Online hotel video guide Trivop aims high

July 03, 2007 | Hospitality Industry

Trivop, the first videoguide for hotels, has closed a significant round of strategic early-stage financing, allowing the company to pursue an aggressive international growth campaign and further Trivops aim of becoming the de facto Internet videoguide for the hotel industry.

Trivop, the first videoguide for hotels, announced today that it has closed a significant round of strategic early-stage financing. The funds will allow the company to pursue an aggressive international growth campaign and further Trivops aim of becoming the de facto Internet videoguide for the hotel industry.

The consumer’s need for meaningful video about hotels has been largely unmet, as hotels have yet to significantly invest in the creation of online video content. With its new videoguide for hotels - combining integrated video, maps and user reviews - Trivop is set to change the travel industry.

“Trivop’s aim is to become the online reference of choice for consumers about the hospitality industry by applying the Internets hot content - unique video, to the largest e-commerce sector - travel,” says Thomas Owadenko, founder and CEO, Trivop. “Video is the most effective hotel sales conversion tool in conveying the atmosphere of the hotel and its guest rooms and reassuring potential guests by showing them the hotel from a true customer perspective before booking.”

This unique network of high-profile, international angel investors are sending a clear vote of confidence for Trivop’s business model:

- M�rton Lund, a successful and active venture angel and one of Skype’s first investors. Some of M�rton’s investments include Orlix, Bullguard, Zyb and Zecco.
- Steve and Jean-Emile Rosenblum, founders of Pixmania, the first and largest electronic goods e-retailer in Europe with a turnover of more than �500 million. Steve and Jean-Emile make venture investments through their new portfolio of funds.
- Oliver Jung, a well-known angel investor and successful entrepreneur.
- Luk�sz Gadowski, founder and CEO of Spreadshirt (which acquired laFraise), co-founder of StudiVZ and active angel with focus on Germany, France and the United States.
- Loic Le Meur, a serial Internet entrepreneur and one of France’s most famous bloggers. Le Meur is honorary Chairman of Six Apart Europe and invested in companies such as LinkedIn and Technorati.?
- Aydin Senkut of Felicis Ventures, one of the early Google employees.

“It’s quite unique to attract such top-notch international entrepreneurs in a round of financing,” Owadenko says. “Trivop is the future of the hotel industry and these investors provide the successful track record and insider network to help us achieve our goal of becoming a new media leader for the travel industry.”

“Trivop is in a unique position to change the way travelers research and book hotels worldwide and to be considered by consumers and hoteliers as the leading site of their industry a site where they absolutely have use and be represented,” said M�rton Lund, a Trivop investor. “I am confident that this investment round will begin to unlock the full potential of Trivop’s business model and allow the company to further consolidate the market leading position it has established so early in its existence.”

To date, the international reach of Trivop’s service has been highlighted by the sites visitors, who originate from 173 countries and in 73 languages. Just two months after launching in March 2007, Trivop’s worldwide network of filmmakers has grown to more than 900, an asset that will accelerate the growth of the hotel video database.