Travesse announces £1.3m boost for hotel booking engine Starfish

The new owners of hospitality booking engine Starfish has announced a £1.3 million investment programme to improve functionality and add new features.

The new owners of hospitality booking engine Starfish have announced a £1.3 million investment programme to improve functionality and add new features.

Travesse Lifestyle says the programme will run over two years and will aim to increase speeds, add to the list of aggregators it links to, offer an improved customer services programme and enhance editorial content.

Amir Azulay, chief executive of Travesse Lifestyle, said: “We are investing time, effort and technology in improving the Starfish system.

“It’s an established industry search engine so we’re starting from a good base, but our aim is to take it to the next level.

“It’s not just about the investment; we are committed to creating real partnerships with hotels, to better understand their needs and to drive traffic and bookings – partnerships that will work for hotels and their customers.

“We’ll also be growing our affiliate network, so Starfish will give hoteliers access to an even bigger customer base.”

Travesse Lifestyle recently acquired Starfish along with Perfect Escapes, US private sale site Spire, luxury and boutique hotel specialist Chic Retreats, Travel Intelligence and Suzanne’s Files.

The company already owns the exclusive, members-only luxury travel site Travesse.com as well as TheTravelEditor.com, a leading source for travel-specific editorial content.

Starfish is 20 years old and allows hotels to manage their inventory and publish live pricing on Travesse websites as well as affiliates including Condé Nast Traveller, Red Online UK, Room for Romance, LUXE/City Guides and Luxique.