# Hotels.ng

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{{Short description|Nigerian travel websites}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{notability|Companies|date=January 2018}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2018}}
}}
{{Use Nigerian English|date=May 2026}}
'''Hotels.ng''' is a Nigerian online hotels booking agency which was launched in 2013. The platform was founded by [Mark Essien](/source/Mark_Essien)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techpoint.ng/2015/08/24/hotels-ng-founder-mark-essien-is-proof-that-nigerian-technical-founders-can-make-great-ceos/|title=Hotels.ng Founder, Mark Essien is proof that Nigerian Technical Founders can make great CEOs|last=Essien|first=Mark|date=24 August 2015|website=Techpoint.ng|publisher=Techpoint.ng|access-date=21 July 2016}}</ref> who hails from [Akwa Ibom State](/source/Akwa_Ibom_State), [Nigeria](/source/Nigeria) and claims to list over 7,138 hotels from 320 cities in Nigeria.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nsehe|first1=Mfonobong|title=Nigeria's Hotels.ng Raises $1.2 Million|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2015/05/26/nigerias-hotels-ng-raises-1-2-million/|work=Forbes|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Boris |first=Teejay |date=2023-04-03 |title=#TechCEO: Hotels.ng CEO Mark Essien |url=https://www.techtimes.com/articles/289952/20230403/hotels-ng-ceo-mark-essien.htm |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=Tech Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
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== History ==

In 2012, while Mark Essien was studying for his MSc. in Computer Science at the [Free University of Berlin](/source/Free_University_of_Berlin), [Germany](/source/Germany), he developed an interest in the Nigerian technology space. His analysis showed that for an [emerging market](/source/emerging_market) like Nigeria, a [travel/tourism startup](/source/Tourism_in_Nigeria) would work the quickest. Studying South American and Asian models of already-established hotels booking agencies,<ref>{{cite web|title=BN Making It!: Meet Innovative Geeky Entrepreneur, Mark Essien – The Brain Behind Hotels.ng|url=http://www.bellanaija.com/2015/05/13/bn-making-it-meet-innovative-geeky-entrepreneur-mark-essien-the-brain-behind-hotels-ng/|website=BellaNaija.com|date=13 May 2015|publisher=Bella Naija|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref> Mark tentatively created a hotels listing platform (which was what Hotels.ng was, initially.) He purchased a domain name and a list of hotels and put them up on the website.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Voice|first1=TheNigerian|title='African Start-Up' On CNN: How An Entrepreneur Built Nigeria's Leading Hotel Bookings|url=https://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/188551/1/african-start-up-on-cnn-how-an-entrepreneur-built-.html|access-date=19 January 2018|agency=TheNigerianVoice|publisher=The Nigerian Voice|date=August 21, 2015}}</ref>

This domain recorded enough traffic numbers to convince Mark to return to Nigeria from Germany. In [Calabar](/source/Calabar), he continued to list more hotels. He partnered with a friend and they started taking photographs of hotels and signing agreements with as many hotels in Calabar as they could find.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Live|first1=ThisDay|title=Mark Essien: I Was the Night Watchman Taking Care of a Paralysed Guy in Germany|url=http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/mark-essien-i-was-the-night-watchman-taking-care-of-a-paralysed-guy-in-germany-/184580/|access-date=17 June 2015|agency=ThisDay|date=June 26, 2014|newspaper=[This Day](/source/This_Day)}}</ref>

As soon as they had enough hotels listed, bookings were enabled on Hotels.ng. Mark says that users began making reservations from the first day bookings were enabled.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nigeria's Hotels.ng Grabs $1.2M To Expand Listings Across Africa|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/26/hotels-ng-funding/|website=TechCrunch.com|date=26 May 2015 |publisher=TechCrunch|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref>

=== Seed Fund ===

Shortly after the launch of Hotels.ng, Mark published a few press articles that caught the attention of [Iroko TV's](/source/IROKOtv) founder, [Jason Njoku](/source/Jason_Njoku). At the time, he (Jason) was beginning a startup fund (Spark.ng) and looking for good internet businesses to invest in.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nigeria|first1=Scoop|title=SPARK launch gains global recognition|url=http://www.scoop.ng/2013/05/spark-launch-gains-global-recognition.html/|website=Scoop.ng|publisher=IDENTICAL|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref>

After negotiations, Spark.ng made a first investment of $75,000 in Hotels.ng which prompted Mark to move to [Lagos](/source/Lagos) to set up the platform there. A few months after the initial investment, the Spark fund made another investment of $150,000.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=Tom|title=Hotels.ng hits 6,000 listings milestone|url=http://disrupt-africa.com/2014/12/hotels-ng-hits-6000-listings-milestone/|website=Disrupt-Africa.com|date=17 December 2014|publisher=Disrupt Africa|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref>

=== Startup Fund ===
On May 26, 2015, Hotels.ng received a $1.2 million startup funding<ref>{{cite web|title=Omidyar Network Bets on Nigeria's Growing Travel and Tourism Sector with Investment in Hotels.ng|url=https://www.omidyar.com/news/omidyar-network-bets-nigeria%E2%80%99s-growing-travel-and-tourism-sector-investment-hotelsng|website=Omidyar.com|publisher=Omidyar Network|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Nigerian travel booking site Hotels.ng raises $1.2M, plans expansion | url=https://www.phocuswire.com/Nigerian-travel-booking-site-Hotels-ng-raises-1-2M-plans-expansion | first=Sean | last=O'Neil | work=Phocuswire | date=May 26, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | title=Hotels.ng gets $1.2m Investment|url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/nigerias-hotels-ng-raises-1-2-million-co-led-by-omidyar-network-and-echovc-pan-africa-fund/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|newspaper=[Vanguard](/source/Vanguard_(Nigeria))|date=26 May 2015 |access-date=19 January 2018}}</ref> from [eBay](/source/eBay) founder [Pierre Omidyar](/source/Pierre_Omidyar)'s [Omidyar Network](/source/Omidyar_Network) and from EchoVC Pan-African fund.<ref>{{cite web |title=EchoVC Made Their First Public Bet In Nigeria – Coinvested In Hotels.ng| url=http://tekedia.com/51486/echovc-made-their-first-public-bet-in-nigeria-coinvested-in-hotels-ng/|website=Tekedia.com |publisher=Tekedia|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-27 |title=How I Work: Mark Essien, tech genius on a mission to ‘fix Africa’ |url=https://techpoint.africa/2020/01/27/how-i-work-mark-essien-tech-genius-on-a-mission-to-fix-africa/ |access-date=2024-10-05 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The funding follows from the announcement of a profitable 2014 in Hotels.ng, where the platform was said to have ostensibly made $40,000 in monthly revenue in the last half of the year.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Oluwafemi|first1=Bankole|title=Hurrah For Traction - The Mark Essien Edition|url=http://techcabal.com/2014/01/27/hurrah-traction-mark-essien-edition/|website=TechCabal.com|date=27 January 2014|publisher=TechCabal|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref>

=== Staff ===
Hotels.ng employs 49 locally-working staff in its Yaba office and outsources and crowdsources its data collection to freelance workers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techpoint.ng/2015/08/12/checkout-new-hotels-ng-office-space-in-yaba-photos/|title = Checkout Hotels.ng's awesome new office space in Yaba &#91;PHOTOS&#93;|date = 12 August 2015}}</ref>

=== Expansion ===
In January 2018, Hotels.ng launched Hotel.africa and Fly.africa as part of its expansion plans across Africa.<ref>{{cite web|last1=|first1=|title=Nigeria's Hotel.ng expands African reach with new platforms|url=http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2018/01/nigerias-hotel-ng-expands-african-reach-with-new-platforms/|website=|publisher=|access-date=14 March 2018}}</ref>

== External links ==
# [https://timbu.com Hotel.africa Homepage]
# [http://www.hotels.ng Hotels.ng Homepage]
# [https://techpoint.ng/2015/05/26/hotels-ng-raises-1-2-million-in-funding/ Hotels.ng raises $1.2Million in Funding]
# [https://techpoint.ng/2015/08/24/hotels-ng-founder-mark-essien-is-proof-that-nigerian-technical-founders-can-make-great-ceos/ Hotels.ng Founder, Mark Essien is proof that Nigerian Technical Founders can make great CEOs]
# [https://techpoint.ng/2016/06/21/nigerian-startups-make-speedup-africa-bootcamp-ghana/ Hotels.ng and 35 other Nigerian Startups make it to SpeedUP Africa’s bootcamp in Ghana]
# [https://techpoint.ng/2015/08/12/checkout-new-hotels-ng-office-space-in-yaba-photos/ <nowiki>Checkout Hotels.ng’s awesome new office space in Yaba [PHOTOS]</nowiki>]

== See also ==
* [Mark Essien](/source/Mark_Essien)

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Nigerian travel websites
Category:Companies based in Lagos
Category:Hospitality companies of Nigeria

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hotels.ng](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotels.ng) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotels.ng?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.