Howzat invests in travel website trivago

Howzat media LLP, an Internet investment fund, has completed its fourth dotcom investment by investing in trivago, a German-based pan-European Internet media company which was founded in mid-2005.

trivago publishes travellers' experiences as well as offers a unique and extensive hotel price search function.   The website also provides a vast amount of unrivaled local and overseas travel information compiled from user generated content.

"Howzat media strongly believes in the excellence of trivago's product which offers consumers transparency on every aspect of hotel search, including reviews, photos, amenities, maps and, of course, price comparison. 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," said David Soskin, who along with Hugo Burge, founded Howzat.

Trivago's European websites include: Germany (http://www.trivago.de); Spain ( http://www.trivago.es);

France (http://www.trivago.fr); Italy (http://www.trivago.it); UK ( http://www.trivago.co.uk); Poland (http://www.trivago.pl); Sweden (http://www.trivago.se).

"With Howzat's focus on search and social networking, trivago fits perfectly within our preferred investment profile. Furthermore, and 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," said Sascha Hausmann, the German based member of the Howzat media team.

As per the information available, 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.   As well as peer-group reviews, trivago's bespoke hotel price search engine enables travellers to find accommodation at the lowest available rate in 225,000 hotels worldwide.