Mitchell Corp Acquires Ezibed

EziBed's future has finally been revealed:

Media Release

Mitchell Corp Acquires Ezibed: Strengthens position in Tourism Sector
Christchurch, May 31 2012 

Christchurch based tourism service provider, Mitchell Corporation has acquired fellow New Zealand online last minute accommodation provider, Ezibed.com in a deal that further expands the companies’ investment in the Tourism sector and adds value to its partners via its extensive distribution network.
 
Matt Standing, CEO of Mitchell Corp is thrilled to have added this company to the range of services that the company provides and sees it as a natural extension to the work and services already provided to the industry.
 
“We very much see it as a support tool for both our accommodation and wholesale partners and we now work with some 5,000 properties in nine countries. Given the level of investment we have made in the online environment and ongoing development of interfaces to some of New Zealand’s largest tourism operators, this move was seen by the owners as further anchoring our position as a key player in tourism in this country and flags our confidence in the future of the industry”.
 
Ezibed was New Zealand’s first online last minute accommodation booking startup, founded in 2003 to provide competition to international websites who were beginning to enter the New Zealand market. It was also the first to introduce authenticated reviews.

Former Managing Director of Ezibed, Gareth Pearce says that the journey of developing the platform has been an enjoyable experience.

“A local travel booking platform has been developed and it’s a great feeling knowing that a team has built a product and continued to refine it to ensure it has the potential to grow even bigger – and remain locally owned.”

“Over the past years, Ezibed has enhanced its connectivity across the travel sector to provide more last minute deals in more markets than any other New Zealand hotel booking website. Other travel brands connect through international affiliate networks like Expedia or Booking.com, however with Ezibed, it is a fully custom built locally developed platform”, says Pearce.

“Ezibed has developed a loyal customer base seeking accommodation deals and having enthusiastic accommodation operators wanting to extend their reach & profile online has ensured deals are always available.”

In terms of the forward direction of the company, Mitchell Corp are keen to integrate the system into their existing platform as quickly as possible in order to take advantage of their wide distribution  network. Operationally, properties will not see any immediate changes to the way they interact with Ezibed.

“We will continue to invest in Ezibed and intend to ensure the brand is fully supported via our online team and central reservations office.”

Going forward, we do see more opportunities for the brand and are in active discussions with key  partners to fully take advantage of this technology. The former Directors of Ezibed should be very proud of what they have developed”, says Mr Standing.

“It is a real honour for the baton to be passed to our company, to continue to grow that technology.”
 
For any questions, please contact;
Matt Standing
CEO – Mitchellcorp
matt@mchg.co.nz
 
Facts:

Mitchell Corporation
‐ Mitchell Corp Directors Chris Mitchell & Matt Standing
‐ New Zealand privately owned company
‐ Launched 1985
‐ Owns and operates the brands Mainstay Hotels, Golden Chain Motels and Oceana Resorts and Apartments
‐ Owns and operates the Go Kiwi, Go Koala and Golden Chain pass products
 
Ezibed
‐ Ezibed former Directors Kerry & Diane Turner & Gareth Pearce
‐ Launched November 2003
‐ First New Zealand owned company to provide online last minute accommodation booking service & authenticated hotel reviews
‐ Expanded into Australia, Canada and Pacific Islands in 2007
‐ United States launched in 2008
‐ Winner of both the 2008 & 2009 Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Awards – Online, Online Innovation. Runner Up for Service Provider
‐ Connections to over 3,000 accommodation operators in 8 countries
‐ Acquired by Mitchell Corporation May 2012