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Organic growth obviously wasn't sufficient for BookIt.com, which has long touted a technology advantage through its search tool and took in its first funding in a decade. BookIt.com faces the same mid-life crisis that many travel companies confront: How do you break out of the pack and get noticed.
BookIt.com, a relatively small online travel agency focusing on the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean, received a $10 million loan, what it characterizes as its first infusion of outside capital in a decade.
Although its announcement characterized the transaction as “funding,” Tom DiBacco, vice president of business and finance at the company, said the $10 million comes in the form of a term loan.
“This was strictly a loan and not equity,” DiBacco says. “Ownership hasn’t changed. We need the capital to fund growth.”
The company plans on using the financing, which it received from Chicago-based Monroe Capital, to invest in technology, expand its products and to strike relationships with additional hotels.
Monroe Capital specializes in providing junior and senior debt and equity co-investments for mid-market companies.
BookIt.com is based in Panama City, Florida.
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