searching over 30 leading travel sites - featuring 150,000 hotels - when you conduct a search on our site. hotelicopter has great location, price and category filters to help you narrow down your search results. You can read hotel reviews from TripAdvisor and from your friends on Facebook to get recommendations from other travelers. hotelicopter is focused on creating the world's best hotel search experience for travelers like you.
2. How did you finance your venture?
We raised an angel round in April 2007 and a high net worth round of $3 million from a small group of successful travel, Internet, and finance executives in November 2008.
3. In a difficult climate of uncertainty, how do you attract talents to join you adventure?
We have a small, very talented team. We have had a great deal of success in building our team, with executives from leading companies like Orbitz, AOL, Priceline, and Cheapflights.com. When there is alignment between the company's goals and the individual's goals, that's when the magic happens. At hotelicopter we're building a distinct company culture that rewards innovation, collaboration, and critical thinking. If you'd like to join our talented team please check out www.hotelicopter.com/careers for available positions.
4. Could you explain your revenue model
hotelicopter generates either CPC (cost per click) or CPA (cost per action) revenue from its transaction partners when it matches a traveler to the perfect hotel. In this manner, our interests are directly aligned with our customers and our partners. We simply want to be the market leader in matching online travelers to the perfect hotel for them at the best available price.
5. Who gives you inspiration when you feel down whilst leading your company?
I'm never down at hotelicopter, because I feel fortunate each and every day to get to work with such a talented, energized, quality team. While the road on the path to success may twist and turn, everyone on the bus is in it together and moving in the same direction.
...and 5 Trivia Questions
a/ Fave hotel experience
Recently? Sitting poolside at the Delano in Miami sipping champagne and soaking up the rays.
a/ Fave hotel experience
Recently? Sitting poolside at the Delano in Miami sipping champagne and soaking up the rays.
b/ Mac or PC?
Mac, of course. In fact, 90% of our office runs on Apple.
c/ Explorer or Firefox?
Neither. Safari. Great browser, as Firefox has gotten slower over time.
d/ MP3 or CD?
All digital, but burned from a CD at lossless rate, so I can fully appreciate the music on my B&W speakers and through my MacIntosh amplifier :).
e/ Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter for business, Facebook for personal.
nice post dear thanks.hotels in hawaii
Posted by: harender | Wednesday, August 05, 2009 at 03:31 PM
What makes Helicopter unique right now is the Facebook integration feature. I'm very keen to see how that will develop over time, because I think it has some potential.
The hotel search engine market is VERY crowded, so for Helicopter to succeed I feel they need to focus on this differentiating point.
Posted by: Josiah from HotelMarketingStrategies.com | Wednesday, August 05, 2009 at 04:28 PM
@Harender - you're welcome...dear :-|
@Josiah - I know I have tried most of them and it's difficult to have some USPs as they use more or less the same technology. So we will see if the Facebook integration will make a difference. Guido and myself have some doubts.
Posted by: Guillaume Thevenot | Wednesday, August 05, 2009 at 10:50 PM