Hopper is adding a new vertical to its app-based
travel marketplace. Hopper Homes is now live with more than two million properties
around the globe that can be booked instantly in the app.
The
company says all of the inventory is managed by professional property suppliers
and sourced
directly from those companies as well as third-party providers – although it
would not name specific partners.
Homes
now becomes the fourth vertical within Hopper, which launched in 2015 with
flights and then added hotels and car rentals.
In
November 2020, when asked about the company’s plans to offer alternative
accommodations, Hopper co-founder and CEO Fred Lalonde said
the app had about one million properties and was in the process of refining
the product.
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But
according to a company spokesperson, those plans were scrapped shortly
thereafter, until May 2021 when it “brought on the team from [travel planning service] Journy and tasked
them with building out a dedicated Homes feature,” which is now launching. Hopper
acquired Journy in May 2021 for an undisclosed amount, according to Crunchbase.
Users
can filter properties based on location, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and amenities
such as outdoor space and parking. The company says it will add a price filter
soon, as well as integrate some of the fintech features that are available
for flights and hotels such as price prediction and “cancel for any reason.”
Bookings of Hopper Homes will also soon qualify to earn “Carrot Cash” – the app's loyalty program that gives credit back on travel purchases and can be used for any type of future
booking on Hopper.
Hopper
says 40% of its customers have indicated they prefer homes over hotels and 24%
have no preference between the two. Hopper Homes is now available on iOS and
will become available on Android soon. The company says it will also make its Homes
product accessible to its Hopper Cloud customers, which include Trip.com,
Kayak, Amadeus, MakeMyTrip and Capital
One.
Hopper’s
most recent funding came in August, a $175
million Series G round led by GPI Capital at a valuation of $3.5 billion.