Hotelscan

What Hotelscan does

Hotelscan is a travel metasearch and booking platform owned and operated by BravoNext, S.A., a Swiss-incorporated subsidiary of the lastminute.com group. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Chiasso, Switzerland, the platform aggregates millions of accommodations — including hotels, houses, villas, apartments, and hostels — alongside flights, dynamic packages, cruises, car rentals, transfers, and tour-operator packages, serving individual consumers globally through a direct-to-consumer website. Hotelscan functions as a white-label brand within the lastminute.com group, sharing technology, supplier relationships, and operational infrastructure with sibling properties such as lastminute.com and weg.de.

The core product is a search and booking engine built on a dynamic ranking algorithm that weights multiple parameters — rates, accommodation type, guest ratings, popularity (clicks and bookings), distance from city centre, and star rating — to personalize results. The platform extends beyond simple metasearch to support direct booking, dynamic packaging, blind booking through "Top Secret Hotels" (with a minimum 10% discount guarantee), Flash Sale promotional rates, and a Price Match Guarantee. The site is aligned with WCAG 2.2 Level AA accessibility standards, supports screen readers and keyboard navigation, and operates under EU Digital Services Act compliance with a designated point of contact and a Notice and Action portal.

Hotelscan generates revenue primarily through agency and intermediation commissions on hotel, flight, and package bookings, supplemented by ancillary service fees (travel insurance, FullFlex change/cancellation protection, Premium Service Package, baggage tracking via Blue Ribbon Bags, seat selection, priority boarding), Flash Sale promotional rates, and a Plus subscription tier offering logged-in member discounts. The company does not publicly disclose revenue, is privately held, and has not raised external capital since 2017, consistent with its role as a white-label distribution channel within the parent group rather than a venture-backed growth business.

Name

Hotelscan

Legal name

BravoNext, S.A.

Website

https://hotelscan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hotelscan is a white-label travel metasearch and booking platform operated by BravoNext, S.A. (part of lastminute.com group), aggregating millions of accommodations, flights, packages, and cruises for individual consumers globally via hotelscan.com.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Travel Agency / Travel Metasearch

NAICS

Travel Agencies (561510)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Hotels & Lodging Metasearch (THALAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hotel & Accommodation Booking Platforms (THALAFAB), Accommodation-Focused OTAs (Hotels & Alternative Stays) (THAKAAAB), Metasearch & Aggregator Platforms for Vacation Rentals (THAMALAC)

Keywords

• Hotel price comparison
• Travel metasearch platform
• Accommodation booking platform
• Dynamic package booking
• Online travel agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Chiasso

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Agency/Intermediation Fees: Commission fees earned as an intermediary between customers and travel service providers. Flight prices include agency fees (remuneration for intermediation services) as well as VAT. Hotel prices are inclusive of agency fees where applied. The company acts as an intermediary for tour operator packages where contracts are concluded directly with the tour operator.
2. Ancillary Services: Additional paid services including Travel Insurance (third-party provider with priority assistance), Premium Service Package (handling fees for post-sale assistance), FullFlex (voucher and fee waiver service), lm group Fares (Flexible and Premium fare options), luggage fees, seat selection, priority boarding, online check-in, car rental, transfers, and parking services.
3. Flash Sales and Promotional Rates: Time-limited promotional hotel rates agreed with hotel partners, displayed with 'Flash Sale deal' labels. Also includes discounted rates for logged-in customers under 'my price' labels.
4. Subscription - Plus Program: Plus subscription program where logged-in users can access discounted rates indicated with 'Plus' label, which includes a discount applied to the displayed price.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Hotelscan is an online travel metasearch and booking platform that enables users to search, compare, and book millions of hotels, houses, villas, apartments, hostels, flights, dynamic packages, and cruises worldwide. It operates as an intermediary, aggregating inventory from multiple hotel partners, airlines, and tour operators, and offers differentiated products such as Top Secret Hotels, Flash Sales, a Price Match Guarantee, and ancillary add-ons like travel insurance, FullFlex, and baggage tracking. The platform is operated by BravoNext S.A. and distributed as a white-label product of the lastminute.com group.

Product overview

Hotelscan by lastminute.com is a travel search and booking platform operated by BravoNext S.A. (part of lastminute.com group) that functions as a meta-search aggregator for accommodation and travel services. The core product is the Hotelscan search platform, which enables users to search and book millions of hotels, houses, villas, apartments, and hostels worldwide. The platform extends beyond pure hotel search to offer dynamic package travel combining flights and hotels, cruise bookings, and pre-defined tour operator packages. Additional revenue streams include ancillary services such as travel insurance (third-party provider), FullFlex change/cancellation protection, Premium Service Package for booking modifications, lm group Fares for flexible flight changes, Travel Extra Pack for package travelers, Blue Ribbon Bags baggage tracking, and Flash Sales promotional hotel deals. The platform also features Top Secret Hotels (blind booking with hidden hotel names until confirmation) and a Price Match Guarantee. The company operates as an intermediary, aggregating offers from various accommodation providers, airlines, and tour operators, with pricing that includes agency fees and applicable VAT.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hotelscan by lastminute.com (hotel and accommodation search & booking) Core hotel and accommodation search and booking platform that aggregates millions of hotels, houses, villas, apartments, and hostels from multiple providers, enabling individual travelers to find and book stays with deposit payment and free cancellation options.
• Dynamic Package Travel Dynamically assembled travel packages combining flight and hotel, train and hotel, or flight and car, based on customer-selected dates and destinations, sold at inclusive per-person pricing with VAT included and an optional Travel Extra Pack add-on.
• Top Secret Hotels Blind-booking hotel product where the hotel name and images are hidden until after booking confirmation; customers choose by area/location and receive at least a 10% discount versus standard rates.
• Cruise Booking Cruise search and booking service that lets users filter by destination, duration, travel period, departure port, number of travelers, and cruise line, with results ranked by popularity and price-quality ratio.
• Flash Sales Time-limited promotional hotel deals with special conditions or discounted rates, agreed directly with hotel partners and displayed with an orange 'Flash Sale deal' label and a countdown timer showing remaining promotion time.
• Plus Subscription (logged-in member rates) Subscription/loyalty program for logged-in users that unlocks discounted hotel rates flagged with a 'Plus' label, applying a discount to the displayed price.
• Travel Insurance Travel insurance product offered through a third-party insurance provider, bundled with priority assistance services from lastminute.com, priced per person per route and including agency fees and VAT.
• FullFlex Cancellation and change product for flight/train tickets that issues a 90% value electronic voucher usable across any lastminute.com Group website and waives handling fees for voluntary cancellations or changes.
• Premium Service Package Optional post-sale assistance product that waives handling fees for modifications to travel dates, times, passenger names, destinations, voluntary cancellations, and corrections of booking details.
• lm group Fares (Flexible and Premium) Optional flight fare add-ons (Flexible and Premium) offering post-sale assistance such as discounts on airline change fees and handling fees; the Premium fare additionally includes flight cancellation with 100% voucher value.
• Travel Extra Pack Optional add-on package for dynamic package bookings that includes basic fare, pack cost, a discount, and a voucher for the next trip; displayed as 'Travel Extra Pack incl.' in search results.
• Blue Ribbon Bags (baggage tracking) Third-party baggage tracking and retrieval service provided by Blue Ribbon Bags, LLC, offered as an add-on in the booking flow at a fixed per-passenger price.
• Price Match Guarantee Service guarantee that refunds the price difference if a customer finds the same hotel or city break package for less on another website within 24 hours of booking.

Quantifiable outcome

• Minimum 10% discount on Top Secret Hotels compared to standard rates
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Tour Operators (Various)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party tour operators provide pre-defined travel packages sold through the platform. The company acts as an intermediary agent - purchase contracts are concluded directly between customers and tour operators. Tour operators include offerings under 'Séjour' and 'Pauschalreisen' tabs.
• Travel Insurance ProviderscoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party insurance providers supply travel insurance products offered on the platform. The company adds priority assistance services to the third-party insurance offerings. Insurance prices include agency fees and VAT.
• Hotel PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVarious hotels and accommodation providers supply inventory for the platform. Partners include major hotel chains as well as alternative stay providers such as B&Bs, guesthouses, apartments, villas, aparthotels, and campsites. Some partners offer exclusive 'my price' discounted rates for logged-in users and participate in Flash Sales promotions.
• lastminute.com GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHotelscan is a white-label product owned by BravoNext S.A., part of the lastminute.com group. The platform shares technology, branding, and operational infrastructure with other lastminute.com group websites including lastminute.com, weg.de, and other white-label partners.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Skyscanner: Skyscanner is a travel metasearch engine (owned by Trip.com Group) historically focused on flights but expanded into hotels and car rentals. It competes with Hotelscan's flights and dynamic package offerings and serves the same European consumer base.
• Google Hotels: Google Hotels is a metasearch and direct booking surface integrated into Google Search and Maps. It competes for the same top-of-funnel hotel discovery queries as Hotelscan and benefits from default placement in Google search results, creating significant competitive pressure on SEO-driven platforms.
• Expedia: Expedia is a global online travel aggregator offering hotels, flights, packages, and activities. It competes broadly with Hotelscan on hotel discovery and bookings, particularly in the European leisure market, and operates Hotels.com, Vrbo, and other competing brands.
• Hotels.com: Hotels.com is an Expedia Group-owned OTA specializing in hotel bookings with a rewards program. While Hotelscan is a metasearch aggregator and Hotels.com is a transactional OTA, both target the same hotel-compare-and-book consumer use case, and Hotels.com's scale dwarfs Hotelscan's.
• Booking.com: Booking.com is the largest hotel OTA globally and a dominant incumbent in European accommodation booking. Hotelscan competes for the same consumer search intent and ultimately directs bookings into the Booking.com ecosystem, making Booking.com both a competitor and a primary supply partner.

Direct peers

• Kayak: Kayak is a travel metasearch engine owned by Booking Holdings that compares prices across hotels, flights, packages, and cars. Hotelscan competes with Kayak on the same core use case (hotel price comparison) with an overlapping product surface including dynamic packages and price alerts.
• Momondo: Momondo is a travel metasearch engine (owned by Booking Holdings via KAYAK) that compares hotel, flight, and car prices across many providers. It is a direct competitor to Hotelscan in the price-comparison-led discovery experience for European leisure travelers.
• Trivago: Trivago is the most direct competitor in hotel price comparison and metasearch, aggregating offers from hundreds of OTAs and hotel sites. Like Hotelscan, Trivago operates as a pure hotel metasearch brand but at substantially larger scale and with publicly disclosed financials.
• Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor operates a meta-search hotel comparison platform alongside its reviews and travel content. It overlaps with Hotelscan on hotel price comparison and booking referrals and serves the same consumer-facing comparison use case.

Others

• lastminute.com: lastminute.com is the parent brand of Hotelscan (both owned by lastminute.com group / BravoNext S.A.). It is the primary consumer-facing sister brand that shares Hotelscan's technology, inventory, and ancillaries and is a closely comparable OTA/metasearch platform within the same corporate family.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hotelscan
• Facebookfacebook.com/hotelscan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hotelscan

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hotelscan