Tripadvisor has invested in Bangkok-based restaurant booking service Eatigo, as the start-up announced today. While the amount was undisclosed, Eatigo said that this Series B coupled with Series A that they generated last December would bring their coffers to US$15.5 million.
Eatigo specialises in off-peak bookings helping restaurants fill tables which are usually empty. It operates in Singapore and the Thai cities of Bangkok and Pattaya. The team goes by the saying “connects empty stomachs with empty tables” with no coupon or pre-payment of any sorts is necessary.
These funds galore would be majorly used for expansion to more South-east Asian nations but the CEO Michael Cluzel is keeping mum on which country to go next.
“We have feet on the ground in some [new] markets, off the radar. So there’s definitely work going on already,” he says.
Eatigo’s business model is based on time-based discounts- which means periods with the empty tables will lead to greater discounts. The merchants, around 700, offer discounts all day long, every day and all of the merchants offer 50% discounts on all food items time during the day. The start-up claims that it experiences a Month-on-Month growth of over 20 percent in reservations and revenue. Eatigo is currently working on some new features including loyalty programmes and a new layer of an algorithm that would enhance the user experience.
The speculations keep circling that Eatigo might work in accordance with Tripadvisor’s TheFork in future as there would be an active dialogue between the two of them in due course of time, says Michael.
From what it looks like, the tech giants are getting all bundled up with acquiring experience and dining portals to provide a more holistic experience to its customer base. With Airbnb acquiring Trip4real and now Tripadvisor sponsoring Eatigo, the trend is on the rise and is here to stay for a while.
Source: Tech in Asia
