Internet entrepreneurs invest in German dotcom
HOWZAT media has invested in trivago, a German based pan-European internet media company.
It is the fourth dotcom investment by the internet investment fund, set up by entrepreneurs David Soskin and Hugo Burge and a small group of private investors in January 2007.
HOWZAT has already invested in the international social networking site Where Are You Now (WAYN.com), the UK vertical property search site Zoomf.com and TrustedPlaces.com, a social networking site with reviews of restaurants, cafes, bars and other lifestyle venues.
Founded in mid-2005, trivago has developed a 40,000 strong European-wide community which spends an average of 20,000 hours a month creating travel reports, guides, tips and reviews.
Users also contribute photos of hotels, sightseeing attractions or beaches.
The site currently stores 150,000 hotel reviews, 600,000 photos and information on 50,000 tourist attractions, generating 2.5 million visits and over 10 million page views a month.
Its bespoke hotel price search engine enables travellers to find ideal accommodation at the lowest available rate in 225,000 hotels worldwide.
Soskin said: “We are delighted to make our first investment in Germany.
“Trivago meets the growing demand for independent travel information and reviews based on first-hand insider information as well as for a great hotel search function.”
Sascha Hausmann, the German-based member of the HOWZAT media team, added: “In contrast to many other early-stage online travel dotcoms, trivago is already cash-flow positive at the operational level.
“HOWZAT looks forward to working with trivago to build upon its success in the German and other international markets.”
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt