HotelTonight, the booking app made-for-mobile, expands their international offering as they make their way to the United Kingdom with initial hotel offerings in London.

“Over the last year, we’ve focused on making traveling within the U.S. more spontaneous by offering convenient, last-minute hotel deals,” HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank said.  “And in a very short time, we’ve made a huge impact. Now, we’re going to change the way the rest of the world views travel. We’re excited to break ground in the UK, and start fulfilling spontaneous travel needs abroad.”

The app can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store and on Google Play for free, and with some two million downloads since launch, HotelTonight is anxious to go global.  The company is merely trying to address demand, as more people are looking into last-minute hotel deals in over 40 U.S. cities, Toronto, Vancouver and London.

Great deals for travelers

HotelTonight users can book rooms at top hotel brands such as Morgans Hotel Group, Thompson Hotels, Langham Hotels & Resorts, and more.  London visitors and residents in particular can now utilize HotelTonight to book last-minute hotel stays with great discounts, just in time for the Olympics.

“HotelTonight has been such a fantastic way for our sister properties throughout the US and Canada to get in front of highly desirable tech forward customers, and it has become a reliable source of last second bookings,” Dagmar Noe, Director of Sales and Marketing of Belgraves – a Thompson Hotel, said.  “We were thrilled to get Belgraves – a Thompson Hotel on the app as soon as they made it to the UK.”

The app launches just in time for the London Olympics and it will provide last-minute deals at top hotels during the event.  London travelers can get £15 off their first booking by using the promo code UK15.  Users who invite their friends to try out the app would get an additional £15 when that friend makes their first booking.

Worldwide initiative

Aside from the app launch, HotelTonight also announced the opening of their London-based office in the Shoreditch area of East London, an initial move in what will be a determined push to expand globally and reach new users worldwide.  They plan on launching in additional cities in the UK and other markets in Western Europe in the coming months.

As with any expansion comes new team members.  HotelTonight has brought on Heather Leisman as Managing Director, Europe.  Leisman brings over 16 years of online travel experience to the HotelTonight team, and most recently ran the supply, operations, customer service and merchandising functions at Jetsetter.  Leisman will lead the strategy and oversee the execution of HotelTonight’s European expansion.

Last April, HotelTonight expanded to Canada and with this Europe launch, it will just be a matter of time before they reach Asia.  Their global aim is fueled by the recent $23 million Series C investment round, led by U.S. Venture Partners with continued participation from Accel Partners, Battery Ventures and First Round Capital.  The latest round of funding will help them continue their worldwide expansion.

Consumer deals are growing more popular as more people seek the best outlets that match quality products with reasonable prices.   Investors are also seeing the potential of such sites and the reason for HotelTonight’s most recent funding.  Blink Booking, which uses the same platform as HotelTonight, also recently secured $2.5 million from PROFounders, SoftTechVC and Ballpark Ventures and will use the funding to expand their services in seven countries including France, Spain and Italy apart from its presence in the UK.

US companies are expanding internationally, particularly in Europe as an escape from the saturated US market.  Fab.com, the e-commerce company with a focus on modern design for daily flash sales, celebrated their anniversary by opening offices in the UK and acquiring UK-based Llustre.  The move to expand in the UK comes from the growing demand from consumers and partners in the European region.