What is "trivago"

trivago GmbH, often referred to as trivago, is a German multinational technology company specialized in internet-related services and products in the fields of hotels, lodging and metasearch. trivago was the first search engine of its kind in Germany and is known to be one of the most successful startups in Germany. Ten years in, it is still one of the fastest growing companies in Germany, with profitability doubling since 2008.

trivago GmbH was conceived in 2004 and launched in 2005 by the three founders in Düsseldorf, Germany: Peter Vinnemeier, Malte Siewert, and Rolf Schrömgens. Together, they own about 40% percent of its shares.

In 2012, Expedia bought 61% of trivago for 477 million euro. According to the media, trivago had one of the biggest exits in German startup history. Despite the sale, trivago still operates completely independently and funds its own growth–with forty-percent of all shares are still held by the founding team. When asked about the 'exit', Schrömgens replied, "For investors who have sold their shares, it was great. We founders however still hold almost 40 percent of the company, the majority of our shares. This is because we still have a great interest in developing trivago.".

Between creation and sale to Expedia, trivago had only received one million euro of investors' money, including by the Samwer brothers, Florian Heinemann and Christian Vollmann. Even with relatively low funding, trivago has managed to grow steadily, whilst still keeping their growth organic. According to trivago Founder and Managing Director Rolf Schrömgens, "We've always tried to build a company that makes money through its own inertia...to continuously improve step by step".

Rapid growth has triggered a chain of new products and acquisitions, in addition to its core metasearch engine, trivago Hotel Search, which operates on 55 platforms worldwide. According to Expedia, "The trivago team built one of the largest, fastest growing and most well known travel sites in Europe, with a culture focused on developing great products, building a strong brand and promoting partners' businesses.

The philosophy at trivago is to create a healthy & efficient working atmosphere, with a focus on personal development. They believe that when you are challenging yourself whilst growing & learning, happiness and success come naturally. The company has virtually no hierarchies or titles.

In 2016, trivago began building its new campus, whilst simultaneously reaching milestones of 1000 employees.