RoomKey.com domain name sold for $10,000. How did it go from glory to desolation?

Recently, the domain name RoomKey.com, which once carried the dream of hotel search business, was auctioned at a low price of $10,500. This news has attracted some attention in the domain name and hotel industry.

RoomKey.com was registered in 1999 and it had a glorious "previous life". In 2012, large hotel chains such as Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt jointly founded RoomKey, a hotel search engine operated under the domain name RoomKey.com. The original intention of establishing the company was very clear at the time. It aimed to provide direct booking alternatives for online travel agencies such as Expedia and Booking.com, allowing hotels to avoid paying high commissions. It can be said to be a "gospel" tailored for the hotel industry.

However, RoomKey's development path was not smooth. On June 8, 2020, it was closed. Lack of competitive advantage was one of the main reasons for its closure. Despite the backing of many major hotel brands, RoomKey has never been able to attract significant attention among travelers and has gradually lost its voice in the fiercely competitive online travel market. The COVID-19 pandemic has become the "last straw" that broke its back. The plunge in travel demand in 2020 made the already troubled business model unsustainable.

The hotel industry is a lucrative industry, and online booking is an important part of it. RoomKey.com had the opportunity to make a big splash in this field, but it eventually fell into decline.

Today, the domain name has finally expired and has been deleted. The three-day auction of DropCatch attracted multiple bidders, and finally DropCatch user "Finder" won the auction for $10,500. Although $10,000 is considered "small money" in the hotel industry, and the stylized ROOMKEY trademark is still valid, there is no sign that it will be renewed.

Information from domaingang