Phocuswright Europe: Bravofly was attracted by cut price Lastminute.com

The founder of new lastminute.com owner Bravofly Rumbo Group says he snapped up the OTA because it was going cheap.

The founder of new lastminute.com owner Bravofly Rumbo Group says he snapped up the OTA because it was going cheap.

Fabio Cannavale told the Phocuswright Europe in Dublin that new functionality was being added to the OTAs app including a paid-for check-in and boarding pass access.

The Swiss-based European online travel group tied up the £75 million purchase of lastminute.com from Sabre-owned Travelocity earlier this year.

Cannavale admitted price was a key factor in his decision to buy lastminute.com, the dot com pioneer founded by Martha Lane-Fox and Brent Hoberman in 1998.

“I try to buy companies that are cheap,” said Cannavale. “Lastminute never made money from day one.”

Cannavale said work was underway on “building one of the best dynamic packaging platforms for hotels.”

He added the opaque Top Secret Hotels discount vehicle the brand developed had proved “very successful” and was being expanded.

The London-based OTA contracts 4,000 four and five-star hotels on its website.

A flight check-in option was launched last month and Cannavale said that 35% of passengers to date have paid to have the facility, “as they want a hassle free journey.”

“Lastminute.com is becoming a “smart travel provider,” said Cannavale, “offering real-time updates on journey details such as flight departure times and delays.”

He said a new brand message would be adapted along the lines of “extracting value from every minute of your life”.