KAYAK increases hotel inventory in tie-up with UK distribution start-up Impala

The deal will see 200,000 rooms made available in the price comparison site's search engine and on sister brands in the group including Momondo, Cheapflights and Hotels Combined

by Aidan Poole

KAYAK has added over 200,000 hotel rooms to the travel giant’s search engine in recent tie-up with hotel booking and distribution start-up Impala.

Hotels remain a popular form of accommodation, according to Kayak, which saw a 17% increase in searches over last summer compared to 2021.

First class (4 star) properties were highly demanded among accommodation-seekers, with popular amenities including gyms, room service and on-site restaurants, said Impala.

Impala’s hotel portfolio will be featured across KAYAK and the travel firm’s aggregator search brands SWOODOO, checkfelix, momondo, Cheapflights, Mundi and HotelsCombined, spanning over 60 countries and territories. 

Rachel Hafner, vice president of global hotels at KAYAK, said: “Hotels are favoured by many travellers, and the addition of Impala’s hotel inventory increases the choice for our users with new, differentiated accommodation providers.

“Especially in destinations where demand is outgrowing supply, such as the UK, Italy and the Middle East.”

Impala’s partners can get bookings through KAYAK, which features a direct booking platform called Revato where properties can customize user experience and manage rates.

KAYAK users will have access to first class and luxury hotel chains including Top Hotels International, Como Hotels, Small Luxury Hotels of the World and a spread of hotels at all star levels.

Ben Stephenson, founder and chief executive of Impala, said: “We are proud to lead the trend of Open Distribution and are delighted to partner with KAYAK to enable more hotels to be featured across valuable meta search platforms, which will bring new opportunities and revenue.”