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technology-driven business model focused on revenue management , finance and hotel operations software . Life House has some 50 hotels under management in North America and recently added the 50- key Shire Woodstock in Vermont , its 20th hotel in New England .
Hafner says the two companies work well together , both driven by a desire to improve operating models for independent properties .
The Life House brand lives sideby-side with Kayak , according to Hafner , who expects every Life House hotel to be interoperable with the Kayak app . “ That ’ s part of the partnership . Rami will focus on his proprietary tech stack and he will launch his branded hotels ,” Hafner says . “ I think the bulk of his business right now and where he ’ s going to go with it is nonbranded hotels . It ’ s actually providing the software to open hotels , and some of them he will manage , and some of them he won ’ t .” It ’ s really about the software With thousands of techchallenged independents in the world seen as potential new Kayak partners , Hafner says its biggest focus right now is getting the software just right . And by the way , Hafner adds , Kayak might not even charge for the product because recruiting this vast network of independents into the Kayak system would be worth its weight in gold .
“ We ’ re really getting into this to help our users ,” Hafner adds . “ If the Kayak app is ubiquitous that ’ s better than selling the software itself .”
To further explain the upside , Hafner cites frequency of app use by Kayak users versus a brand that might not get its infrequent users to keep the app . “ If we can get those people to interact with the independent hotels , I think everyone comes out ahead .”
He continues by stating that Kayak makes a very nice living just being a meta-search engine . “ If we get more people to use Kayak and get more loyalty out of those users , then that that ’ s probably good enough for us ,” he says . “ And if we can elevate the guest experience and help deliver more profits to the hotel owner and to the operator themselves , that should
Poolside at the 31-room Kayak Sol in Playa del Carmen , Mexico
find its way back to us in terms of advertising and potentially people paying us higher commissions . Lots of companies have shown that if you build a successful platform , it is more profitable for everybody . There ’ s a very virtuous cycle there , and we ’ ll see where it goes .”
Kayak ’ s proprietary software will enable it to talk with any PMS , allowing most all independents to
Rooftop bar at the Kayak Luna , a 20-room boutique hotel in Playa del Carmen , Mexico