PrivateDeal has received CHF 200'000 in the form of a loan FIT Digital Growth by EHL. Based at the Innovation Village of EHL, the start-up offers to put hotels directly in touch with their clients thanks to an instant intelligent negotiation solution.
In the booking process, a traveller, whose challenge is to find the best price, is often faced with the difficult choice of selecting his online booking platform: room prices vary significantly depending on the date and on the chosen platform. On the other hand, more than 30% of room bookings are made through online travel agencies (i.e. Booking.com or Expedia), which charge hotels with important fees. Therefore, hotels have a strong interest in maximizing the ratio of direct bookings with their clients, whilst still being restrained by the price parity that prevents them from offering lower prices on their website than the ones from the online travel agencies. This is where PrivateDeal comes in, by proposing a platform on the hotel website allowing clients to book a hotel and a room and to negotiate the price directly with the online system. The transaction is private, the final negotiated price is only known by the client and the hotelier.