South Africa-based online travel booking website, Travelstart, has bought a majority stake in Cape Town-based SafariNow.
Described as “South Africa’s largest accommodation booking website”, SafariNow represents accommodation over both the informal (self-catering and vacation rentals) and formal sector (hotels, guesthouses, bed and breakfasts).
Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The acquisition of SafariNow sees Travelstart fast-track the growth of its accommodation offering.
Stephan Ekbergh: Acquisition supercharges accommodation offering
“We want to supercharge our accommodation offering and with more than 23 000 listings on SafariNow, we can give our customers much better choices,” said Travelstart’s founder and CEO, Stephan Ekbergh.
SafariNow.com, founded in 1999, will stick to its core business of selling accommodation and retain its current brand, CEO Tom Williams and 40-man team. It will continue to run as a standalone business.
“Travelstart shares our mission of transforming the travel-booking experience to be simple and powerful,” said Williams.
“We’ve booked millions of bed-nights in the past 18 years and we’re excited to tackle this next chapter with a strong, supportive partner. It’s a major plus for establishments who list with us as it will result in greater exposure for their listing.”
Travelstart and SafariNow started operations in South Africa in 1999, and are established players in Africa’s online travel booking industry.
