SnapTravel Is Using A.I. to Make Booking Hotels as Easy as Sending a Text
*By Conor White*
A new travel site is looking to make booking a vacation as easy as sending a text message. SnapTravel offers exclusive hotel deals via SMS, in an effort to get customers the hotel they want, when they want it.
"Essentially, we want to get you the best hotel, as fast as possible, and as easy as possible," CEO and co-founder Hussein Fazal told Cheddar on Wednesday.
Users simply text certain details ー where they want to visit and when ー and can receive a near-immediate reply. According to Fazal, his company uses artificial intelligence tech to ensure the response time is speedy and the recommendations appropriate.
Fazal said the SnapTravel's services are also available through other messaging platforms.
"Whether it be Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, we work on all those platforms," he said.
"We use some natural language-processing technology to analyze what you're saying, and get back to you right away," Fazal added.
In the last year, SnapTravel has generated $50 million in sales, a 450 percent increase since 2017. And Fazel said the company's $21 million in Series A funding will help ensure it stays on the cutting edge of the necessary tech.
SnapTravel is also getting a boost from NBA superstar Steph Curry, who is investing in the platform through his own company, SC30.
"Having him on our team just really adds that extra marketing push and promotion and legitimacy to the brand," Fazal said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/snaptravel-ceo-on-booking-vacations-via-texts-and-steph-currys-investment).
Oracle soars as it cashes in on the AI boom, Plus: Starbucks shares continue to fall under its new CEO, and does anybody actually want a new iPhone Air?
Swedish buy now, pay later company Klarna is making its highly anticipated public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, the latest in a run of high-profile initial public offerings this year. The offering priced at $40 Tuesday, above the forecasted range of $35 to $37 a share, valuing the company at more than $15 billion. The valuation easily makes Klarna one of the biggest IPOs so far in 2025, which has been one of the busier years for companies going public. Other popular IPOs so far this year include the design software company Figma and Circle Internet Group, which issues the USDC stablecoin..
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison wrested the title of the world’s richest man from longtime holder Elon Musk early Wednesday as stock in his software giant rocketed more than a third in a stunning few minutes of trading. That is according to wealth tracker Bloomberg. A college dropout, the 81-year-old Ellison is now worth $393 billion, Bloomberg says, several billion more than Musk, who had been the world’s richest for four years. The switch in the ranking came after a blockbuster earnings report from Oracle. Forbes still has Musk as the richest, however, valuing his private businesses much higher.