13/06-12   -   Press releases

budgetplaces unveils new website and reaches a new milestone: 10,000 partner establishments

• New website design makes booking budget accommodation worldwide even easier
• Number of budget hotels, hostels, apartments and B&Bs on offer has tripled since 2010
• UK hotel portfolio is expanded from new London office

Shortly after reaching the milestone target of 10,000 partner establishments, budgetplaces presents a revamped website with a brand new design. The centrepiece of the re-designed layout is the new home page, which makes it even easier for clients to find the perfect budget accommodation in more than 1,700 destinations worldwide.

Paul Lupson, Senior Vice President Operations and the website user interface designer, says, “We needed to adjust our website to reflect the fact that budgetplaces is now a global player offering a huge range of budget hotels worldwide. The new home page is lighter, cleaner, faster, more intuitive and more interactive than ever before, and is the gateway to more than 10,000 hotels. Now, thanks to our super-simple booking engine and a more attractive presentation of the amazing destinations we have to offer, it couldn’t be easier for travellers to find exactly the budget accommodation they want". There are now more than 100 countries around the world where budgetplaces has contracted low-cost hotels.

The shortlist function is an outstanding new feature which allows users to compare hotel options in a convenient, easy-to-read format. Users can also easily retrieve the hotels they have previously viewed. Lupson continues: “The new ‘Special Offers’ section is prominently positioned on the home page and presents a wide range of fantastic hotel offers to the user". The popular loyalty program ‘My budgetplaces’, which rewards clients with instant credits on all bookings, is also available in the new version of the website.

Number of budget accommodation establishments on offer has tripled since 2010

More than 10,000 budget hotels, hostels, apartments and B&Bs are now online and bookable at budgetplaces. This impressive total is yet another milestone in the ongoing success story of the Barcelona-based booking portal. Since 2010, the number of establishments on the portal has almost tripled.

In conjunction with steady demand from travellers, more and more budget sector establishments have discovered that budgetplaces is a reliable and profitable distribution channel. Featuring one of the most hotelier-friendly business models in the industry, and attracting an increasing number of hoteliers daily, it is supported by active recruitment efforts by budgetplaces staff from around the globe.

Enormous potential in the UK

budgetplaces currently offers more than 600 budget hotels, hostels, apartments and B&Bs in the UK. Top UK destinations include London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool. The UK team is based in London, where a new office was opened in February 2012, and is working daily to increase the number of UK partner establishments.

“Given the growth of partner establishments in the UK over the last years, we believe there is an enormous potential for our brand. While we’re proud of reaching the 10,000 establishment milestone number globally, we are working hard to reach over 1000 establishments in the UK by the end of the year", says Karla Brooklyn, Country Manager UK.

Apart from the traditionally strong inventory in Europe, budgetplaces already boasts around 300 directly contracted hotel partners in the USA. Almost 100 partners in Australia offer their rooms on the budget expert’s website, which is also available in a local, even more customer-friendly, regional version http://www.budgetplaces.com.au/. Around 70 hotels, hostels, apartments and B&Bs are available in Russia. The portfolio of establishments in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America continues to grow daily.


About budgetplaces

budgetplaces is an international online hotel reservations website specialising in providing well-located, quality accommodation at budget rates for leisure and business travellers. More than 10,000 directly contracted hotels, hostels, apartments and B&Bs in more than 1,700 destinations worldwide offer rooms on budgetplaces. budgetplaces is the flagship brand of a network of dedicated city websites such as london30.com, edinburgh30.com and sydney50.com, which offer rooms for budget-conscious travellers.

Together the EnGrande websites process over 30,000 reservations and 90,000 room nights each month. Approximately 2 million unique visitors are registered on the company’s sites each month. Headquartered in Barcelona, with offices in New York, London and Berlin, budgetplaces employs more than 130 staff from 30 different countries. For further information please visit http://media.budgetplaces.com/.