CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Room Key, a new venture backed by six of the world’s leading hotel companies, announced today that it acquired the Charlottesville-based firm hotelicopter last year in an asset deal.
Founded by Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH), Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H), InterContinental Hotels Group (NYSE: IHG), Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) and Wyndham Hotel Group, part of the Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), or their respective affiliates, and led by a highly regarded management team, Room Key launched Roomkey.com earlier this year. A new and innovative hotel search engine, Roomkey.com delivers a search and book experience tailored for ease of hotel shopping which gives consumers confidence in their booking decisions by providing hotel information straight from the source coupled with the ability to directly book a room with the hotel of their choice.
John F. Davis III, a highly experienced hospitality industry visionary with a history of entrepreneurial successes, is Chief Executive Officer of Room Key. Davis was formerly the founder and CEO of Pegasus, the first hotel distribution switch technology which streamlined GDS and Internet connectivity for hotels worldwide. Room Key is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and maintains an office in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“After conducting an extensive search, we determined that hotelicopter was the ideal acquisition for us, both because of their talented team and the innovative and flexible technology platform they have built over the last few years,” said Davis. “The acquisition of hotelicopter is allowing Room Key to evolve and enrich our user experience quickly.”
Hotelicopter was founded by Adam Healey and Charles Seilheimer. Healey and Seilheimer met while studying at Darden, the University of Virginia’s graduate business school. In an effort to build a better hotel search experience online, the two founded hotelicopter in the Darden Business Incubator in 2006 and soon thereafter won the University of Virginia’s business plan competition. Hotelicopter built a talented team and created an innovative hotel meta-search technology platform.
“We’re excited to be a part of Room Key,” said Healey. “The team remains focused on innovating the hotel search experience, now working alongside the industry’s largest players and a strong management team. Having built hotelicopter from the ground up in Charlottesville, Virginia, we are pleased to see the company continue to grow here.”
About Room Key
Room Key is a new venture that has developed an innovative online hotel search engine, Roomkey.com, which provides the simplicity, transparency and breadth of choice consumers expect from a search engine, while delivering the flexibility, accuracy and assurance consumers expect from the hospitality industry. Room Key was founded by six of the world’s leading hotel companies - Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotel Group - and is led by a highly regarded management team.