Google Funded Travel Site Secret Escapes Acquires German Competitor

Luxury travel site Secret Escapes, backed by Google (GOOGL), is acquiring German rival Travista for an undisclosed price. Secret Escapes is a member-only site providing flash sales on luxury hotel rooms. From Tanzania to Paris to the Greek islands, Secret Escapes offers deals for some of the most popular travel destinations across the globe. Hotels and resorts typically end up with unbooked rooms and sites like Secret Escapes step in to fill the extra inventory. The company says its bookings are discounted by some 70 percent. Stefan Menden, Secret Escape's managing director, told Bloomberg News that Travista has a similar business model and he expects synergies stemming from the acquisition as Secret Escapes looks to expand in Germany. The Bloomberg report also says the acquisition will add 500,000 members to Secret Escapes’ impressive base of 19 million members. Back in July, the UK-based Secret Escapes landed $60 million in funding, in part from Google Ventures. Google ventures has some $200 million in assets under management, boasting a portfolio of almost 300 companies - across the U.S. and Europe.