History
In 2005, Yury Shar, Brendon McQueen and Michael Doubinski partnered to create an all-encompassing hotel site where users could access the best rates from a variety of top travel sites all in the same place. All three founders previously worked for HotelClub, now part of Orbitz worldwide.
Initially working out of their homes and without having raised any financial capital, the HotelsCombined founders launched the site following nine months of development. The website steadily earned an organic consumer base; within a year, the co-founders were able to hire their first employee. Today, HotelsCombined has nearly 200 employees and 17 million users monthly. The site is available in more than 220 countries and in over 42 different languages. It was acquired by Booking Holdings in 2018 and became part of its KAYAK division.
Technology
HotelsCombined is a hotel metasearch engine. Through partnerships with numerous online travel agencies and hotel chains, HotelsCombined allows users to search and compare hotel rates in one search. It also provides an aggregated summary of hotel reviews and ratings from external sites.Affiliate Program
HotelsCombined's Hotel Affiliate Program allows businesses to earn revenue by offering the hotel price comparison service on their website. Hotel content is available in over 42 languages and the interface can be fully customised to allow businesses to retain their brand.In April 2012, the company began a partnership with low-cost airline Ryanair to power their hotel price comparison service, RyanairHotels.com. HotelsCombined also powers the hotel search for the European flight comparison site momondo.com, as well as Travelsupermarket (part of Moneysupermarket), and many others across Europe, Middle East and the rest of the world.