06/08/2008: Hotelius.com commences its international expansion in France

Hotelius.com, the on-line hotel and leisure agency, has just begun its international expansion with the launching of  www.hotelius.fr, the portal aimed exclusively at the French market which will allow clients to make bookings in over 30,000 hotels all over the world. The Spanish company, in which the Hotusa Group has a stake and which includes the Planeta Group as a minor shareholder, has plans to launch new portals in the next few months in Italy, Portugal and England, in addition to various Latin American countries.

Hotelius.com, celebrates its fifth anniversary in 2008, having fully consolidated its projected enterprise. During the last two years, turnover has grown 174%, passing from the 5.6 million euros it recorded in 2005 to the over 15.5 million with which it closed 2007 and it has expectations of closing 2008 having generated more than 100,000 bookings.

According to Marc Gurri, General Manager of Hotelius.com, “Over these past five years, our project has acquired experience and the necessary technological capacity to begin to compete with guarantees in other countries”. Gurri adds that “Due to its characteristics and knowledge of the marketplace, France is the best country for us to commence this international expansion”, estimating that by the end of 2009, over 20,000 bookings will have been generated via this new portal.

One of the Hotelius.com identification marks is that it offers the possibility of making bookings in over 5,000 establishments paying the hotel directly. This way clients benefit by not having to effect any advance accommodation prepayment with their credit cards, in addition to guaranteeing complete transparency in the rates.

The www.hotelius.fr offer is totally global although the hotels located in the major European destinations have a specific weight. Additionally, due to its awareness of the considerable interest that Spain awakens in the French market, the portal pays special attention to establishments situated in the main Spanish destinations, whether urban (Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao, etc.) or vacational (Costa Brava, Costa del Sol, Costa Dorada, Balearic and Canary Islands).

Hotelius.fr, whose headquarters are in Nice, benefits from the technological and operational resources of its parent company in Spain, as well as the synergies with the remaining companies belonging to the Hotusa Group, a reference in the European and International tourist sector. However, the French division will implement its marketing plan and commercial agreements locally. In order to divulge its services to the French consumer, a communications campaign has been designed for the principle on-line media in the country, combined with appearances in the traditional means of communication.