Groupon targets last-minute hotel bookings with Blink acquisition

Groupon targets last-minute hotel bookings with Blink acquisition

Madrid-based last-minute hotel booking app Blink Booking has been bought by deals giant Groupon for an undisclosed sum.

Madrid-based last-minute hotel booking app Blink Booking has been bought by deals giant Groupon for an undisclosed sum.

Following the deal the application will be rebranded as Blink by Groupon and be run separately to the main Groupon site, although it will support its Getaways travel offering.

Aaron Cooper, senior vice president of Groupon Getaways, said: “The combination of a fantastic mobile app, same-day inventory management for properties and a team that is obsessed with mobile and last-minute travel will help us further expand our travel business as the go-to destination for great deals on great places to stay.”

Blink is one of a number of mobile-only hotel booking application that have emerged in recent months as consumers switch to using handheld devices from desktop.

The application offers a limited number of four options to users of the best hotel deals it has curated for a particular city or part of a city. London, for instance, has three separate zones.

Hotel nights can be booked for checking in on that day or the following day. Blink currently covers 184 cities in eight countries; the UK, Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherland and Portugal.

Last year it scooped the Travolution Innovation of the Year award. Competitors in the sector include US-based Hotel Tonight, Hot Hotels and JustBook.