HotelOnline
HotelOnline is a digital marketing and e-commerce company, specifically targeting frontier market hotels outside of the international chains. The company acts as an interface between Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and hotels. The services offered by HotelOnline address the technological gap which exists in many frontier markets in general, and in Africa in particular.
HotelOnline differentiate themselves from the numerous hotel booking technology providers in the market, by offering a 100% managed solution, bundled with a simplified, user friendly technology, specifically adapted for hotels who lack adequate marketing resources to effectively compete in the online booking space.
The company is incorporated in Dubai, and is currently active in 15 markets, with live offices in Nairobi, Lagos, Addis Ababa, Kampala and Warsaw, as well as commercial presences in Kigali and Accra. Total headcount is 42 employees globally.
Background
HotelOnline is the result of the merger between the companies Savanna Sunrise Ltd., and Hotel Online Sp. z.o.o in 2017.
Savanna Sunrise Ltd. was founded in Dubai in 2014, by Endre Opdal and Håvar Bauck, focusing on helping mid-range, independent hotels in Eastern Africa increase their revenue from online bookings. Hotel Online Sp. z.o.o was founded in Warsaw in 2015, by Maciej Prostak. Their initial focus was on reservation technology solutions for hotels in West Africa.
Technology
HotelOnline base their solutions on their own property management system, which includes an integrated channel manager.
Presence
HotelOnline partners with 1,000 hotels in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Madagascar, Nigeria and Ghana.
Social impact
HotelOnline is widely considered an impact investment, due to their focus on empowering small, locally-owned hotels in African markets, enabling independent hoteliers to strengthen their competitive edge against global hotel chains.