Kayak (company)
Kayak is an American company. Their main product is a travel search engine for flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages. Kayak's website and apps (iOS, Android, and Windows) compare flight, hotel, car rental, and vacation deals from hundreds of travel suppliers and websites at once.
 | |
| Available in | 18 languages |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 14, 2004 |
| Area served | Global |
| Founder(s) | Steve Hafner Paul M. English |
| Key people | Steve Hafner (CEO) Giorgos Zacharia (President) Ko Baryiames (CTO) Amy Wei (CCO) Peer Bueller (CFO) Tore Pein Jensen (CMO) |
| Industry | Travel Technology |
| Products | Travel agency Metasearch engine |
| Revenue | US$292.7 million (2012)[1] |
| Parent | Booking Holdings |
| Subsidiaries | SWOODOO Checkfelix Mundi Hotels Combined |
| Website | www |
| Launched | February 7, 2005 (Public)[2] |
| Native client(s) on | iOS, Android, watchOS, Amazon Alexa, Facebook Messenger |
Kayak's website and mobile apps are currently available in over 18 languages and more than 30 countries.
History
Kayak was founded in 2004 by co-founders of Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz with the goal of simplifying online travel searches. The alpha version was programmed on May 5th, 2004. Shortly thereafter, in October 2004, the beta version was completed and in February 2005 the website went online. In December 2007, the company managed to secure an investment of 196 million US dollars and was able to take over the main competitor in the American market, SideStep. The Americas headquarters are in the immediate vicinity of New York, while the technology center is located near Boston.[3]
At the end of July 2012, KAYAK made the first public offering of its shares on the New York Nasdaq exchange, during which it raised $91 million. Three months later, the KAYAK service was acquired by Priceline Group. The amount of the deal was 1.8 billion dollars. The company operates as part of the Priceline Group as an independent division and is managed by the same management team.
Since 2008, the service has repeatedly received the viewership prize at the Webby Awards.[4]
In 2012, KAYAK was honored with 3 Webby Awards, including Best Mobile App in the Travel category by users.
In 2009, the American magazine Time included KAYAK among the fifty best sites of the year.[5]
References
- ↑ King, Danny (April 3, 2013). "Kayak turns 2012 profit". Travel Weekly.
- ↑ Kayak.com (February 7, 2005). "Kayak.com Launches Consumer Online Travel Site; Company Announces New Content, Features, and Distribution Partner; Plus, Kayak.com to Award Winter Getaways for Registered Users". Press release. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050207005236/en/Kayak.com-Launches-Consumer-Online-Travel-Site-Company.
- ↑ "A View from the Top: Kayak founder and CEO Steve Hafner". The Independent. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
- ↑ "Онлайн-сервис Kayak пришел в Россию | Новости | CNTraveller.ru". web.archive.org. 2013-06-17. Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
- ↑ "Онлайн-сервис Kayak пришел в Россию | Новости | CNTraveller.ru". web.archive.org. 2013-06-17. Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2022-12-26.