Leading global travel search site, Skyscanner, has acquired Fogg, a Barcelona-based company focused on making internet hotel search simpler and faster, as part of its expansion drive across travel offering into other areas of its users’ travel plans.
It has also launched a proprietary car rental engine in 200 markets around the world, also built from the ground-up.
Skyscanner will integrate the Fogg hotel search into its site by the end of the year. Currently available in English and Spanish, the service will be expanded to power Skyscanner’s markets around the globe in 30 languages, and will see a further increase in hotel coverage.
Pictured: Skyscanner’s Gareth Williams with Fogg’s Carlos González
The company is opening a new office in Barcelona where all five of Fogg’s full-time staff will be based. It will build out that office to welcome additional hires in engineering and other disciplines.
Gareth Williams, Skyscanner’s chief executive officer, said its users would love hotel search as a result of this acquisition. “We built the best flight search product anywhere in the world. We then expanded that offering into car rental. And today we’ve taken a big step towards completing the picture in the space of hotel search.
“The Fogg team shares Skyscanner’s passion for simple, natural and flexible travel solutions, bringing inspiration back into the travel experience. It makes them the perfect fit for us.”
Carlos González, Fogg’s chief executive officer described the latest development as an exciting time for its small team. “After four years of building the fastest, most human hotel search engine, we’re finally able to accelerate our ambitions by joining the world’s fastest growing international travel search company.”
Skyscanner’s acquisition comes at a time when it is also moving rapidly into the Americas, including the US, Canada and Latin American markets. The company has just opened a Miami hub office for the Americas region, and is working to build a healthy business in the US and other Americas markets.
