Report Overview

Skift Research has gained unprecedented access to one of the fastest growing online travel agencies (OTAs) in North America – Hopper. We interviewed senior executives across each of Hopper’s verticals, as well as speaking to their co-founder and to their CFO in order to produce a deep dive analysis of Hopper’s rise in travel. Since being founded in 2007, Hopper has become a formidable disruptor of the OTA market, which for so long has been dominated by the duopoly of the legacy players. It has leveraged big data, machine learning algorithms and predictive analysis to launch an array of unique fintech products which have been fundamental in helping it become the third largest OTA in North America.

In this report, we take a deeper look into how exactly Hopper differentiates itself from its competitors and what has fuelled its tremendous growth. Based on our conversations with senior executives, we have also estimated Hopper’s key financial and performance indicators, such as total gross bookings, revenue and marketing spend, as well as modeling its future growth trajectory. Hopper is a private company and much of the data and analysis presented in this report is not publicly available, nor has it been published in such detail before – making this a truly differentiated piece of work.

What You'll Learn From This Report

  • The evolution of Hopper’s business strategy and how that has influenced top-line growth and market share gains
  • Hopper’s key metrics such as gross bookings, revenue, take rate and segment mix, as estimated by Skift Research
  • Hopper’s key growth drivers, such as the launch of its fintech products and Hopper Cloud (its B2B arm)
  • Skift Research’s projections for Hopper’s growth trajectory
  • Hopper’s unique user acquisition and marketing strategy within the travel industry, specifically its vision of utilizing social commerce as inspired by Chinese app Pinduoduo

Executives Interviewed

  • Dakota Smith, Co-Founder & President of Hopper
  • Daniel Calderon, Chief Financial Officer of Hopper
  • Ella Alkalay Schreiber, General Manager of Fintech at Hopper
  • Makoto Rheault-Kihara, Head of Hopper User Acquisition
  • Kiera Haining, General Manager of Hopper Flights
  • Lexi Caron, Head of Hopper Hotels Marketplace
  • Ani Malkani, Head of Hopper Ground Transport 
  • Susan Ho, Head of Hopper Homes 
  • Hayley Berg, Lead Economist at Hopper