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92 Part 1 Introduction

one of the key differences between an intermediary site Brett was quoted as saying ‘I am a very angry customer;
such as this and one hosted by a single supplier or in my experience they have failed on the three key areas
travel agency. Enhancements in 2001, to help increase of technology, customer service and Internet capability’.
conversion rate included: Brent Hoberman said the problems were caused by its
third-party credit-authority firm.
9 times faster image download time;
What of the future threats and opportunities for the
completely redesigned home page and navigation;
company? In a Guardian interview with Jamie Doward
smarter search capability including a mapping search
on 27 February 2000 Lane-Fox was asked about the
tool to find restaurants, hotels and entertainment
threat of a major ticket site setting up its own site. Lane-
options in your local area;
Fox dismissed this possibility: ‘Companies can’t do it on
200% product supply increase with over 100,000
their own web site because they fear cannibalization’,
offers available at any given time;
and she says of first-mover advantage: ‘you still have to
new ‘MySpace’ category with personalized offers
set the company up and we’re starting to get critical
and e-mail alerts;
mass in Europe’. lastminute.com have opened offices in
new ‘Staying In’ category with food and in-home
London, Paris, Munich and Stockholm to help achieve
entertainment delivery options.
this. Towards the end of 2001, nine European airlines
The company was founded by Brent Hoberman, 31, and including Air France, BA, KLM and Lufthansa responded
Martha Lane-Fox, 27, both Oxford graduates. Hoberman to lastminute.com with the launch of Opodo (which
suggested the idea in 1996 while working at Spectrum, a stands for OPportunities tO DO (www.opodo.com) which
company specializing in new media strategies. At the has been set up by nine European airlines. By April
time, Lane-Fox said that the idea was too complex and 2002, Opodo had become the third most important
would need thousands of suppliers to be effective. travel site in the UK, but it appears that the last-
Hoberman and Lane-Fox raised £600,000 to get the minute.com brand is now well established and it is
company going and achieved many high-profile backers unlikely to be displaced.
such as France Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, Sony Music To help counter this competition, lastminute.com
Entertainment, the British Airports Authority and Intel completed 14 acquisitions between 2003 and 2005,
and venture capital company Arts Alliance Advisers. One lastminute.com now owns and operates online
problem was the domain name which had been regis- brands including holidayautos.com, travelprice.com,
tered by a Sardinian businessman. Both founders were degriftour.com, travel-select.com, travel4less.co.uk,
adamant that their site had to be called this and the eXhilaration.co.uk, medhotels. com, first-option.co.uk,
Sardinian was happy to sell it for several hundred thou- gemstonetravel.com, onlinetravel.com and lastminute.de.
sand pounds. This can be compared to the owner of
Jungle.com, a Californian who sold it for £235,000 to the 2005: The end of lastminute.com as an
site’s founder. independent organization
The company hoped to use the money from flotation
In July 2005, lastminute.com was purchased by Sabre
to increase access to the service by offering access to Holdings Corporation (www.sabre-holdings.com/investor),

its service by WAP mobile and has signed deals with BT best known as the world’s largest electronic global distri-
Cellnet and Orange to help achieve this. Other site
bution system (GDS), connecting travel agents and travel
improvements will also be made – Lane-Fox has been
suppliers with travellers and also the owner of online travel
quoted as saying ‘We’ve spent a lot of money improving
service Travelocity (www.travelocity.com). It was acquired
the back-end, but we want to do more with the front-
for £577 million, including gross debt of approximately
end.’ The improvements to the ‘back-end’ have been
£79 million and estimated cash at bank of £72 million.
necessary to avoid problems with customer service.
Lastminute is now an international e-business with
Writing in Computer Weekly, 2 March 2000, Anne
separate web sites for the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium,
Hyland reported that several customers had money
the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Australia,
deducted from their account without purchasing any
New Zealand, Japan, USA, Norway and Denmark.
products from the site. For example, Charlotte Brett, a
London customer has had £50 deducted from her Source: lastminute.com Investors Relations web site (http://cws.
huginonline.com/L/131840/last_index.html)
account on three occasions in January and February
2000. The money was recredited to her account, but Ms