Buuteeq

About Buuteeq

Buuteeq was a digital marketing firm that developed a comprehensive, cloud-based marketing platform specifically for the hotel industry. The company was founded in February 2010 by former Microsoft executives Forest Key, Adam Brownstein, and Brian Saab. The idea originated from co-founder Forest Key's personal travel experiences and the difficulty he encountered finding independent hotel websites online. The founders, with their backgrounds as technologists and marketing professionals, aimed to help smaller, independent hotels and bed and breakfasts leverage the digital shift in travel booking.

The company's business model was centered on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, charging clients a monthly fee. This platform provided an all-in-one solution for hoteliers, combining website creation and management, a direct online booking engine, search engine optimization (SEO) tools, social media integration, and analytics reporting. The service was designed to give hotels a complete toolkit to manage their digital presence across various channels, from web to mobile and social media. Buuteeq's system produced websites built with standard technologies that were search-engine friendly and compatible with all mobile devices, offering a more affordable and effective alternative to Flash-based sites. The client base was diverse, ranging from small bed and breakfasts to large hotels.

Buuteeq secured a total of approximately $16.9 million in funding over several rounds from investors including Madrona Venture Group, Concur Technologies, and various angel investors. By early 2014, the Seattle-based company had grown to around 200 employees with international operations and had signed up several thousand hotels to its platform. In June 2014, Buuteeq was acquired by The Priceline Group (now Booking Holdings) for a sum estimated to be between $98 million and $140 million. Following the acquisition, Buuteeq was integrated into Priceline's Booking.com division and rebranded as part of BookingSuite, continuing to provide digital marketing solutions to accommodation partners worldwide.