 | |
| Formerly | TripScout |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private company |
| Industry | Travel |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Washington D.C. |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 40+ |
| Website | athotel |
@hotel (sometimes writtenathotel), formerly known asTripScout, is an online travel agency which allows users to book throughInstagram andTikTok, as well as its own website.
The company provides booking under the handle "@hotel" on Instagram and TikTok, and its own website athotel.com. By doing business in private group chats, rather than posting publicly with contractual minimum prices, @hotel can offer greater discounts on its social media accounts than other booking services. Those using the website must sign up with their email accounts.[1]It also maintains the TripScout app, which provides users with a custom feed of articles and videos in preparing for trips.[2]
@hotel was initially founded inChicago in 2015 by Konrad Waliszewski and Andy Acs as a walking tour app called TripScout.[3] To better understand what travelers wanted, the two co-founders gave out their personal phone numbers to the app's first 250,000 customers.[2]
After the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic, TripScout attracted an audience with travel videos onInstagram Reels, gaining over 30 million followers across all its brands.[3] The company gained traction in anticipation of a post-pandemic boom in travel, raising 2.3 million in a "seed+" investment round in March 2021,[4] and an additional $10.25 million in a June 2022Series A round.[5] The following month, TripScout rebranded to @hotel, launching its social media booking service.[6][7]
Dans le détail, 10,25 millions de dollars sont des fonds de série A menés par les investisseurs existants (Accomplice et Corazon Capital), avec d'autres investisseurs (Math Venture Partners, New Stack Ventures, M25).
