Rome2rio

Rome2Rio

Rome2Rio

Australian multimodal transport search engine

Rome2Rio is an Australian online multimodal transport journey planner offering traveling services globally.[1] The company is based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned by the German online travel comparison and booking website Omio.

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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.[2]

The two co-founders began work on the product in September 2010 and won the Melbourne Azure Bizspark Camp Award in February 2011.[3]

The beta version of Rome2Rio was launched on 7 April 2011.[4][5]

Rod Cuthbert, the founder of Viator, became CEO in May 2012 as the company raised $450,000.[6][7]

Rome2Rio won the People's Choice Award at Phocuswright 2012,[8] the TRAVELtech Global Collect Website of the Year in 2013,[9] the Data Specialist Award at the 2015 WITovation Awards[10] and the Best Metasearch Award at the 2016 Travolution Awards.[11]

The company raised $2.8 million in funding including a 2014 grant of $1.2 million from Commercialization Australia.[12]

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.[13] The company initially offered both white-label products and application programming interface options for partners wishing to integrate its multi-modal results into websites and mobile apps.[14]

In 2016, the company added direct booking options.[15]

In April 2017, Rod Cuthbert became Executive Chairman, Michael Cameron became CEO and Bernie Tschirren was made Chief Architect. Kirsteene Phelan became COO.[16]

In November 2017, Rome2Rio moved to a new headquarters in Richmond, Melbourne's digital quarter.[17]

In July 2019, Craig Penfold joins the company as Chief Technology Officer.

In October 2019, Rome2Rio was acquired by Omio, a Berlin-based travel booking platform.[18][19]

In January 2020, Yeswanth Munnangi took over as CEO of Rome2Rio, and Michael Cameron joined the board of directors.

References

  1. [1]
    Leo, Jen (5 January 2014). "Rome2Rio.com shows travelers how to get from here to there". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035.
  2. [2]
    May, Kevin (7 April 2011). "TLabs Showcase – Rome2Rio". Phocuswire.
  3. [3]
    "Rome2Rio's pitch wins first prize at the Azure BizSpark Camp!". Twitter. 6 February 2011.
  4. [4]
    Tsotsis, Alexia (7 April 2011). "Rome2Rio Is Google Maps With Airfare, Train And Driving Options". TechCrunch.
  5. [5]
    Ha, Anthony (7 April 2011). "Rome2Rio launches travel search with planes, trains, and automobiles". VentureBeat.
  6. [6]
    May, Kevin (29 May 2012). "Rome2Rio grabs $450,000 investment round, appoints ex-Viator boss as interim CEO". Phocuswire.
  7. [7]
    WAUTERS, ROBIN (29 May 2012). "Travel search firm Rome2Rio goes B2B, raises $450k and appoints interim CEO". The Next Web.
  8. [8]
    "Phocuswright Conference : 2012 Travel Innovation Summit Alumni". Northstar Travel Group.
  9. [9]
    KELLY, MARTIN (19 September 2013). "Rome2Rio Beats Strong Field to Win Website of the Year". Travel Trends. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  10. [10]
    Yong, Danielle (20 October 2015). "Tearjerker in Thailand and karaoke-basketball fusion win at WITovation Awards". Northstar Travel Group.
  11. [11]
    "Travolution Awards: Winners revealed". Travolution. 30 November 2016.
  12. [12]
    KELLY, MARTIN (2 July 2014). "Rome2Rio Gets Another $1.2 million in Govt Funding". Travel Trends. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  13. [13]
    May, Kevin (15 July 2015). "Rome2Rio axes white label to prioritise own consumer brand". Phocuswire.
  14. [14]
    Bryant, Martin (7 February 2013). "Multi-Modal Travel Search Engine Rome2Rio Opens Up Free API Access". The Next Web.
  15. [15]
    Cowen, Martin (15 May 2017). "Rome2Rio ramps up direct booking options". Phocuswire.
  16. [16]
    Cameron, Michael (24 April 2017). "As growth continues, new roles at Rome2Rio". Rome2Rio.
  17. [17]
    Cameron, Michael (6 December 2017). "Rome2Rio graduates to new headquarters in Digital Richmond". Rome2Rio.
  18. [18]
    Lomas, Natasha (31 October 2019). "Omio buys Rome2Rio to build out its global travel aggregator business". TechCrunch.
  19. [19]
    Schaal, Dennis (31 October 2019). "Omio Buys Rival Rome2Rio in Mashup of Door-to-Door Booking Sites". Skift.
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