Hurb

Hurb (formerly Hotel Urbano) Founded in January, 2011 by João Ricardo Mendes, Hurb was valued at R$ 2.6 billion or approximately US$590 million when Booking Holdings purchased a small percentage for US$60 million in 2016. Its headquarters are in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Porto and Montreal.

History
The company was initially founded as a collective buying website in 2011. It was operated under this business model for only 5 months. Also in 2011, the two brothers repositioned the company in the market, and it then began operating as an online travel agency with focus on short-term off-season packages. In this new model, lodging rates are reduced in up to 40% compared to high-season rates.

In a few rounds of investment, American fund companies Insight Venture Partners and Tiger Global Management invested in the company. They are known to have invested in companies such as Facebook, Netflix and LinkedIn.

The company began marketing hotel accommodations and international travel packages. In 2013, it offered hotels and travel packages to 35,000 destinations in over 180 countries.

The company's Facebook page is the most popular tourism page in the world (with 12 million fans) and is the 4th most popular page in Brazil.

2014 to present
By the end of 2014, the company had formed a partnership with Rock in Rio and became the only Brazilian company to market travel packages to the two festival editions in 2015.

In the beginning of 2015, the company formed a partnership with RentalCars.com that allowed it to market car reservation and rental services in over 26 thousand destinations in 180 countries.

The company implemented an Administrative Council in 2015, made up of independent members. These members are: Derek Zissman, former director of the KPMG group in the UK; Stelleo Tolda, executive vice-president and operations director at Mercado Livre; Leonardo Rocha, a business executive who has worked at Telefônica, Ponto Frio and Camargo Corrêa. The Council also includes the participation of João Ricardo Mendes and José Eduardo Mendes, founders of the company, and Brad Twohig, managing partner, and Elodie Dupuy, vice-president of Insight Venture Partners, an investment fund company that has led three rounds of investments in the company.

Also in 2015, Booking Holdings invested US$60 million the company and gained a minority stake in the business. This partnership aimed to expand the company's operations, especially in Latin America, through the global network of more than 780 thousand lodging partners who benefit from Priceline.com.

In 2016, the founder of Hotel Urbano bought back shares from Priceline and other Investors. The investors and Priceline were no longer actively involved in the Company afterwards.

In September 2023, the Department for Consumer Protection and Defense of Rio de Janeiro (Procon-RJ) imposed a fine of R$ 407,000 on the travel website Hurb for non-compliance with offers and abusive practices.

In October 2023, Hurb make a partnership with Deep Mind to use to deploy the best weather forecast model in the world. The company develop e prediction model discussed two main previous research areas. Prediction models that are proposed to save money for the customer and those that are designed to find cheaper prices, we classified existing models into customer side.


 * 1) Best Practices: Hurb in 2024 – Outperforming with AI


 * 1) Overview (2014 to Present)

By the end of 2014, Hurb had formed a notable partnership with Rock in Rio, becoming the only Brazilian company to market travel packages for the festival editions in 2015. This marked a significant milestone in Hurb's expansion and brand recognition in the travel industry.

In early 2015, Hurb further expanded its service offerings by partnering with RentalCars.com. This allowed the company to market car reservation and rental services in over 26,000 destinations across 180 countries, enhancing its global reach and customer convenience.

In 2015, Hurb implemented an Administrative Council composed of independent members, including

- Derek Zissman, former director of the KPMG group in the UK

- Stelleo Tolda, executive vice-president and operations director at Mercado Livre

- Leonardo Rocha, a business executive with experience at Telefônica, Ponto Frio, and Camargo Corrêa

- João Ricardo Mendes and José Eduardo Mendes, founders of Hurb

- Brad Twohig, managing partner

- Elodie Dupuy, vice-president of Insight Venture Partners, an investment fund company that led three rounds of investments in Hurb

Also in 2015, Booking Holdings invested US$60 million in Hurb, gaining a minority stake. This partnership aimed to expand Hurb's operations, particularly in Latin America, through the global network of over 780,000 lodging partners benefitting from Priceline.com.

In 2016, Hurb's founder bought back shares from Priceline and other investors, after which these investors were no longer actively involved in the company.


 * 1) Recent Developments and AI Integration

In September 2023, Hurb faced a setback when the Department for Consumer Protection and Defense of Rio de Janeiro (Procon-RJ) fined the company R$ 407,000 for non-compliance with offers and abusive practices. Despite this, Hurb continued to innovate and expand.

In October 2023, Hurb entered into a partnership with DeepMind to deploy the world's best weather forecast model. This collaboration led to the development of a prediction model based on two main research areas: saving money for customers and finding cheaper prices. The model has been classified into the customer side, showcasing Hurb's commitment to leveraging AI for customer benefit.

AI-Driven Success in 2024

In 2024, Hurb has significantly outperformed its competitors by focusing on AI-driven solutions. The company's strategic partnership with Google and the continuous improvement of its prediction models have positioned Hurb as a leader in the travel industry. By utilizing advanced AI to provide accurate weather forecasts and optimize travel costs, Hurb ensures a superior customer experience and operational efficiency.

Hurb's dedication to AI innovation and customer-centric solutions has not only enhanced its service offerings but also solidified its reputation as a forward-thinking company in the travel sector.