PERSONALITIES
HAFNER TAKES KAYAK
FORWARD WITH NEW TECH STACK
THE CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF KAYAK HAS PARTNERED WITH LIFE HOUSE TO DEVELOP HOTELS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY DEVELOP A SYSTEM THAT WILL GIVE HIM AN EDGE WITH INDEPENDENT HOTELIERS .
“ WE ’ RE REALLY GETTING INTO THIS TO HELP OUR USERS . IF THE KAYAK APP IS UBIQUITOUS THAT ’ S BETTER THAN SELLING THE SOFTWARE ITSELF .”
– STEVE HAFNER by JEFF WEINSTEIN , EDITOR IN CHIEF
Kayak Co-Founder and CEO Steve Hafner believes , despite the pandemic , that a golden age for hotels , particularly for independents , he selfishly says , is here because the consumer demand is there . With that in mind , Kayak is creating a tech stack to help its partner hotels and potential partners elevate the guest experience and improve their profitability . To take it a step further , Stamford , Connecticut-based Kayak is leasing and developing its own set of hotels , currently with tech-savvy hotel partner Life House , to demonstrate proof of concept with the new operating system .
Along with Life House ’ s Rami Zeidan , Hafner has re-branded a Life House property in Miami Beach as the Kayak Miami Beach and in late-December opened Kayak Sol and Kayak Luna , both in Playa del Carmen , Mexico . Hafner told HOTELS in late December that while Kayak is not out to build a big hotel brand that will compete with the Marriotts and Hiltons of the
76 hotelsmag . com March / April 2022