Groupon

Feature 1: The much-awaited Groupon IPO is here, and Wall Street got blown away by the numbers. A registration statement filed with the SEC shows a $750 million public offering. Groupon posted a stunning 2,241 percent growth last year.

Groupon also announced the launch of a deals site with Expedia: “Groupon Getaways with Expedia” will allow more than 135,000 hotels listed on Expedia to offer deeply discounted travel deals.

They plan to start with Canada and the United States, and then expand to other countries and include package deals, airline tickets, car rentals, cruises and destination activities.

Groupon files for $750 million IPO - Washington Post (video, pr)
Groupon’s revenue grew 2,241 percent last year - WSJ
Groupon and Expedia partner to launch travel deals site – Expedia.com
Funny or die: Groupon’s fate hinges on words - NYT

Airbnb

Feature 2: Airbnb also created quite a stir this week, with a funding round that reportedly exceeded $100 million at a $1 billion valuation, including a large investment by Ashton Kutcher. Detractors followed the fame and fortune.

Instead of basking in the glow of investors’ confidence, Airbnb found itself at the wrong end of a sting with accusations of farming Craigslist to boost vacation rental listings.

Airbnb has arrived: Raising mega-round at a $1 billion+ valuation - TechCrunch
Airbnb’s soaring valuation a wake-up call to independent hotels - TechCrunch
Airbnb farmed Craigslist, says competitor - SF Chronicle
The price of success – Portfolio.com

Here’s the rest of the week’s interesting news:

HomeAway books first-quarter profit ahead of IPO – AllThingsD
Hawaiian beach vacation sparks Urbanspoon co-founder to start Dwellable - GeekWire

Waikiki Edition vs. Marriott/Ian Schrager lawsuit filing – Bickel & Brewer (pdf, see pr)
Marriott content with Edition’s slow growth - HNN
Ian Schrager speaks out on ‘frivolous’ lawsuit - HotelChatter

Pierre, Sofitel hotels in NYC to give maids panic devices - NBC New York
Toronto hotel workers need panic buttons too, union says - thestar.com
GWU study: Hospitality management grads earn less than all other business majors – Georgetown.edu (pdf)

Google finds Canadians ignoring travel apps - thestar.com
Smart phone app for high-tech grilled cheese in Silicon Valley - BusinessWeek
Smart beach trash cans debut in Santa Monica with social photo sharing - smdp.com

Airline fuel bills today are anything but peanuts - AP
Airline fee revenue soars to $21.5 billion - UpTake

Comcast to pay $1 billion for Blackstone stake in Universal Orlando - The Wrap Media
EU clears Axa, Permira online travel agency venture - WSJ

CMO Strategy: Q&A with Homewood Suites VP global marketing Carla Raynor - AdAge
Social CMO series: How JetBlue’s social media strategy took flight - Mashable

Photos - wovox; Airbnb

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