A Washington-based travel startup is turning Instagram and TikTok feeds into hotel booking counters.
How This Happened – For Me
I stumbled onto @hotel while looking for parking near Capitol Crossing before dinner at Love, Makoto, the Japanese sushi and yakiniku collection from Chef Makoto Okuwa. BTW – The food was excellent!
But! Pulling up Google Maps to find a garage, I noticed an ‘@hotel’ office sign near the same development that’s home to L’Ardente, the Italian spot next door.
A quick search later, and the DC-based hotel deal platform was too interesting not to write about.
A DC Company With A Global Reach
@hotel, formerly known as TripScout, was founded in Washington in 2015 by Konrad Waliszewski and Andy Acs. The company has grown to more than 40 employees and has raised $4.4 million to date.
Waliszewski, who still serves as CEO, has described the platform as an OTA for Instagram and TikTok, arguing that travelers now search those apps before they search Google.
Deals Move Through Private Messages
Unlike Booking dot com, Expedia, or others (many others, right?!), @hotel does not post its lowest prices on a public website.
Because it negotiates and sells through private group chats on Instagram and TikTok rather than a public listing bound by hotel rate-parity agreements, the company can advertise steeper last-minute discounts than traditional online travel agencies.
Waliszewski’s account has built more than 70 million followers, which the team credits for making @hotel one of the largest travel brands on Instagram
From TripScout To A Travel Content Engine
The company still operates its original TripScout app, which pairs booking with a curated feed of destination articles and videos to help travelers plan a trip.
Visitors to the main site, athotel.com, must create an account with an email address before booking, a step the company uses to route deals to the right audience. The rebrand to @hotel reflects the shift from a content-first travel app to a social-first booking platform.
@hotel operates out of Washington, near the Capitol Crossing development in the East End, and its current promotion, an end-of-summer sale advertising savings of up to 50 percent, runs through September 30.
Discount pricing varies by hotel and by deal, so there is no fixed rate card, and booking requires following the @hotel handle on Instagram or TikTok or signing up directly at athotel.com.
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