Draft:Hopper (company)

Hopper is a mobile only travel app that predicts flight and hotel prices and enables users to place bookings. As of 2021 Hopper focuses on financial products and services. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company was founded in 20017 by Frederic Lalonde and Joost Ouwerkerk, two former VPs at Expedia.

History
The company raised $22m over two rounds before launching its product. The long awaited app eventually launched in January 2014.

In 2016, the company raised $40m funding lead by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in a $60m Series C. In 2018, the company raised $100m in funding, lead by Omers, and the company announced it had over 30m app installs and over $1B in sales that year. In 2021, the company raised $170m in funding lead by Capital One Financial Corp, after quietly raising $70m the year before.

In 2021, Hopper introduced last minute hotel booking.

In July 2023, Expedia Group announced the termination of its hotel and vacation rental supply relationship with Hopper, citing concerns that Hopper's product features "exploit consumer anxiety and confuse customers." This action, according to Expedia, reflects their commitment to ethical business practices and consumer protection. Hopper responded by alleging that Expedia's decision was motivated by competitive threats posed by Hopper's growth in direct-to-consumer market share and its fintech innovations. Despite the end of this partnership, Hopper claimed there would be no impact on their service offerings, as they had diversified their inventory sources well beyond Expedia. Industry experts have expressed mixed views on the long-term impact of this split.

COVID-19 pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company was reported to be facing a customer service nightmare as consumers canceled their trips and airlines dropped their flights.

External links section
Hopper website

Category:Online travel agencies Category:American companies established in 2007 Category:Travel ticket search engines Category:American travel websites Category:Hospitality companies of the United States Category:Companies based in Cambridge, Massachusetts