Off & Away Launches New Website for Luxury Travel

Off & Away, a new website where travelers can bid to win discounted hotels, launched on May 24. The first auctions featured hotel suite experiences at the Pierre New York and the Wynn Las Vegas. In the coming weeks, Off & Away said it will auction additional experiences at such brands as The London NYC, THE Hotel in Las Vegas, the Intercontinental Chicago, Chambers Hotel in New York, and many more.

Off & Away was founded by former Amazon.com and travel industry executives from Expedia, Orbitz and Alaska Airlines. The company recently raised Series A funding led by Madrona Venture Group, the venture capital firm behind Amazon.com, Farecast.com (now Bing Travel) and VacationSpot (now a part of Expedia).

In addition to the consumer benefits, Off & Away said it will provide luxury hotel brands with a new marketing channel that drives incremental bookings and showcases the best their properties have to offer. It also said it would do so without brand or rate dilution.

To participate in Off & Away auctions, travelers purchase bid packs that they use to bid on suite experiences. The traveler who places the last bid when the auction clock expires wins an amazing hotel stay for up to 90 percent off normal rates. Travelers who do not win the auction can apply their used bids towards booking another room at that hotel or any hotel in Off & Away’s large network.