The Standard Hotels to Launch New App Where Customers Operate as Travel Advisors – Skift

In a move to break free from the growing power online travel agencies have over the hotel booking process, the owner of The Standard is launching a recommendations-based app for customers.

The new “Benny” mobile app, set to launch in October, gives guests the ability to earn commissions by recommending stays for friends at any Standard International property—located primarily in the U.S., with the exception of a handful of international offerings.

The app is said to make guests feel like a travel agent, the same way Airbnb made people hosts and Uber made regular pedestrians drivers, Standard International CEO Amar Lalvani told the Financial Times.

The initiative has also received an undisclosed investment from SWaN & Venture Legend Partners, which invests in tech-enabled consumer brands, according to its website. Some of the venture firm’s more notable investments include Airbnb, mobile payment company Square, and Pinterest.

Earlier this year, Standard International spun off its prior tech venture One Night. The startup recently announced Series A funding of $5 million in March led by aforementioned SWaN & Venture Legend Ventures.

One Night, first incubated by Standard International in 2016, was designed to be a same-day booking app for independently owned hotels. At launch, there were more than one dozen founding hotel partners. The company now has more 200 hotels available on its platform in 15 U.S. cities., with ambitions of growing that number to 300 properties in 30 U.S. markets by the end of the year.

Standard International did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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