Secret Escapes expands into four Asian markets

Travel flash sales site Secret Escapes is expanding into Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia as part of plans to become a global brand.

Travel flash sales site Secret Escapes is expanding into Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia as part of plans to become a global brand.

The move into Asia follows a $60 million Series C investment round led last year led by Google Ventures and Octopus Ventures and forms part of the company’s ongoing international expansion plan.

The brand plans further openings later this year and will continue to grow its operations in North America.

Secret Escapes has started operating in additional countries in Europe such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy in the past 12 months.

The company reported average year-on-year growth of 230% and more than $650 million cumulative global turnover since 2011.

The membership base has soared from four million in January 2014 to more than 28 million members worldwide and has now sold over 3.6 million room nights across the world.

Chief executive Alex Saint said: “Asia has for a while been the next big frontier for us and we’re excited to be entering into Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Last year’s $60 million cash injection is helping us to realise our ambition to become a truly global brand, enabling us to open up opportunities in Asia, continue our expansion throughout Europe and capitalise on our good start in the US.

“We want to be the number one destination for customers looking to book affordable luxury holidays, and it seems pretty clear to us that there is a strong desire for our kind of product in Asia.

“With this launch, we’ll reach a new set of Secret Escapers, develop new relationships with hotels and expand our range of deals in Asia for our existing members. There are still a few territories in Europe that are untapped, so we’ll be strategically assessing opportunities closer to home too.”

Pictured left: Tom Valentine. Pictured right: Alex Saint