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F r o m W i k i p e d i a , t h e f r e e e n c y c l o p e d i a
Wimdu , powered by HomeToGo , is an online marketplace for booking lodging , accessible by website and mobile app for iOS and Android .[1] The company does not own any lodging; it is merely a broker and receives commissions from every booking.[2] [3] [4] It is set up as a "clone " of similar websites.[5] [6] Wimdu searches and redirects users to the website that has the relationship with the lodging provider such as Expedia , Booking.com , HomeAway , Vrbo , Hotels.com , TripAdvisor , FlipKey , and Airbnb .
In 2015, the most popular locations booked on Wimdu were: Paris , Rome , London , Amsterdam , New York City , Lisbon , Berlin , Vienna , Split, Croatia , and Barcelona . The top five places in Germany were Berlin , Munich , Cologne , Dresden , and Leipzig .[7]
History
[ edit ]
The company was founded in 2010 and launched in March 2011. Wimdu was registered as a limited company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung , GmbH) in March 2011.[8]
Arne Bleckwenn and Hinrich Dreiling, the founders of Wimdu, previously founded and managed several other startups.[9] [10]
In June 2011, it received $ 90 million in investments from Kinnevik AB , which invested €25 million, and Rocket Internet .[11] [12] [13] [14] At the time, it was the largest investment in a European startup ever.[15]
By May 2011, Wimdu was available in 11 languages.[16]
In May 2011, Wimdu launched a spin-off business for the China market called Airizu.[17]
Shortly after the launch of Wimdu, Airbnb publicity criticized the business model, writing
"A new type of scam has been brought to our attention: Airbnb clones posing as competition. We’ve discovered that these scam artists have a history of copying a website, aggressively poaching from their community, then attempting to sell the company back to the original."[18]
Airbnb considered acquiring Wimdu, but decided against it as Airbnb was uncomfortable with Wimdu's culture and tactics.[19] [20] [21]
By September 2011, the site was available in 16 languages and offered 25,000 lodging options in more than 100 countries.[22]
In December 2011, WirtschaftsWoche rated Wimdu among the most important startups of 2011.[23]
By 2012, Wimdu claimed to be the biggest social accommodation website from Europe.[24] After the first year in business, Wimdu had booking revenues of $6.6 million per month.[25] [26]
In September 2012, due to rising costs, the company fundamentally changed its growth strategy. Activities of international offices were reduced and some employees moved back to the Berlin headquarters.[27] [28]
In 2013, Wimdu closed its separate China subsidiary Airizu.[29]
Peer-to-peer property rental companies faced new regulatory requirements beginning in 2013 in Germany.[30]
Wimdu continued its operations in Berlin despite 9flats shutting down its Berlin offices.[31] [32]
In January 2013, Rocket Internet evaluated selling the company.[33] [34]
In October 2014, the founders Arne Bleckwenn and Hinrich Dreiling left their positions at Wimdu at their own requests, taking positions on the advisory board .[35] The management was handed over to Arne Kahlke und Sören Kress,[36]
In November 2014, Wimdu expanded its activities at its Berlin headquarters.[37]
From 2013 to 2014, bookings on Wimdu increased by 31%.[38] In the first quarter of 2015, sales were up 34%.[39]
In February 2015, Italian conglomerate Mediaset and Wimdu signed a media for equity deal.[40] Mediaset invested "several million euros" in Wimdu and gave it advertising on the Mediaset TV channels.[41] The investment funded expansion[42] [43] and by April 2012, Wimdu expanded in Italy , Spain and other Southern European countries.[44]
In April 2016, Berlin adopted a law that restricted private apartment rentals.[45] [46] Wimdu then filed a lawsuit against the law, arguing that the law illegally restricts the fundamental rights of hosts.[47] [48] [49]
In October 2016, the company announced a merger with 9flats .[50] [51]
In October 2016, 9flats acquired the company.[52]
In December 2016, it was sold to Wyndham Destinations 's Novasol brand of Denmark.[53] [54] [55]
In August 2017, the company had 12,000 listings in Germany, compared to 160,000 for Airbnb.[56]
In May 2018, NovaSol was acquired by Platinum Equity .[57]
In September 2018, it was announced that the website would shut down by the end of the year and all employees were fired.[58] [59] [60] [61]
The company is now part of the HomeToGo Group, also owned by Rocket Internet .[62] [63]
Controversies
[ edit ]
Rocket Internet , which is led by the Samwer brothers and was invested heavily in Wimdu, is renowned for its aggressive entrepreneurship and leadership style.[64] [65]
Wimdu has been accused several times of being a clone of Airbnb ,[66] [67] [68] In response, representatives of the company stated that although the concept may seem similar, Wimdu has a unique approach, treating "different countries, different cultures, in different ways".[69] Wimdu offers a "hotel light" experience in a market where Airbnb has the "first mover advantage".[70] Airbnb and Wimdu are competitors, especially in German-speaking Europe .[71]
In January 2016, Wimdu was accused of not assisting hosts with vandalism and Wimdu refused to compensate the owner of a Berlin apartment that had been destroyed, beyond offering a dedicated "insurance" for such damages.[72] [73] Wimdu denied the allegations and pointed out that the host had demanded an "excessive refund" in this case.[74] Die Zeit invited experts to check the standard form contract , which was deemed to be unsatisfactory.[75]
On 30 May 2016, a Dutch TV program, Groeten van Max, showed fake images used to advertise lodging. Wimdu refused to comment and expelled the inquirers from its offices.[76]
In April 2018, Paris filed a lawsuit against Wimdu and Airbnb for allowing listings of lodging without specific registration numbers.[77]
References
[ edit ]
^ Wortham, Jenna (25 July 2011). "Room to Rent, via the Web" . The New York Times .
^ Higgins, Michelle (4 January 2012). "19 Web Sites for Travel Savings in 2012" . The New York Times .
^ Choat, Isabel (28 June 2013). "How to find and book a holiday apartment online" . The Guardian .
^ Sanchez, Maricel (16 July 2019). "Imitation simply wasn't enough: A Wimdu post-mortem" . EU Startups .
^ O'Neill, Sean (27 September 2018). "Airbnb Clone Wimdu to Close Despite Having Raised More Than $90 Million" . Skift .
^ Hegenauer, Michael (30 August 2015). "Schläft eigentlich noch irgendjemand im Hotel?" [Does anyone actually sleep in the hotel?]. Die Welt .
^ "Wimdu GmbH: Company Register" . Bundesanzeiger .
^ "Personen: Arne Bleckwenn" . gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ "Personen: Hinrich Dreiling" . gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ Kerr, Ronny (June 15, 2011). "Airbnb clone Wimdu raises $90 million" . Vator .
^ Wauters, Robin (14 June 2011). "Investors Pump $90 Million Into Airbnb Clone Wimdu" . TechCrunch .
^ "Kinnevik invests EUR 25 million in Wimdu.com" (Press release). Globe Newswire . 15 June 2011.
^ Hüsing, Alexander (15 June 2011). "Zimmerdreikampf: Wimdu sammelt 90 Millionen US-Dollar ein" [Indoor raid: Wimdu raises $ 90 million]. deutsche-startups.de (in German).
^ Schmidt, Holger (15 June 2011). "Rekord: Start-Up Wimdu erhält 90 Millionen Dollar Finanzspritze" [Record: Startup Wimdu receives $ 90 million in cash injection]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German).
^ "Wimdu.co.uk Sends Individualists on Holiday With a New Platform for Accommodation of all Kinds" (Press release). PR Newswire . 26 May 2011.
^ Ohr, Thomas (10 May 2011). "Wimdu enters the Chinese market with Airizu" . eu-startups.com .
^ Tsotsis, Alexia (9 June 2011). "Airbnb Freaks Out Over Samwer Clones" . TechCrunch .
^ Rao, Leena (11 October 2013). "Brian Chesky Talks About Why Airbnb Didn't Acquire European Clone Wimdu, Global Growth And More" . TechCrunch .
^ Räth, Georg (14 October 2013). "Airbnb hätte beinahe Wimdu übernommen" [Airbnb almost took over Wimdu]. gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ Dickey, Megan Rose (16 July 2013). "Airbnb Is Shifting Its Strategy So It Doesn't Crash And Burn" . Business Insider .
^ "Affordable Oktoberfest Accommodations Available Through Wimdu" (Press release). PR Newswire . 6 September 2011.
^ "Gründer: Die wichtigsten Startups" [The most important startups]. Wirtschaftswoche (in German). 29 December 2011.
^ Fryatt, Linsey (22 March 2013). "Wimdu vs Airbnb – the battle for Europe hots up ahead of London 2012 Olympics" . The Heureka .
^ Wauters, Robin (22 March 2012). "After one year, Airbnb rival Wimdu is big. How big? $132 million a year big" . The Next Web .
^ Kaczmarek, Joel (22 March 2012). "Wimdu gibt erstmals Zahlen bekannt" [Wimdu announces figures for the first time]. gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ Hofmann, Alex (19 September 2012). "Wimdu streicht internationale Büros zusammen" [Wimdu cuts international offices]. gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ Hofmann, Alex (20 September 2012). "Airbnb rival Wimdu confirms cuts to international offices, refocus on Berlin" . The Heureka .
^ Horwitz, Josh (12 July 2013). "Rocket Internet has reportedly shuttered Airizu, its struggling Airbnb clone in China" . The Next Web .
^ Thurm, Frida (27 November 2013). "Auch deutsche Wohnplattformen sollen Daten herausgeben" [German residential platforms should also release data]. Die Zeit (in German).
^ "Nach Verbot von Ferienwohnungen gibt Vermittler 9flats in Berlin auf" [After the ban on vacation rentals, 9flats gives up in Berlin]. Berliner Morgenpost (in German). 27 November 2013.
^ Räth, Magdalena (27 November 2013). "Airbnb rival 9flats shuts down office in Berlin" . The Heureka .
^ Räth, Magdalena (29 January 2013). "Wimdu findet keine Abnehmer" [Wimdu finds no buyers]. gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ Dörner, Stephan (29 January 2013). "Samwer-Brüder werden Wimdu nicht los" [Samwer brothers cannot get rid of Wimdu]. The Wall Street Journal (in German).
^ Hüsing, Alexander (30 October 2014). "Bleckwenn und Dreiling verlassen Zimmervermittler Wimdu" [Bleckwenn and Dreiling leave broker Wimdu]. deutsche-startups.de (in German).
^ "Wimdu-Gründer geben Geschäftsführung ab" [Wimdu founders give up management]. gruenderszene.de (in German). 30 October 2014.
^ "Wo Mitarbeiter von anderen Ländern träumen" [where employees dream of other countries]. deutsche-startups.de (in German). 5 November 2014.
^ Ohr, Thomas (6 May 2015). "5 unexpected things Rocket Internet's annual report for 2014 reveals" . eu-startups.com .
^ "Apartment rental platform Wimdu on the attack - revenues up 34 percent in first quarter of 2015" (PDF) (Press release). Rocket Internet . 7 May 2015.
^ Bockenheimer, Johannes (6 February 2015). "Mediaset steigt bei Berliner Zimmervermittler Wimdu ein" [deal Mediaset joins Berlin-based broker Wimdu]. Der Tagesspiegel (in German).
^ Wirminghaus, Niklas (5 February 2015). "Wimdu schließt Media-Deal mit Berlusconis Sendergruppe" [Wimdu closes media deal with Berlusconi's broadcasting group]. gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ "Berlusconi-Konzern steigt bei Zimmervermittler Wimdu ein" [Berlusconi Group acquires Wimdu, a room broker]. Berliner Morgenpost (in German). 5 February 2015.
^ Hegemann, Lisa (6 February 2015). "Wimdu: Werbe-Deal mit Berlusconis Mediaset" [Wimdu: promotional deal with Berlusconi's media set]. WirtschaftsWoche (in German).
^ Schröder, Miriam (28 April 2015). "Deutsche Urlauber wollen keine Katzen" . Handelsblatt (in German).
^ Eisenring, Christoph (16 April 2016). "Wo Berlin uncool ist" [Where Berlin is uncool]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German).
^ Rada, Uwe; Schmalz, Sophie; Schneider, Eva (24 April 2016). "Jetzt wird es ernst" [Now it's getting serious]. Die Tageszeitung (in German).
^ "Portal Wimdu.de klagt gegen Berliner Ferienwohnungsverbot" [The Wimdu.de portal is suing Berlin's holiday apartment ban]. Berliner Morgenpost (in German). 14 April 2016.
^ "Internetportal klagt gegen Ferienwohnungsverbot in Berlin" [Internet portal complains against ban on holiday apartments in Berlin]. Handelsblatt (in German). 24 April 2016.
^ "Lawsuits against Berlin's holiday apartment ban failed" [Lawsuits against Berlin's holiday apartment ban failed]. Die Welt (in German). 8 June 2016.
^ Lomas, Natasha (10 October 2016). "Airbnb rivals Wimdu and 9flats consolidate" . TechCrunch .
^ Sheivachman, Andrew (10 October 2016). "Airbnb's Most Well-Funded European Rival Wimdu Is Acquired by 9flats" . Skift .
^ Sheivachman, Andrew (10 October 2016). "Airbnb's Most Well-Funded European Rival Wimdu Is Acquired by 9flats" . Skift .
^ May, Kevin (5 December 2016). "Wimdu sharing wannabe sold to Wyndham brand Novasol" . Phocuswire .
^ Whyte, Patrick (5 December 2016). "Wyndham Steps Up Investment in Sharing Economy With Two New European Deals" . Skift .
^ Schlautmann, Christoph (10 January 2017). "Vacation Home Firm Snaps Up Wimdu" . Handelsblatt .
^ Höhler, Gerd; Louven, Sandra; Streit, Matthias; Peer, Mathias (26 July 2019). "Tourismus-Metropolen gehen gegen Airbnb und Co. vor" [Tourism metropolises take action against Airbnb and Co.]. Handelsblatt (in German).
^ "Wyndham Worldwide Announces Completion of its Sale of its European Vacation Rentals Business" (Press release). Platinum Equity . 9 May 2018.
^ "La pataforma Wimdu no aguanta la competencia y cerrará sus puertas a fin de año" [The Wimdu platform cannot stand the competition and will close its doors at the end of the year] (Press release) (in Spanish). Europa Press . 28 September 2018.
^ Lunden, Ingrid. "Wimdu, Rocket Internet's Airbnb clone, to shut down this year 'facing significant business challenges' " . TechCrunch .
^ Fox, Linda (8 October 2018). "Shifts in European vacation rental as HomeToGo acquires Casamundo and Wimdu closes" . Phocuswire .
^ Schlenk, Caspar; Penke, Michel; Scherkamp, Hannah (28 September 2018). "Wimdu macht dicht – und entlässt mehr als 100 Mitarbeiter" [Wimdu shuts down - and fires more than 100 employees]. Die Welt .
^ "Legal, Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy" . Wimdu.
^ O'Neill, Sean; Schaal, Dennis (5 December 2018). "HomeToGo Buys a Near-Death Tripping in Vacation Rental Rollup" . Skift .
^ Cowan, Matt (2 March 2012). "Inside the clone factory: The story of Germany's Samwer brothers" . Wired .
^ Chafkin, Max (29 May 2012). "Lessons From the World's Most Ruthless Competitor" . Inc.
^ Kaczmarek, Joel (8 April 2011). "Samwers starten Airbnb-Klon Wimdu" [Samwers launch Airbnb clone Wimdu]. gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ "Internet companies: Attack of the clones" . The Economist . 6 August 2011.
^ Kaczmarek, Joel (10 June 2011). "Airbnb wettert gegen Wimdu(? )" [Airbnb weathered against Wimdu (? )]. gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ Johnson, Bobbie (21 March 2012). "With Airbnb expanding in Europe, Wimdu cranks it up" . Gigaom .
^ Hüsing, Alexander (29 April 2015). "Wimdu wirft sich vorm Konkurrenten airbnb in den Staub" . deutsche-startups.de (in German).
^ "Airbnb closes Austria operation in battle with Wimdu" . TechCrunch . 20 December 2011.
^ "Wohnungsportal Wimdu lässt Vermieter mit Schäden alleine" [Wimdu housing portal leaves landlords alone with damage]. Die Zeit (in German). 20 January 2016.
^ "Airbnb-Konkurrent zahlt Vermietern bei Vandalismus keinen Schadensersatz" [Airbnb competitor's company does not pay landlords compensation for vandalism]. Stern (in German). 23 January 2016.
^ Kyriasoglou, Christina (22 January 2016). "Führt Wimdu seine Kunden in die Irre?" [Is Wimdu misleading his customers?]. gruenderszene.de (in German).
^ Rohrbeck, Felix (11 February 2016). "Wimdu wehrt sich …" [broker Wimdu defends itself]. Die Zeit (in German).
^ "Wimdu & waarschuwingsbrief" [Wimdu & warning letter]. Groeten van MAX (in Dutch). 30 May 2016.
^ Sage, Adam (13 April 2018). "Paris council sues Airbnb for €43m a day" . The Times .
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