Hotwire develops ‘Travelzoo competitor’ and eyes UK tie-ups

Hotwire is working on a price comparison service and looking for possible partnerships with online travel agents following its UK launch

Hotwire is working on a price comparison service and looking for possible partnerships with online travel agents following its UK launch. The hotel deals site’s ‘Travel Ticker’ comparison page, a direct competititor to Travelzoo’s SuperSearch, will be launched this summer.


Hotwire president Clem Bason said the launch is part of a wider campaign to become the world leader in discount travel.


“There is no global discount provider, full stop,” said Bason. “We want to be that. Many companies dabble in it, Lastminute, Late Rooms in the UK, What If in Australia. We want to only do discount and we want to do it everywhere.”


Hotwire is also looking at providing other companies with its inventory as its expands its customer base.


Bason said, “We have built an API to distribute our inventory so Expedia now sells Hotwire inventory using this technology. Actually any third party could distribute opaque discounted inventory using this technology as well.”


That means any large travel agent could choose to sell Hotwire deals, even those competing with its parent company Expedia.


The company also has plans to expand further into Europe and Asia, including new site launches every 3 to 6 months. Each launch builds on groundwork by Expedia, which develops supplier and hotleier relationships before Hotwire moves in and increases its audience.