15 Key Moments During Sam Shank's Days at Airbnb-Owned HotelTonight

HotelTonight co-founder and CEO Sam Shank, who steered the hotel booking app even after it was acquired by Airbnb in 2019, recently announced he would be leaving the short-term rental giant. Shank wrote on his LinkedIn account that he would take some time before making plans for a future outside of the travel industry.

So Skift is looking back at Shank's time at the helm of HotelTonight, which he co-founded in 2010, through articles documenting 15 key moments in the San Francisco-based company's history, including securing $3.25 million in funding, launching service in London, expanding to a 100-day booking window, debuting a desktop service, and being acquired by Airbnb.

1 HotelTonight Expands to London

London represented the first market HotelTonight served outside of the U.S. and Canada. And Shank said the company had plans to expand elsewhere in the United Kingdom as well as other destinations in Western Europe.

2 HotelTonight Expands in Europe and Mexico and Increases Language Capabilities

HotelTonight announced in December 2012 it was offering same-day hotel bookings in Paris, Nice, Brussels, Mexico City and Acapulco. That represented the company's first foray in continental Europe after launching in UK that June. HotelTonight also announced it would make new versions of its app available in French, German, Italian and Spanish.

3 HotelTonight Secures $45 Million in Funding