GLOBAL search engine Skyscanner’s move to expand its business into the hotel and car hire search space and launch of a travel industry intelligence service has boosted its non-flights contribution to overall revenues by 47 per cent in 2014.
The metasearch company, which is best known for its proprietary flight search product, launched its first hotel and car hire apps in over 30 languages globally last year. It also debuted Skyscanner for Business in 2014, a new service that provides travel data, insights and online traffic monetisation services to the travel industry.
As a result, Skyscanner reported an annual turnover of 93 million pounds (US$143 million) for 2014.
Shane Corstorphine, the group’s chief financial officer, described 2014 as a “transformational” year for the company, with record numbers of visits to its website and apps.
According to Skyscanner, the number of unique users to the website each month stands at 35 million.
Corstorphine stated in a press release: “Our primary focus for the year has been investing for future growth, and this approach has been making an impact for us sooner than anticipated.
“While our revenues continue to be led primarily by flights, the addition of new hotel and car hire products, as well as the creation of our Skyscanner for Business, has had a key role to play in our growth,” he said.
Speaking to TTG Asia eDaily, Pamela Knaggs, the group’s marketing manager for Singapore and Malaysia, said: “Our brand is moving from flights to travel as there is a demand for hotels and car hires. There is great potential there.
“However, there is still a lack of awareness as some think we are just a provider of flights. We will be running more PR activities to ensure that people know we are more than just a flight brand now,” Knaggs added.
Skyscanner, headquartered in Edinburgh, currently has nine global offices, with an office in Singapore, Beijing and Shenzhen for the Asia-Pacific region.
