Snaptrip acquires LateRooms from Secret Escapes to expand last minute travel market share

November 18, 2019

One of the UK’s leading last-minute holiday rental marketplaces, Snaptrip, has acquired LateRooms to add to its growing roster of travel sites. Snaptrip purchased the domain and digital assets from SecretEscapes, adding LateRooms to an increasing number of last-minute travel domains owned under the Snaptrip umbrella. In 2006 LateRooms was sold for an estimated £108m.

Snaptrip Group, the parent company of Snaptrip.com, has purchased the digital assets and domain of LateRooms.com from Secret Escapes to add to its growing list of last minute travel websites trading under the Snaptrip family umbrella.

The acquisition fits perfectly with the group’s mission to provide the most comprehensive last-minute travel options to bookers.

Started in 2013, Snaptrip gives travellers access to more than 100,000 properties around the world.The site’s owners have added LateRooms to a roster of other last minute travel websites catering fora wide range of travellers, including Snaptrip and Last Minute Cottages.

Snaptrip is a trusted marketplace for travellers to discover the best last-minute cottage, apartment and lodge holiday deals in the UK, Ireland and other European destinations. With more than 100,000properties available on-site, Snaptrip.com helps people find and book last-minute accommodation with discounts of up to 60%.

LateRooms was founded in 1999. In 2006 the site was sold to First Choice Holidays plc for an estimated £108m.

The founders of Snaptrip have purchased a number of travel domains in recent years, including Last Minute Cottages, which after a site relaunch, following extensive redesign, saw a 250% increase in website traffic and increased revenues of more than 1000%. In September 2019 the brand also purchased iknow-uk.com in a six-figure deal to expand its share of the holiday lettings market in the UK and Europe.

LateRooms has been acquired to diversify the Snaptrip umbrella’s offering to existing bookers.Snaptrip hopes the addition of LateRooms will reinforce the group as the number one location for last-minute bookings, whilst also giving customers access to all other types of travel inventory through more than half-a-dozen different accommodation marketplaces.

Snaptrip co-founder and CEO Matt Fox, said:

"When it became apparent that the Secret Escapes founders were willing to sell LateRooms, we jumped at the opportunity. The LateRooms.com brand offers a wonderful opportunity for us here at Snaptrip Group. Not only is it a brand known nationwide but it is synonymous with last minute bookings.

“Restoring LateRooms as a reputable last-minute hotel booking platform will fit perfectly in our portfolio alongside our last minute holiday rental booking marketplaces Snaptrip and Last Minute Cottages and will enable us to offer customers of all of our brands a wider variety of inventory."