Patrick Andra, Along with Wolfgang Heigl and Nils Regge, he is one of the three founders of HomeToGo, a German that was born from an idea, in principle, simple: It takes more than just Google to search and compare apartments from different online platforms.
With previous experience in companies such as Home24, Casamundo and Swoodoo (sold to the American ), these three entrepreneurs have managed to turn Home To Go into a worldwide reference. Today we interview its CEO and founder, Patrick Andrato learn more about the prospects of and its goals for 2017.
What is HomeToGo and what motivated its birth?
HomeToGo is the search engine and comparator largest in the world of vacation homes and apartments. Our search allows users to search among more than 7 million accommodations from more than 250 providers and with the help of a large number of filters that allow the user to easily locate the most convenient accommodation for their next vacation.
In order to compare prices, accommodations and amenities it was necessary to search through different platforms individually. What motivated the creation of HomeToGo from the beginning is to provide a better overview and save the user time and money.
How did you get the idea to create HomeToGo?
The vacation rental market is very fragmented. Until not long ago, finding and reserving accommodation was a time-consuming process that involved consulting various online platforms to be sure of what the user wanted to book.
Also, in many cases, many accommodations are available on more than one platform and are offered at different prices. Which complicates the reservation process for any user. For us, founding HomeToGo was a logical consequence: On the one hand, it responded to a market need and on the other, it was a logical solution for companies and travelers.
How is HomeToGo income generated?
HomeToGo receives a high number of visits per month from users looking for a new destination and/or accommodation for their vacations. Once they have found it, the reservation is easily made on the website where the accommodation is advertised. That is why our partners benefit first from the traffic that comes from HomeToGo and then from the number of conversions made.
What does HomeToGo technology offer that other platforms don’t?
HomeToGo is based on a complex search technology with which the data of our partners is not only integrated but also processed to offer a comfortable user experience. Our goal is to replace Google search.
To do this, we are aware that our product must offer added value and be always up-to-date. Therefore, our search engine check availability several times a day from our partners and update the results on our website. In this way, the results are always displayed with the latest information available and can be organized according to their location with an interactive map or according to the 40 filters available Between, for example, price, characteristics of the accommodation, type of accommodation, distance to the center or distance to areas with water.
Where are the trends in the tourism industry headed? Are we facing the disappearance of hotels?
More and more tourists seek out the many individual advantages that offers an apartment or a house for your vacation. They have more space, they have their own kitchen, they have more privacy and can often travel with dogs. These are factors that are undoubtedly crucial for families, but also for young couples. We have identified this trend not only in Europe and the United States, but also in China. This trend will continue to promote the growing development of the vacation rental market even more, if possible.
However, I think there will always be a specific audience that either prefers hotels or combine them with vacation rentals depending on the type of vacation you take.
What does 2017 bring for HomeToGo?
We firmly believe that there is still a lot of potential to be exploited in other markets, beyond Europe. This will take us to expansion of our international human team in the first half of this year, in order to maintain the localization and cultural understanding of all our services. We look forward to a promising 2017!
What headline about your company would you like to read in Marketing4eCommerce in a year?
Since its inception, our search engine has promoted transparency and access to information in the travel industry. Implementing a comfortable search for vacation plans and facilitating the comparison of prices and services is the reason for HomeToGo. a year from now, we would like to continue expanding our international presence and, above all, to expand the community of users who believe in and trust HomeToGo services.
A headline? “HomeToGo is where I find the ideal accommodation for my next vacation.”
How do you think the world of marketing and e-commerce will change between now and 2020? How do you think technologies, consumer preferences, the media, media, etc. will change?
The presence of mobile devices has come to stay. We have seen it in 2016 and we will see it even more in the coming years.
Users demand immediacy, speed, trust and, above all, timelessness: they seek the highest performance, at the lowest price, at any time and with the best service. In addition, now revolutionary devices, such as smart home systems or wearable technology devices, will be integrated into our lives. All this will result in the settlement of innovative startups that have known how to respond to the needs of these consumers, as well as the emergence of new startups that will solve needs that we still don’t even know we have.
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