Holiday Watchdog
| Founded | January 2003 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | London, UK |
| Founder(s) | Chris Brown Chris Clarkson |
| Industry | Travel |
| Parent | TripAdvisor |
| URL | www |
Holiday Watchdog is a UK-based travel website that hosts user-generated content, primarily reviews and photos for lodging in the Mediterranean, Egypt, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Caribbean and Asia including resorts in Magaluf, Ibiza, Ayia Napa, Benidorm, and Sharm El Sheikh. The site also offers an Internet forum where users can share information about travel-related experiences.
History
The site was established in January 2003 by Chris Brown, who came up with the idea for a review site whilst working at lastminute.com. He taught himself computer programming from a £17 book. He then partnered with Chris Clarkson, who he met in a chat room, to develop the website and its business relationships.[2]
In 2006, the website began soliciting video clips.[3]
In February 2008, the website was acquired by TripAdvisor.[4] At that time, the website had 1 million unique visitors per month.[5] The sales price was in the multi-million pound range.[2]
In 2010, the website had turnover of £30 million.[2]
External links
References
- ^ "Alexa Internet: Holiday Watchdog". Alexa Internet.
- ^ a b c McKeigue, James (December 9, 2010). "Chris Brown: The internet love affair that led to a fortune". MoneyWeek.
- ^ Davies, Phil (November 6, 2006). "Capture your holiday disasters on video". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Zacks, Rebecca (February 14, 2008). "TripAdvisor Acquires Holiday Watchdog". Xconomy.
- ^ Butcher, Mike (February 15, 2008). "TripAdvisor buys Holiday Watchdog, reviews site M&A begins". TechCrunch.