Rome2rio
Rome2rio is an online multimodal transport search engine for inter-city and intra-city trip planning. Users can input any address, town or landmark as the origin and destination and Rome2rio searches a database of flight, train, ferry, bus and driving routes to present route and price options for traveling to that destination.[2][3] Rome2rio also offers results for hotels, rental cars, and attractions.
Founded | September 2010 |
---|---|
Headquarters | Melbourne, |
Area served | Worldwide |
Owner | Omio |
Founder(s) | Michael Cameron Bernhard Tschirren |
Industry | Travel website Search engine |
URL | www |
Alexa rank | 3,502 (As of 19 January 2020)[1] |
It is based in Melbourne, Australia and is owned by Omio.
History
Rome2rio was founded by Bernhard Tschirren and Dr. Michael Cameron, two ex-Microsoft software engineers. The site was born out of their frustrations with the lack of a fast, easy-to-use, and comprehensive multi-modal search engine with global coverage.[4]
The two co-founders began work on the product in September 2010 and won the Melbourne Azure Bizspark Camp Award in February 2011.[5]
The beta version of Rome2rio was launched on 7 April 2011.[3][6]
Rod Cuthbert, founder of Viator, became CEO in May 2012 as the company raised $450,000.[7][8]
Rome2rio won the People's Choice Award at Phocuswright 2012,[9] the TRAVELtech GlobalCollect Website of the Year in 2013,[10] the Data Specialist Award at the 2015 WITovation Awards[11] and the Best Metasearch Award at the 2016 Travolution Awards.[12]
The company raised $2.8 million in funding including a 2014 grant of $1.2 million from Commercialisation Australia.[13]
In July 2015, it announced that support for its white label product would cease in January 2016, citing pressure on development resources brought on by rapid growth in its consumer business.[14] The company initially offered both white-label products and application programming interface options for partners wishing to integrate its multi-modal results into web sites and mobile apps.[15]
In 2016, the company added direct booking options.[16]
In April 2017, Rod Cuthbert became Executive Chairman, Michael Cameron became CEO and Bernie Tschirren was made Chief Architect. Kirsteene Phelan became COO.[17]
In November 2017, Rome2rio moved to a new headquarters in Melbourne.[18]
In October 2019, Omio acquired the website.[19][20]
References
- "Alexa Internet: Rome2rio". Alexa Internet.
- Leo, Jen (5 January 2014). "Rome2Rio.com shows travelers how to get from here to there". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035.
- Tsotsis, Alexia (7 April 2011). "Rome2rio Is Google Maps With Airfare, Train And Driving Options". TechCrunch.
- May, Kevin (7 April 2011). "TLabs Showcase – Rome2rio". Phocuswire.
- "rome2rio's pitch wins first prize at the Azure BizSpark Camp!". Twitter. 6 February 2011.
- Ha, Anthony (7 April 2011). "Rome2Rio launches travel search with planes, trains, and automobiles". VentureBeat.
- May, Kevin (29 May 2012). "Rome2Rio grabs $450,000 investment round, appoints ex-Viator boss as interim CEO". Phocuswire.
- WAUTERS, ROBIN (29 May 2012). "Travel search firm Rome2Rio goes B2B, raises $450k and appoints interim CEO". The Next Web.
- "Phocuswright Conference : 2012 Travel Innovation Summit Alumni". Northstar Travel Group.
- KELLY, MARTIN (19 September 2013). "Rome2Rio Beats Strong Field to Win Website of the Year". Travel Trends.
- Yong, Danielle (20 October 2015). "Tearjerker in Thailand and karaoke-basketball fusion win at WITovation Awards". Northstar Travel Group.
- "Travolution Awards: Winners revealed". Travolution. 30 November 2016.
- KELLY, MARTIN (2 July 2014). "Rome2Rio Gets Another $1.2 million in Govt Funding". Travel Trends.
- May, Kevin (15 July 2015). "Rome2Rio axes white label to prioritise own consumer brand". Phocuswire.
- Bryant, Martin (7 February 2013). "Multi-Modal Travel Search Engine Rome2rio Opens Up Free API Access". The Next Web.
- Cowen, Martin (15 May 2017). "Rome2rio ramps up direct booking options". Phocuswire.
- Cameron, Michael (24 April 2017). "As growth continues, new roles at Rome2rio". Rome2rio.
- Cameron, Michael (6 December 2017). "Rome2rio graduates to new headquarters in Digital Richmond". Rome2rio.
- Lomas, Natasha (31 October 2019). "Omio buys Rome2rio to build out its global travel aggregator business". TechCrunch.
- Schaal, Dennis (31 October 2019). "Omio Buys Rival Rome2Rio in Mashup of Door-to-Door Booking Sites". Skift.