William Heinecke, CEO & chairman of Thailand’s Minor International, has invested in last-minute hotel booking app, HotelQuickly.
HotelQuickly Ltd has raised US$4.5 million in financing, led by GREE Inc and Heinecke, whose company owns Anantara and other brands. This latest funding brings the total amount of investment secured by the app to more than US$5.5m.
“We’re seeing a clear shift from online to mobile and as traditional booking channels lose ground, there is tremendous opportunity for a service like HotelQuickly in the Asia Pacific region,” said Heinecke. “HotelQuickly is best positioned to capitalise on this movement. I have faith in the executive management and I’m excited to be backing this adventure together with GREE.”
GREE Inc recently launched its own Japan-based last-minute booking service, Tonight, and the two companies said they would now participate in “personnel exchange, the sharing of technical expertise and other collaboration”.
“This is a great opportunity for GREE to take part in that growth story, while teaming up with the world-class talent at HotelQuickly to accelerate our own entry to this space,” said Eiji Araki, a board member at GREE.
Launched in March 2013, HotelQuickly has now has more than 150,000 registered users. It is designed to offer significant discounts to travellers booking hotel rooms at the last minute, as well as giving hoteliers a chance to fill unoccupied rooms. The app was recently relaunched with extra features and a new layout.
The company said it would use this extra capital injection to “accelerate its product development, marketing, and hiring to drive sales across Asia Pacific”.
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