Wimdu

Wimdu
Type Private
Founded 2011
Headquarters Berlin, Germany
Key people Arne Kahlke (CEO)
Sören Kress (CEO)
Industry Tourism

Wimdu is a web-based platform, based on the peer-to-peer property rental model, that advertises properties on the internet (from single rooms to full apartments) for short term lettings. It serves as a middle point to connect travellers and hosts in over 2000 cities across the world. The company was founded in Germany, in March 2011, by Arne Bleckwenn and Hinrich Dreiling.[1] Wimdu is a competitor to the US-based Airbnb.

In 2014, the Wimdu platform included 39 different domains in its respective languages and currencies and has over 300,000 properties in more than 140 countries; 100,000 registered users and a gained investment of US$90 million.[2]

History

In March 2011, a first version of Wimdu was launched by a small team from Berlin, led by Arne Bleckwenn[3] and Hinrich Dreiling. By June, less than 4 months after starting, Wimdu had “become the world's second largest community marketplace for private spaces”[4] after a 90 million investment by Kinnevik[5] and Rocket Internet was secured.[6]

By 2012, Wimdu claimed to be the biggest Europe-based social accommodation website, rivaling the likes of companies such as Airbnb. By March 2012, it workforce grew to more than 350 employees and its revenue quadrupled by €5,000,000 per month, with an expectation to reach €100 million in 2012.[7][8]

In 2014 Arne Bleckwenn and Hinrich Drilling stepped down as the CEOs of Wimdu. At the beginning of 2015 Arne Kahlke and Sören Kress were introduced as Wimdu's new CEOs.

Product

Wimdu uses a collaborative consumption model [9] as it allows property owners and travelers to get in contact with each other. Other vacation rental management companies such as Vacasa hire reservationists to strip the need for owner-customer contact.[10]

Wimdu’s properties range from single rooms that cost €10/night to luxurious penthouses for €13,000/night. Among their listings they also have a number of novelty properties including a hanging tent in the middle of the woods in Pomel, France; rooms in a Finish ice castle;[11] an igloo at the top of Mount Zugspitze, Germany; and a giraffe manor in Kenya.[12]

Controversy

Rocket Internet, a venture capital group led by the Samwer Brothers, renowned for their aggressive entrepreneurship and leadership style, invested heavily in Wimdu.[13][14][15]

Wimdu has been criticized for being a replica of Airbnb as their business-model and website design is remarkably similar to the San Francisco-based company.[16] In response, Arne Bleckwenn stated that although the concept may be seen as similar, Wimdu has a unique approach to the market they share with Airbnb, based on their policy of looking at “different countries, different cultures, in different ways”[8] and tailoring their accommodation and business tactics accordingly.[17][18] There is a split in media and market opinion over whether Wimdu is simply a clone of or good market competition to Airbnb, this opinion generally hinges on which side of the Atlantic the commentator sits.

Reception

Wimdu was the fastest growing social accommodation website of years 2011 and 2012. While initially based in Europe, it has since expanded to different markets including China, the Philippines and the USA.[19]

Wimdu has been recognised by many media outlets such as The Telegraph, The Guardian and The New York Times.[20][21][22]

It has also been awarded with the PR Report Award for the best German Company for Customer Marketing in 2012[23] and the Gold Standard for Best PR Tactical Campaign at the 2013 Travel Marketing Awards.[24]

in 2011, Wimdu was nominated for several awards including Gruenderszene Magazine Awards for the best German Start Up of 2011 and the Europas Awards] for the best European Start Up of 2011.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Wimdu". (last edited) 24 July 2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ↑ Wauters, Robin (22 March 2012). "After one year, Airbnb rival Wimdu is big. How big? $132 million a year big".
  3. ↑ "Arne Bleckwenn".
  4. ↑ "Wimdu Secures Investment of $90 Million From Kinnevik and Rocket". 15 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "Press Release: Kinnevik invests EUR 25 million in wimdu.com".
  6. ↑ May, Kevin (15 June 2011). "Wimdu captures mammoth $90M funding round for apartment rental push".
  7. ↑ Fryatt, Lindsey (22 March 2012). "Wimdu vs Airbnb – the battle for Europe hots up ahead of London 2012 Olympics".
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Johnson, Bobbie. "With Airbnb expanding in Europe, Wimdu cranks it up".
  9. ↑ Tunguz, Tomasz. "How 'Collaborative Consumption' Is Transforming Startups". Huffington Post Business. www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  10. ↑ "Vacation Rental Property Management". Vacasa Rentals. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  11. ↑ PR Web News (23 January 2012). "Have an ‘ice holiday! The alternative winter holiday with Wimdu.co.uk".
  12. ↑ Bertrand, Amy (28 September 2011). "3 exotic places to stay".
  13. ↑ Chafkin, Max. "Lessons From the World's Most Ruthless Competitor". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  14. ↑ Cowan, Matt (2 March 2012). "Inside the clone factory: The story of Germany's Samwer brothers".
  15. ↑ "Is This Airbnb Knock-Off Google-Stalking Potential Hosts?".
  16. ↑ Tsotsis, Alexia (9 June 2011). "Airbnb Freaks Out Over Samwer Clones".
  17. ↑ "Attack of the clones. American web firms are battling foreign hordes that look remarkably similar". The Economist. 6 August 2011.
  18. ↑ Laaff, Meike (29 August 2011). "Deutschland kopiert gern".
  19. ↑ "Now here, travel site Wimdu is world's biggest startup firm". Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  20. ↑ Bowater, Donna (28 December 2011). "Quarter of Londoners planning to escape Olympics". The Telegraph.
  21. ↑ Choat, Isabel (10 February 2012). "The Valentine's Day treat that brings a new meaning to boutique hotel". The Guardian.
  22. ↑ Higgins, Michelle (4 January 2012). "19 Web Sites for Travel Savings in 2012". New York Times.
  23. ↑ "Consumer Marketing Gewinner: Wilde & Partner für Wimdu.de". Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  24. ↑ "The Travel Marketing Awards 2013- Results" (PDF). Retrieved 23 March 2013.

External links