Luxury travel has been expanding its presence online at a fast pace. The brands are more credible and bigger today and the luxury travel companies operating online are striving to introduce innovative products that deliver value for money even in the field of luxury travel. Secret Escapes is an online flash sale luxury travel site which is following the model of free to join members club and offers luxury holidays and hotel rooms to its members. The startup was launched in January 2011 and has grown at a fast clip in the last one year. It has raised a new funding round totaling £8 million ($12.8m). The infusion of new money will help it strengthen its position in the UK market and plan international launches in the U.S., Germany and the Nordic countries.
Secret Escapes Allows You to Book Flash Sales on Holidays
The new funding which was led by new investor Index Ventures, with existing investors Octopus Ventures and Atlas Venture also participating will help them take the business to the next level. They have already created a large member base riding on an ad campaign. It not only helped them have a member base of 2 million but helped it add more than 1,000 hotels and suppliers to its books. The growth of revenue through the year was as much as 1,400 per cent. Instead of giving discount vouchers, the site allows members to use its booking engine on the site and book flash sales on holidays and hotel rooms. They are already offering both country house and city hotels in UK. They also offer flight inclusive packages for luxury European destination. They would be launching a more exclusive brand Secret Escapes Impulse which will also offer last minute travel discounts.
Ben Holmes Will Join The Board and Implement Aggressive Plans
Alex Saint, CEO of Secret Escapes believes that even the luxury traveler is also seeking a quality deal that represents good value. At Secret Escapes they have managed to always offer the best rates online and that’s been the secret of their success. At the same time they have become a useful tool for hotel revenue manager to increase occupancy rates in their hotels and resorts. The new funding will help them create even better value and make the brand international. They are targeting a 100% increase in membership by the end of 2013. With more innovative offerings they expect the revenues to grow even more steeply. To help implement the aggressive plans the Index Ventures partner Ben Holmes will be joining the board of Secret Escapes.
Via: thenextweb, techrunch
