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Trivago is up in public debut

Expedia and Trivago separated at the end of 2016 and the move was a success. The separation is not complete, as Expedia still owns the majority of shares in Trivago that was purchased back in 2012.

Trivago is now public and its shares were listed at $11 in NASDAQ. At the end of the day the shares were valued at $11.85 each. This closing price was well under the forecast $13 and $15 limits, however the increased value is a good sign for this hotel search company.

Trivago managed to raise nearly $290 million in its offering. This money will be directed towards various acquisitions and other strategic plans that will help it grow. The first 9 months of 2016 marked an important growth period for Trivago, as its revenues exceeded $425 million. It should be noted that for the whole year of 2015, Trivago’s revenues stood at a little over $324 million.

CEO Rolf Schromgens is particularly happy because most of the company’s growth happened in US which is a highly competitive market. Breaking into and establishing Trivago in the US market was the main reason to list the company in NASDAQ. This registration also helped this hotel search engine to grow so much in a short period of time.

The US market overflows with various websites that offer hotel booking options, all of them trying to be the top choice for travelers. CEO Rolf Schromgens hopes that the unique feature his site offers will attract more visitors, especially since currently a quarter of them come from America.

Mr. Schromgens thinks about improving the algorithm used to search for hotels so that travelers really find a hotel that exactly suits their needs. This can only be achieved by creating personalized hotel profiles. Until this platform is as perfect as it can be, plans to further expand the site will start be implemented and no earlier than that.

Those interested in how Trivago makes money they should know that the travel agents and hotels alike are charged on a cost-per-click foundation. This system brought the company more than 480 million “qualified referrals.” Before getting linked with Expedia, Trivago raised its funds from HOWZAT Media based in London.