Get Excited: XciteGO Launching Soon
Finding the right hotel can be pretty time-consuming. Finding the right hotel, that is also in the right price range, can take ages. XciteGo, an Atlanta startup founded by former investment banker Barry Hayut, allows people to connect with hotels to bid on available rooms. The process is modeled after the stock exchange and will save hotels billions of dollars in revenue usually lost from unused hotel rooms.
Keep a look out for the launch their mobile site coming soon. We caught up with the team to give you the inside scoop of what to expect:
Year/Date Founded:
2012
Number of Employees:
We currently have about 10 employees and contractors.
Founders/Execs:
Barry Hayut, Founder and CEO
Minesh Patel, CTO
Paul Harrison, Business Development and Lead Director
Funding or bootstrapped:
We raised $420K from angels and bootstrapping forward.
Are you currently looking for additional funding? If so, what for?
We’re seeking up to $2 million, 75% of which we would use for Sales and Marketing, and 25% of which would be used for development, general, and administrative tasks.
Your Pitch:
XciteGO is a NextGEN marketplace Xchange helping travelers and hotels interact directly to reach efficient prices and increased occupancy. XciteGO is a first of its kind real-time Xchange, where buyers compete to bid for hotel rooms while hotels compete to offer the lowest prices. Our stock market style Xchange combines supply- and demand-matching mechanics to deliver the most efficient prices for hotel stays.
How'd You Get The Idea For It:
The idea began as a solution for doctors to sell expiring vaccines. It evolved to a real-time marketplace that connects buyers and sellers directly in order to create efficient pricing and sell on-demand. We pivoted to the hotel industry because we believe our platform is versatile and can be used in many verticals such as wellness, products, and many other services.
Revenue Model
We charge up to 10% commission on hotel room sellers each time a transaction is consummated.
How are you different from Priceline and other competitors?
Our competitors are acting as middlemen between hotels and travelers resulting in inefficient pricing and low occupancy rates. XciteGO provides the Xchange where travelers and hoteliers meet and interact directly in a competitive and transparent marketplace, just like the stock market. Travelers shop the hotels and the hoteliers shop the travelers – simply put, supply meets demand.
How does ATL weave into your story?
We are based in Atlanta and we are also rolling out in Atlanta first by heavily marketing to Atlanta travelers in order to become the premier booking engine for travelers entering Atlanta.
What kind of mentor could you use the most right now:
Mentors who can help build the team further, build partnerships, and help with go-to-market strategy.
Is there anything else you need (that money can’t buy)?
We need more partners to help with all facets of building the business.
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