KAYAK

KAYAK is a global leader in travel search, empowering millions of travelers to make informed decisions. Since its 2004 inception in the US, KAYAK has expanded to over 60 countries, offering a comprehensive platform that compares prices from hundreds of travel websites for flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages. Its suite of tools includes KAYAK Trips, Explore, and Price Forecast. KAYAK also manages a portfolio of metasearch brands, processing over 6 billion queries annually. The company, now part of Booking Holdings Inc., was founded by industry veterans including Steve Hafner, Paul English, Terrell Jones, and Greg Slyngstad.

Steve Hafner

CEO and Co-Founder

7 past transactions

Life House

Series C in 2021
Life House is a hotel software and management platform dedicated to enhancing the profitability and reliability of independent hoteliers. The company develops proprietary products aimed at making hotel ownership more manageable and financially rewarding. By integrating its software solutions with hotel management, Life House seeks to create a seamless and predictable operation for hotel owners. This approach not only boosts profitability but also improves the overall guest experience, allowing travelers to enjoy boutique hotel accommodations at more accessible prices. As a vertically integrated hotel company supported by institutional investors, Life House is committed to transforming the hospitality landscape for independent properties.

Hotels Combined

Acquisition in 2018
HotelsCombined is a hotel search engine headquartered in Sydney, Australia, founded in 2005 by a group of technology and digital business experts. The platform enables travelers to search for hotels in over 120,000 destinations worldwide, offering access to more than 2 million deals from hundreds of travel websites, including major players like Expedia and Booking.com. With an annual visitation exceeding 100 million people, HotelsCombined supports 24 languages and 130 currencies, allowing users to instantly compare room availability and prices while ensuring all displayed rates include associated taxes. Travelers can seamlessly book their selected accommodations by redirecting to partner websites. Recognized as a leading hotel comparison company, HotelsCombined won the TRAVELtech 'Website of the Year' award in 2010 and has been acknowledged as one of the fastest-growing technology firms in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. The company also operates an affiliate program, offering integration tools and a commission model for partners seeking to incorporate its hotel comparison solutions into their platforms.

Mundi

Acquisition in 2017
Mundi is a Brazil-based metasearch engine founded in 2008 that specializes in aggregating prices for travel services, specifically flight tickets and hotel accommodations. The platform allows users to efficiently compare prices from various sources, including online travel agencies and direct suppliers, facilitating informed travel decisions. With a monthly visitor count exceeding 4 million, Mundi provides access to price searches for approximately 200,000 hotels worldwide and numerous airlines, enhancing the travel planning experience for its users. As of August 2017, Mundi operates as a subsidiary of Kayak Software Corporation.

Cheapflights

Acquisition in 2017
Cheapflights is a leading online platform that specializes in flight price search and comparison, having pioneered this concept in the travel industry. The service offers consumers an efficient way to compare approximately one million flight deals daily from a wide array of providers, including airlines, budget airlines, online travel agents, and various specialist deal sources. Established with a focus on user-friendly functionality, Cheapflights aims to simplify the travel planning process by presenting users with rapid and straightforward comparisons of available flight options. The platform has maintained profitability since its inception, reflecting its commitment to delivering valuable travel solutions to consumers.

checkfelix

Acquisition in 2011
Checkfelix is ​​an independent travel search engine for cheap flights , cheap hotels and cheap car rental . This means that hundreds of travel websites are searched around the world, and all the results are then presented in a clear way. Thus, nothing can stand in the way of a simple price comparison. Once the decision has been made and you click on book, a direct forwarding to the respective provider takes place, where the booking can be completed. Checkfelix helps to navigate the great offer jungle, in order to really find the best offer. Thus one can not miss the cheapest price for a flight , a hotel or a car rental . Ultimately, however, it is up to the user to decide whether the travel offer is booked directly with an airline, a hotel or an online travel agency. And time is also a decisive factor. Checkfelix searches hundreds of sites in a maximum of 2 minutes. Compared to the time it would cost if you manually search all pages manually, this is almost incredible. Individual searches on hundreds of portals would probably take hours!

Swoodoo

Acquisition in 2010
Swoodoo is an online travel search engine based in Munich, Germany, facilitating users in finding and booking flights, hotels, cars, trains, and buses across Europe. The platform serves as a travel aggregator, allowing users to explore, compare, and reserve various travel options, including accommodations and tour packages. Swoodoo is accessible on mobile devices through applications available on both iOS and Android platforms, enhancing the convenience and efficiency of travel planning for its users.

SideStep

Acquisition in 2007
SideStep is a metasearch engine designed to assist travelers by searching over 200 travel websites to find the best deals on flights, hotels, and other travel-related services. The company generates revenue through advertising and referral fees. SideStep has expanded its offerings by acquiring TripUp, a social network focused on travel, and TravelPost.com, a hotel ratings site, aiming to become a leading source of online travel information. Additionally, SideStep has developed Facebook applications such as Trips, which offers trip planning services with over 150,000 users, and Extended Info, allowing users to customize their Facebook profiles. The company was acquired by Kayak in December 2007 for approximately $180 million.
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