Monaker Group, Inc. (Monaker) operates as a technology company.
The company is building next generation solutions to power the travel, gaming, and cryptocurrency industries.
The company, through its subsidiaries (NextTrip and Maupintour (soon to be rebranded as NextTrip Journeys)), provides travel technology solutions with a primary emphasis on alternative lodging rental (ALR) properties. Its proprietary Booking Engine, branded as NextTrip ConNextions, provides travel distributors access to a...
Monaker Group, Inc. (Monaker) operates as a technology company.
The company is building next generation solutions to power the travel, gaming, and cryptocurrency industries.
The company, through its subsidiaries (NextTrip and Maupintour (soon to be rebranded as NextTrip Journeys)), provides travel technology solutions with a primary emphasis on alternative lodging rental (ALR) properties. Its proprietary Booking Engine, branded as NextTrip ConNextions, provides travel distributors access to a sizeable inventory of ALR properties allowing them to combine ALR with traditional components of travel (Air, Car, Cruise, etc.).
The company’s industry-leading platform assists property managers in booking, and broadening the market for, their homes. The company serves three major constituents, such as property managers, travelers, and other travel/lodging distributors. Property managers integrate their detailed property listings into the Monaker Booking Engine with the intention of reaching a broad audience of travelers seeking ALRs, through distribution channels they could not access otherwise.
Direct to Consumer Websites
The company has established a direct-to-consumer presence though a number of websites. These sites include NextTrip.com, its corporate travel management platform focused on small to medium-sized business, that provides companies the ability to book travel, manage travel expenses, and process employee expense reports. A differentiating feature of the company’s NextTrip.com solution is the ability for corporate travelers to book ALR properties as part of their travel itinerary. Beyond access to its ALR inventory, Maupintour.com (soon to be rebranded as NextTrip Journeys), provides personalized concierge tours and activities at destinations around the world.
The company’s online marketplaces are as follows:
Monaker identifies and sources ALR properties, which it consolidates through its Monaker Booking Engine, allowing for instantly bookable properties being packaged alongside other travel products; this is its distinguishing niche. The ALRs are owned and leased by third parties and are available to rent through Monaker’s websites, as well as through other distributors. Monaker’s services include critical elements, such as technology, an extensive film library, trusted brands and established partnerships that enhance product offerings and reach. Monaker has carefully amassed video content, key industry relationships and a prestigious travel brand as cornerstones for the development and deployment of core-technology on both proprietary and partnership platforms.
Monaker sells travel services to leisure and corporate customers around the world. The company’s primary focus is to incorporate ALR options into its offerings of scheduling, pricing and availability information for booking reservations for airlines, hotels, and rental cars, as well as other travel products, such as sightseeing tours, shows and event tickets, and theme park passes. The company sells these travel services both individually and as components of dynamically-assembled packaged travel vacations and trips. In addition, the company provides content that presents travelers with information about travel destinations, maps and other travel details. In December 2020, the company introduced its new corporate travel platform under the NextTrip brand. This platform allows the company’s users to search large travel suppliers of alternative lodging inventories and combine ALR with their air and car booking.
In March 2018, the company introduced Travelmagazine.com, an online travel publication with the intention of giving travelers around the world inspiration for future travel destinations and trips. The publication offers written articles, videos, and podcasts. Moving forward, the company hopes that Travelmagazine.com will become a central hub of information for travelers who are looking to get detailed information on destinations all around the world. The company also plans to move Travelmagazine.com from having content created by a team of staff writers, to a team of worldwide writers who will contribute content for publication in the future, funding permitting. The website is expected to be supported by advertising and allow for promotion of both ALR and Maupintour vacation products.
The company sells its ALR travel inventory through various distribution channels. The primary distribution channel is through its business-to-business (B2B) channel partners, which include sales via other travel companies’ websites and networks of third-party travel agents. Secondary distribution is planned to occur through the company’s own websites at Maupintour.com (soon to be rebranded as NextTrip Journeys) and NextTripbusiness.com. Additionally, the company anticipates offering high end ALR products along with specialty travel products and services via NextTripjourneys.com, targeting high value inventory to customers with complex or high-end travel needs, upon its launch, which is scheduled for August 2021.
Monaker’s core holdings are planned to be streamlined by this summer into four key platforms, such as the Monaker Booking Engine (MBE) branded as NextTrip ConNextions, Nexttripbusiness.com, NextTrip.com, Maupintour.com, and TravelMagazine.com.
The Monaker Booking Engine (MBE), branded as NextTrip ConNextions is the company’s proprietary technology and platform providing access to more than 3.2 million instantly bookable vacation rental homes, villas, chalets, apartments, condos, resort residences, and castles. This ALR product can be accessed by other travel distributors using the company’s application programming interface (API).
NextTripbusiness.com is targeted at small to midsized businesses offering them a customized travel solution for business travel to meetings, conferences, conventions or even vacation travel and gives the companies the option for a ‘self-branded’ website. The website is expected to be completed and operational in August 2021.
Maupintour, soon to be rebranded as NextTrip Journeys (NextTripJourneys.com), is expected to be the company’s primary consumer website where travel services and products are booked. The travel services and products include airlines, hotels, car rentals, and the company’s worldwide ALR inventory. Additionally, NextTrip Journeys offers high-end personalized land tour packages, cruise vacations, and specialized ALRs that cannot be booked on a real-time basis. These ALRs tend to be sourced from owners and managers who have not invested in a reservation management system and/or the owner or manager prefers to personally vet the customer before accepting a booking; typically, because the ALR is a high value property.
Travelmagazine.com, an online travel publication with the intention of giving travelers around the world inspiration for future travel destinations and trips. The publication offers written articles, videos, and podcasts. Moving forward, the company plans for Travelmagazine.com to become a central hub of information for travelers who are looking to get detailed information on destinations all around the world.
Cryptocurrency Portal
In 2020, the company acquired 100% of Longroot, Inc., a Delaware corporation (Longroot), which in turn owned 57% of Longroot Limited, a Cayman Islands company (Longroot Cayman). Longroot Cayman owned 49% of the outstanding ordinary shares of Longroot Holding (Thailand) Company Limited (Longroot Thailand), provided that Longroot Cayman controls 90% of Longroot Thailand’s voting shares and therefore effectively controls Longroot Thailand. Longroot owns an approximate 36.75% indirect interest in Longroot Thailand.
Longroot Thailand provides blockchain technology solutions for the fast-growing cryptocurrency marketplace. Longroot Thailand is an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) portal operator authorized and regulated under the Thai Digital Asset Business Law and licensed by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (Thai SEC). Longroot Thailand provides fully regulated and licensed digital assets financing, and investment services for digital assets. This business model opens the door for new digital currency financing mechanisms, and new digital investment products. Monaker, with its indirect control over Longroot Thailand, is planning to use Longroot Thailand’s technology and digital asset capabilities to create regulated cryptocurrencies designed to allow consumers to invest in unique revenue streams in wholesale travel, real estate homes and hotels, gaming assets and digital advertising – as well as potential token and loyalty program opportunities complementary to Monaker’s planned gaming (with the acquisition of HotPlay Enterprise Limited (HotPlay)) and travel businesses.
Travel Products and Services
Monaker plans to focus on marketing ALR options directly to consumers and to other travel distributors. The company’s concentration on ALRs is driven by contracts with vacation home (including timeshare) unit owners and managers that make their properties available to consumers and to other travel portals (Distributors) for nightly or extended stays. In addition, the company offers travelers activities and tours through its subsidiary, Maupintour (soon to be rebranded as NextTrip Journeys). The company also provides the means for making arrangements for airline tickets, car rentals and lodging (i.e., hotels and ALRs in the near future). In summary, Monaker offers travelers the complete travel package made easy or... Travel Made Easy.
Products and Services for Property Owners and Managers
Listings: Property owners and managers are able to list a property, with no initial upfront fees, and provide those listings to the company at a negotiated preferential rate for traveler bookings generated on its websites. Listings that are ‘real-time online bookable’ properties will be managed by the property owner or manager through an application program interface (API), which will provide real-time updates to each property and immediately notify the property owner or manager of all information regarding bookings, including modifications and cancellations. Information, such as content, descriptions and images are provided to the company through that API.
Listings that are ‘request-accept’ properties will require communication and approval from the property owner or manager and will not be managed through an API. The company will provide a set of tools for the property owner or manager that will enable them to manage an availability calendar, reservations, inquiries and the content of the listing. These tools will allow the property owner or manager to create the listing by uploading photographs, text descriptions or lists of amenities, a map showing the location of the property, and property availability, all of which can be updated throughout the term of the listing. Each listing will provide travelers the ability to use email or other methods to contact property owners and managers.
The listings include tools and services to help property owners and managers run their vacation rental businesses more efficiently: responding to and managing inquiries, preparing and sending rental quotes and payment invoices, allowing travelers to book online and, enter into rental agreements, and processing online payments. Property owners and managers who elect to process online payments will be subject to a transaction fee.
Redistribution of Listings: The company makes selected, online bookable properties available to online travel agencies, as well as channel partners (jointly referred to as ‘Distributors’).
Products and Services for Travelers
Search Tools and Ability to Compare: The company’s online marketplace NextTripJourneys.com provide travelers with tools to search for and filter several travel products, including air, car, accommodations (including ALRs) and activities based on various criteria, such as destination, travel dates, type of property, number of bedrooms, amenities, price, or keywords.
Traveler Login: Travelers are able to create accounts on the company’s website(s) that give them access to their booking activity through the website.
Travel Blog: Travel guides, videos and pictures, as well as travel articles can be accessed through Travelmagazine.com.
Security: The company uses a combination of technology and human review to evaluate the content of listings and to screen for inaccuracies or fraud with the intention of providing only accurate and trustworthy information to travelers. The company is Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant to ensure the safety and security of its customer credit card data.
Communication: Travelers who create an account on the company’s website will receive regular communications, including notices about places of interest, special offers, new listings, and an email newsletter. The newsletter will be available to any traveler who agrees to receive it and offers introductions to new destinations and vacation rentals, as well as tips and useful information when staying in vacation rentals.
Mobile Websites and Applications: The company provides versions of its websites formatted for web browsers, smart-phones and tablets so that property owners, managers and travelers can access its websites and tools from mobile devices.
The company has completed integrating several distributors for the booking of its ALR products and the company continues to integrate suppliers of ALR products. The company has more than 3.2 million properties listed on its booking engine.
Products and Services for Cryptocurrency Investors
ICO Portal: Through the company’s indirect control of Longroot Thailand, the company offers an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Portal located at Longroot.com, which provides investors a new digital investment product and gives suppliers a new digital currency financing mechanism. Monaker, through its indirect control of Longroot Thailand, is planning to use the technology and digital asset capabilities to create regulated cryptocurrencies designed to allow consumers to invest in unique revenue streams in wholesale travel, real estate homes and hotels, gaming assets and digital advertising – as well as potential token and loyalty program opportunities complementary to Monaker’s gaming (planned through the acquisition of HotPlay) and travel businesses.
Planned Future Operations
The company is in the process of completing the acquisition of HotPlay, which has developed a next generation in-game advertising (IGA) solution that harmonizes engagement between businesses and video gamers; has acquired 51% of Reinhart TV AG, which is in the business of providing a software-based TV and video distribution platform to telecom operators and digital content owners, and providing services to telecom operators and digital content owners for user interaction design, as well as software development, deployment and support; and is in the process of completing the acquisition of control of International Financial Enterprise Bank, Inc., a Puerto Rico corporation licensed as an Act 273-2012 international financial entity headquartered in San Juan Puerto Rico (IFEB).
Moving forward, assuming the completion of the acquisition of HotPlay and IFEB bank, the company anticipates the majority of its operations will transition to those of HotPlay, provided that the company plans to continue to pursue cryptocurrency and banking operations through Longroot and IFEB. The company is also excited about the prospects of the Reinhart TV AG acquisition.
Intellectual Property
The primary web properties are monakergroup.com, nexttrip.com (and nextrip.com), nexttripvacations.com, nexttrip.biz, maupintour.com, exvg.com (and extraordinaryvacations.com), and travelmagazine.com.
Longroot Thailand’s primary web properties are www.Longroot.com, portal.Longroot.co.th, and sign-up.Longroot.co.th.
Competition
The company’s principal competitors are:
Other vacation and short-term rental listing websites, such as TripAdvisor.com, HomeAway.com, VRBA.com, Booking.com, and Airbnb.com;
Websites that list both rooms to rent, as well as ALRs, such as Airbnb.com, Booking.com, HomeAway.com, and VRBO.com;
Professional property managers who charge a percentage of booking revenue for their services, such as Wyndham Worldwide Corp. and InterHome, AG;
Hotels that offer large rooms and amenities common in ALRs, such as Hyatt Vacation Clubs and Four Seasons Resorts;
Websites that aggregate listings from property managers who advertise and take bookings on behalf of property managers, such as Atraveo, E-Domizil, and Perfect Places, Inc.;
Online travel websites, such as those operated by Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Kayak.com, Booking.com, Orbitz.com, Priceline.com and Travelocity.com, which have traditionally provided comprehensive travel services and may expand or are expanding into the ALR category;
Timeshare exchange companies, such as Interval International, Inc. and RCI, LLC; and
Large Internet companies, such as eBay Inc., Google Inc., MSN.com, Yahoo!, and Craigslist, Inc., which provide vacation rental listing or search services in addition to a wide variety of other products or services.
History
The company was founded in 2002. It was incorporated in 2002. The company was formerly known as Next 1 Interactive, Inc. and changed its name to Monaker Group, Inc. in 2015.
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