VIENNA START-UP OFFERS CORONA ASSISTANCE PACKAGE FOR HOTELIERS
Via room auction to occupancy.
17 February 2021
A start-up fights against the Corona Goliath: With a Hotel Assistance Package the Viennese start-up Midnightdeal to support hoteliers in renting out rooms immediately after the reopening of the hotel after the lockdown. The idea behind it has never existed before: As the only booking platform in Europe, Midnightdeal offers hotel rooms at the desired price. Users decide whether to choose the low instant price or to submit an individual desired price for the hotel booking as a bid via a slider. As in an auction, the best bids are accepted at midnight. In this playful way, Midnightdeal was able to fill thousands of hotel rooms within a short time after the first lockdown in spring 2020.
Users bid for their hotel at the desired price, especially last-minute: During the week, they get the supplement for the room - on the weekend, they travel. "Our platform is agile and with the gamification approach not only geared towards an immediate travel need - but also encourages people to play along and secure their personal special price," says Lukas Zirker, CEO and founder of Midnightdeal. "Experts consider our model crisis-proof and say it's a concept that plays into Corona's hands," Zirker explains.
Investors see it that way, too: The travel start-up with headquarters on Vienna's Rathausplatz even secured a six-figure investment in the pandemic year 2020 and was thus able to expand.
This is how the aid package for struggling hoteliers works
Hotels can place their offers online on Midnightdeal free of charge, the start-up additionally waives the hotel commission in the coming months. A special focus of Midnightdeal's support is on smaller, family-run hotels from Austria, which have been hit particularly hard in recent months.
Hotel owners can rely on business.midnightdeal.com register for the aid package. Zirker is optimistic in these difficult times: "We expect to return to pre-crisis levels by May 2021 at the latest and plan to triple our sales this year.
Picture Credits: Arek Socha / Pixabay, Engin Akyurt / Pixabay, Sofie Zbořilová / Pixabay
