- HotelPlanner, a leading online seller of group hotel bookings and individual hotel stays worldwide, announced it is buying Australia-based online venue marketplace EventConnect.com
HotelPlanner, a leading online seller of group hotel bookings and individual hotel stays worldwide, announced it is buying Australia-based online venue marketplace EventConnect.com. The terms of the deal were undisclosed, but it was in the 7-figures.
What does EventConnect.com do? It is where destinations, hotels, venues and event suppliers from across Asia Pacific showcase their meetings and events capabilities while promoting their latest news and offers. And with this acquisition, the platform will operate as it always has and continue its growth into new markets.
This news comes on the heels of HotelPlanner’s continued expansion into the Asia Pacific region with the company’s new Singapore office and newly launched sites: Hotelplanner.sg, Hotelplanner.com.sg, and Meetings.com.sg. And with six offices around the globe, HotelPlanner’s move to grow its visibility in Asia beyond its Hong Kong and Singapore headquarters underscores the importance of the Asian market to the group meetings and events industry.
HotelPlanner — along with its partner site Meetings.com — provides clients with a seamless, one-stop platform for free event registration, marketing, instant bookable group rates, and unmatched venue sourcing. And its technology that powers both sites – coupled with the commercial buying power of being the biggest distributor of group rooms – saves customers time and money in the nearly $200 billion global groups and meetings market.
Launched in 2002 by CEO Tim Hentschel and CIO John Prince, HotelPlanner provides 24/7 customer service and has offices in London, England (European Headquarters), Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Singapore (Asian Headquarters), Melbourne, AU, West Palm Beach, FL (Global Headquarters), and Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Our acquisition of EventConnect.com helps further our position as a leader in the global group bookings space and accelerates the company’s growth, particularly in the Oceana and APAC region,” added Hentschel. “EventConnect.com’s real-time access to a diverse inventory of venues combined with HotelPlanner’s robust travel booking technology will help us continue to drive a great user experience.”
Within the larger infrastructure of HotelPlanner, EventConnect.com is going to increase the number of countries in Southeast Asia that are represented on the platform and will continue to serve as a reliable source of news and information for the global meetings and events community.
“After 15 years of refining the platform and developing the business here in Australia and, most recently, South East Asia, it is very exciting to be joining the HotelPlanner family. The strength and reach that comes with joining a global leader will be invaluable in supporting our growth plans and perhaps most importantly our ability to deliver more value to our clients and site visitors,” explained Steve Coombes, founder of EventConnect.com.
