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Wimdu GmbH
Company typePrivately held company (GmbH)
IndustryTourism
FoundedMarch 2011; 13 years ago (2011-03)
HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
Area served
worldwide
Serviceshospitality service
OwnersNovasol
Number of employees
115 (2016)
Websitewimdu.com
Footnotes / references
Company Register

Wimdu is an online marketplace and hospitality service, enabling people to lease or rent short-term lodging including vacation rentals, apartment rentals, homestays, hostel beds, or hotel rooms. The company does not own any lodging; it is merely a broker and receives percentage service fees (commissions) from both guests and hosts in conjunction with every booking.[1] The company is considered to be one of the major competitors of Airbnb and a key vendor of the global vacation rental market.[2][3]

Wimdu offers more than 350,000 property listings in more than 100 countries.

Since its foundation, Investment AB Kinnevik and Rocket Internet have invested in the company.[4]

History

Wimdu was registered as a limited company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) in March 2011.[5] Arne Bleckwenn and Hinrich Dreiling, the founders of Wimdu, founded and managed several other startups before.[6][7] Shortly after Wimdu launched, the company received $90 million in funding from Kinnevik and Rocket Internet.[8] At the time, this was the largest investment in a European startup ever.[9] WirtschaftsWoche rated Wimdu among the most important startups of 2011.[10] Online for less than 100 days, Wimdu already offered 10,000 properties worldwide. Because the Chinese market is different, Wimdu started a spin-off business there called Airizu.[11] Shortly after the launch of Wimdu, Airbnb publicity criticized the business model.[12] Nevertheless, Airbnb considered acquiring Wimdu,[13] but finally decided against it.[14][15]

By 2012, Wimdu claimed to be the biggest social accommodation website from Europe.[16] After the first year in business, Wimdu gained booking revenues of $6.6 million per month and expected more than $100 million for the whole year 2012.[17][18] Later that year, the company fundamentally changed its growth strategy: Activities of international offices were reduced, some employees moved back to the Berlin headquarters.[19] The media reported that the restructuring was due to rising costs incurred by rapid growth.[20] 2013, Wimdu closed its China subsidiary Airizu, now doing business there under their main brand.[21] When it comes to Germany in particular, peer-to-peer property rental companies faced new regulatory requirements beginning in 2013.[22][23] While competitors like 9flats left Berlin,[24] Wimdu continued its operations there.[25]

By June 2013, Wimdu offered 100,000 accommodations in 150 countries.[26] The same year, media reported that Rocket Internet wanted at moments to sell Wimdu.[27][28] In October 2014, the founders Arne Bleckwenn and Hinrich Dreiling left Wimdu at their own request.[29] The management was handed over to Arne Kahlke und Sören Kress,[30] Bleckwenn and Dreiling took a position in the advisory board.[31] Wimdu further expanded its activities at the Berlin headquarters.[32] From 2013 to 2014, Wimdu increased the number of bookings by 31%.[33] 2015, Mediaset and Wimdu signed a media for equity deal.[34] The Italian media conglomerate invested million euros in the Berlin company, which received advertising on the Mediaset TV channels in return.[35] In the following months, Wimdu expanded in Italy, Spain and other Southern European countries.[36] The Mediaset-deal was significant for this.[37][38]

The city of Berlin adopted a law that restricts private apartment rentals.[39][40] This was primarily due to the housing shortage.[41] In April 2016, Wimdu filed a lawsuit against the law, which received a lot of public attention.[42][43] The company argued that the law illegally restricts the fundamental rights of hosts.[44] Author of the lawsuit is Helge Sodan, former president of the constitutional court of Berlin.[45] Although the lawsuit will likely be successful,[46] the Senate of Berlin continues to uphold the law.[47] A decision is expected for mid-2016.

In October 2016, the company announced a merger with 9flats.[48] However, in November 2016, the company was sold to Danish company Novasol.[49]

Operations

Wimdu is an online marketplace for private accommodation, similar to Airbnb, Jetsetter[disambiguation needed], HomeAway and others.[50] The service connects guests and hosts worldwide in order to provide an alternative to hotels.[51] The Wimdu website is available in 15 languages, including English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish, for example. Wimdu lists 300,000 properties in 150 countries.[52] There are many different types of properties, including private rooms, apartments, houses, boats and cars. According to Tripping, Wimdu is the leading European portal for renting city apartments,[53] which make up the majority of all properties.[54] Wimdu has also become increasingly popular for accommodation near famous individuals.[55][56]

Users of the Wimdu website must register a personal online profile, with a valid email address. Alternatively, Wimdu users can log in with an existing Facebook account. Profiles can be used to rent properties as well as list one's own place: there are not different account types for guests and hosts.[57][58] Profiles include reviews to build reputation and trust between users of the online marketplace.[59] Any booking on Wimdu requires a fixed commission of 3% for the host and 12% for the guest.[60] Wimdu supports different payment methods, including credit card, direct debit and wire transfer.[61] For security purposes, all payments are retained for 24 hours after check-in, so that guests can check their accommodation for problems.[62] Beside the Wimdu website, there are guest and host apps for iOS devices,[63] although Android is currently not supported.

Controversies

Rocket Internet, which is headed up by the Samwer brothers and invested heavily in Wimdu, is renowned for its aggressive entrepreneurship and leadership style.[64][65][66] Wimdu has been accused several times of being a clone of Airbnb,[67][68] as their business-model and website design is remarkably similar.[69] In response, representatives of the company stated that although the concept may seem similar, Wimdu has a unique approach,[70] treating "different countries, different cultures, in different ways".[71] Wimdu offers a "hotel light" experience in a market where Airbnb has the "first mover advantage".[72] Both Airbnb and Wimdu have been in a fierce competition, especially in German-speaking Europe.[73]

In January 2016, Wimdu was accused of leaving their hosts alone to deal with vandalism: Die Zeit, Stern reported that Wimdu refused to compensate a Berlin apartment that had been destroyed, beyond offering a dedicated "insurance" for such damages.[74][75] Wimdu denied the allegations and pointed out that the host had demanded an "excessive refund" in this case.[76] Die Zeit took on the position of Wimdu and invited experts to check their standard form contract, which was deemed to be unsatisfactory for many cases discussed before.[77]

In a TV program (Groeten van Max) on Dutch TV (aired May 30th) they showed a B&B being duped - as their images were used by someone else. As they informed Wimdu about it, Wimdu ignored the problem - allowing others to be duped by a fake room/apartment being advertised, plus damaging the reputation of the original B&B. When confronted by the TV program at their head office, they refused to comment, and pointed the reporter to the door. Use with extreme caution. To see the episode - in dutch : Source : [78]

References

  1. ^ Wortham, Jenna (July 25, 2011). "Room to Rent, via the Web". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Das Geschäft mit den Privatwohnungen". Bonner General-Anzeiger (in German). October 7, 2015. p. 17.
  3. ^ "Global Vacation Rental Market 2015-2019". Research and Markets. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  4. ^ Wauters, Robin (June 14, 2011). "Investors Pump $90 Million Into Airbnb Clone Wimdu". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  5. ^ "Wimdu GmbH". Company Register. Bundesanzeiger. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  6. ^ "Arne Bleckwenn". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  7. ^ "Hinrich Dreiling". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  8. ^ Hüsing, Alexander (June 15, 2011). "Zimmerdreikampf: Wimdu sammelt 90 Millionen US-Dollar ein". deutsche-startups.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  9. ^ Schmidt, Holger (June 15, 2011). "Rekord: Start-Up Wimdu erhält 90 Millionen Dollar Finanzspritze". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  10. ^ "Gründer: Die wichtigsten Startups". WirtschaftsWoche (in German). Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  11. ^ Ohr, Thomas (May 10, 2011). "Wimdu enters the Chinese market with Airizu". eu-startups.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  12. ^ Tsotsis, Alexia (June 9, 2011). "Airbnb Freaks Out Over Samwer Clones". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  13. ^ Kaczmarek, Joel (2014). Die Paten des Internets (in German) (3rd ed.). Munich: FinanzBuch Verlag. p. 397. ISBN 978-3-86248-353-2.
  14. ^ Rao, Leena (October 11, 2013). "Brian Chesky Talks About Why Airbnb Didn't Acquire European Clone Wimdu, Global Growth And More". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  15. ^ Räth, Georg (October 14, 2013). "Airbnb hätte beinahe Wimdu übernommen". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  16. ^ Fryatt, Linsey (March 22, 2013). "Wimdu vs Airbnb – the battle for Europe hots up ahead of London 2012 Olympics". The Heureka. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  17. ^ Wauters, Robin (March 22, 2012). "After one year, Airbnb rival Wimdu is big. How big? $132 million a year big". The Next Web. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  18. ^ Kaczmarek, Joel (March 22, 2012). "Wimdu gibt erstmals Zahlen bekannt". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  19. ^ Hofmann, Alex (September 19, 2012). "Wimdu streicht internationale Büros zusammen". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  20. ^ Hofmann, Alex (September 20, 2012). "Airbnb rival Wimdu confirms cuts to international offices, refocus on Berlin". The Heureka. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  21. ^ Horwitz, Josh (July 12, 2013). "Rocket Internet has reportedly shuttered Airizu, its struggling Airbnb clone in China". The Next Web. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  22. ^ Prophet, Isabell (October 25, 2013). "Die Jagd auf die Untervermieter". Die Welt (in German). p. 30.
  23. ^ Thurm, Frida (November 27, 2013). "Auch deutsche Wohnplattformen sollen Daten herausgeben". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  24. ^ "Nach Verbot von Ferienwohnungen gibt Vermittler 9flats in Berlin auf". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). November 27, 2013. p. 6.
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  27. ^ Räth, Magdalena (January 29, 2013). "Wimdu findet keine Abnehmer". gruenderszene.de (in German).
  28. ^ Dörner, Stephan (January 29, 2013). "Samwer-Brüder werden Wimdu nicht los". The Wall Street Journal (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
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  30. ^ "Wimdu-Gründer geben Geschäftsführung ab". gruenderszene.de (in German). October 30, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  31. ^ Hüsing, Alexander (October 30, 2014). "Bleckwenn und Dreiling verlassen Zimmervermittler Wimdu". deutsche-startups.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  32. ^ "Wo Mitarbeiter von anderen Ländern träumen". deutsche-startups.de (in German). November 5, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  33. ^ Ohr, Thomas (May 6, 2015). "5 unexpected things Rocket Internet's annual report for 2014 reveals". eu-startups.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  34. ^ Bockenheimer, Johannes (February 6, 2015). "Mediaset steigt bei Berliner Zimmervermittler Wimdu ein". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  35. ^ Wirminghaus, Niklas (February 5, 2015). "Wimdu schließt Media-Deal mit Berlusconis Sendergruppe". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  36. ^ Schröder, Miriam (April 28, 2015). "Deutsche Urlauber wollen keine Katzen". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  37. ^ "Berlusconi-Konzern steigt bei Zimmervermittler Wimdu ein". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). February 5, 2015. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  38. ^ Hegemann, Lisa (February 6, 2015). "Wimdu: Werbe-Deal mit Berlusconis Mediaset". WirtschaftsWoche (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  39. ^ Eisenring, Christoph (April 16, 2016). "Wo Berlin uncool ist". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  40. ^ Rada, Uwe; Schmalz, Sophie; Schneider, Eva (April 24, 2016). "Jetzt wird es ernst". Die Tageszeitung (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  41. ^ Tietz, Janko (August 12, 2013). "Tourismus: Teilen verboten". Der Spiegel (in German). {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  42. ^ "Portal Wimdu.de klagt gegen Berliner Ferienwohnungsverbot". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  43. ^ "Internetportal klagt gegen Ferienwohnungsverbot in Berlin". Handelsblatt (in German). April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  44. ^ "Online-Portal Wimdu klagt gegen Berlin". Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). April 15, 2016. p. 9.
  45. ^ Aulich, Uwe (April 15, 2016). "Wimdu verklagt das Land Berlin". Berliner Zeitung (in German).
  46. ^ Jürgens, Isabell (March 10, 2015). "Verbot von Ferienwohnungen könnte verfassungswidrig sein". Die Welt (in German). p. 25.
  47. ^ Aulich, Uwe (April 18, 2016). "Der Senat bleibt hart". Berliner Zeitung (in German).
  48. ^ Voss, Oliver (October 10, 2016). "Exklusiv: Wimdu und 9Flats schließen sich zusammen". WiWo Gründer.
  49. ^ Rungg, Andrea (November 29, 2016). "Touristik-Dino kauft Angreifer - Novasol schluckt Rocket-Internet-Start-up". Manager Magazin.
  50. ^ Higgins, Michelle (January 4, 2012). "19 Web Sites for Travel Savings in 2012". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  51. ^ "About Wimdu". Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  52. ^ Brügger, =Bernhard; Kwidzinski, Raphaela (May 2, 2015). "Teilen ist das neue Reisen". Allgemeine Hotel- und Gastronomie-Zeitung (in German). pp. 6–7.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  53. ^ "Airbnb vs. Wimdu". Tripping. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  54. ^ Choat, Isabel (June 28, 2013). "How to find and book a holiday apartment online". The Guardian. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  55. ^ "Neben echten Stars urlauben". Tiroler Tageszeitung (in German). August 5, 2011. p. 26.
  56. ^ "Tür an Tür mit Fashion-Stars". B.Z. (in German). July 22, 2012. p. 38.
  57. ^ "How it works for guests". Wimdu. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  58. ^ "How it works for hosts". Wimdu. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  59. ^ Lunn, Emma (October 11, 2014). "Using Airbnb, Wimdu or another social travel site? How to avoid being conned". The Guardian. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  60. ^ Langer, Marie-Astrid (January 3, 2014). "In fremden Schlafzimmern". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). p. 50.
  61. ^ "Was taugen die Zimmerportale im Internet?". Das Erste (in German). Saarländischer Rundfunk. September 13, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  62. ^ "Wimdu to check-in with global insurance, traveller protection to follow". tnooz.com. August 24, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  63. ^ "iTunes Preview". App Store (iOS). {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  64. ^ Cowan, Matt (March 2, 2012). "Inside the clone factory: The story of Germany's Samwer brothers". Wired. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  65. ^ Chafkin, Max (May 29, 2012). "Lessons From the World's Most Ruthless Competitor". Inc. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  66. ^ Laaff, Meike (October 1, 2014). "Die Ideenkopierer". Die Tageszeitung (in German). p. 4.
  67. ^ Kaczmarek, Joel (April 8, 2011). "Samwers starten Airbnb-Klon Wimdu". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  68. ^ "Internet companies: Attack of the clones". The Economist. August 6, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  69. ^ Kaczmarek, Joel (June 10, 2011). "Airbnb wettert gegen Wimdu(?)" (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  70. ^ Maatz, Björn (May 26, 2012). "Wie Wimdu sich von den Samwer-Brüdern freischwimmt". Financial Times (in German).
  71. ^ Johnson, Bobbie (March 21, 2012). "With Airbnb expanding in Europe, Wimdu cranks it up". Gigaom. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  72. ^ Hüsing, Alexander (April 29, 2015). "Wimdu wirft sich vorm Konkurrenten airbnb in den Staub". deutsche-startups.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  73. ^ "Airbnb closes Austria operation in battle with Wimdu". TechCrunch. December 20, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  74. ^ "Wohnungsportal Wimdu lässt Vermieter mit Schäden alleine". Die Zeit (in German). January 20, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  75. ^ "Airbnb-Konkurrent zahlt Vermietern bei Vandalismus keinen Schadensersatz". Stern (in German). January 23, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  76. ^ Kyriasoglou, Christina (January 22, 2016). "Führt Wimdu seine Kunden in die Irre?". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  77. ^ Rohrbeck, Felix (February 11, 2016). "Wimdu wehrt sich …". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  78. ^ http://www.omroepmax.nl/groeten-van-max/uitzending/tv/groeten-van-max-maandag-30-mei-2016/
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