The History of Lastminute.com

By Deckchair Staff

Lastminute.com’s growth from a staff of two to a staff of well over 1,900 is an astonishing and sometimes turbulent tale of an internet travel company giving the people what they want, when they want it, for the price they can afford.

Before Brent Hoberman became the founder and CEO of lastminute.com, he was a man who relished booking five-star accommodations at three-star rates. His unprecedented success at finding luxurious yet affordable hotels led him to consider starting a full-time company. Hoberman partnered with Martha Lane-Fox, who used her business savvy to expand Lastminute.com’s line to include everything from theatre tickets to full-blown holiday packages. In October of 1998, Fox and Hoberman launched lastminute.com. The site became an instant hit with internet travelers, garnering enough business to allow lastminute.com to offer stock on the London Stock Exchange in March 2000. The success of the offering resulted in the acquisition of four existing internet travel companies, including Holiday Autos and the exclusive medhotels.com, and a branch in German, lastminute.de.

As with any company that experiences substantial growth, Lastminute.com’s heady rush of expansion proved financially rewarding but personally challenging. In 2003, Ian McCaig, the former vice president of 3G operations of Nokia, joined the company as Chief Operating Officer. His vision and acumen helped to propel Lastminute.com into the top tier of internet travel companies by acquiring another 14 online brands. Lastminute.com’s impressive growth attracted the interest of several major corporations.

In 2005, Travelocity purchased lastminute.com. A year later, Brent Hoberman resigned his post as CEO and became the company chairman, and Ian McCaig became the CEO. Ian subsequently worked to preserve the company’s original energy and spirit of adventure while simultaneously integrating the various needs of the multi-national expansion. Travelocity cemented Lastminute.com’s status as one of the premier global travel sites by adding highly competitive plane fares to the site’s extensive roster of services.

The Lastminute hotels, air fares, and holiday packages draw 2.5 million weekly visitors to the website. Lastminute.com’s extensive knowledge of entertainment and travel is unmatched in the industry, and helps to explain why, in the relatively unstable world of internet-based businesses, Lastminute.com continues to thrive and grow. Founded by a man with a love for a lastminute hotel, and managed by the sharpest and most innovative minds in the industry, Lastminute.com offers you everything you could possibly want in a holiday, for a price you won’t believe.

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Looking For Great Deals On Hotels? Try lastminute.com

By Deckchair Staff

It’s hard to believe that only a decade or so ago, making a hotel reservation meant having to make numerous calls – and often required a telephone directory. Times have definitely changed; the Internet has improved the quality of our lives in many key ways, and making travel arrangements is definitely near the top of that list. Out of all of the online hotel booking sites, lastminute.com shines the brightest, bringing a plethora of excellent benefits to the table. If you need to make hotel reservations and want to enjoy the combined advantages of exceptionally low prices paired with an intuitive, user-friendly interface, you can’t do better than lastminute.com.

Get The Lowest Rate

When you call a hotel directly, you’re not going to be quoted a very competitive price. Hotels assume that when a person calls to make reservations directly, they have a specific desire to use that chain and are willing to pay a bit more money. With a topnotch online hotel booking site like lastminute.com, you can skip right past the frustration of being quoted exorbitant rates and have the most rock-bottom prices at your disposal in seconds. Wherever you’re going and whatever your requirements may be, lastminute.com will bowl you over with their incredible rates.

Compare Everything At Once

Who has time to write a long-winded list of the hotels in any given area, along with their current room rates? Nowadays, time is of the essence and you don’t want to waste any of yours researching something as mundane as room rates. Lastminute.com allows you to take in the big picture with just a few clicks of the mouse button. Upon entering the relevant criteria, you will be presented with a list of the best – and most affordable – options; it just doesn’t get any easier than that!

Reserve A Room Without Leaving The House

You can’t beat the convenience of booking lastminute.com hotels from the comfort of your own home. Whether it’s one in the morning or eleven o’clock at night, you can make reservations for York hotels – or for hotels anywhere imaginable – at your own convenience. The reservations desk at lastminute.com never closes, and is always open for business. You can conduct your daily affairs as necessary and take care of booking a hotel room whenever you find the time. In seconds, it will be taken care of; you’ll wonder why you’d never tried it before!

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The Magic Of Quadrophenia

By Deckchair Staff

Considering that it came out back in the year 1979, it’s incredible to think that the film Quadrophenia still holds such a special spot in the hearts of people of many different ages from all around the globe. Brighton, of course, played a huge role in the timeless classic; it’s where things came to a head between the Rockers and the Mods, where protagonist Jimmy meets and first becomes involved with Steph, and where a disillusioned Jimmy returns near the end of the film. Brighton is understandably proud of its association with Quadrophenia, and it’s easy to see why.

A Film That Had It All

Based on the 1973 rock opera by The Who, Quadrophenia remains one of the most favourite British films of all time. It routinely ranks within the top fifty slots of many premier “best of” lists, and new generations discover it all the time. Unlike some films from the 1970s and earlier – which are embraced by a single generation of people – Quadrophenia has a truly timeless allure that echoes across the ages and reels in new fans all the time. From the Mods versus Rockers rivalry to the romance between Steph and Jimmy, the film epitomised what the 1970s were like for countless people.

Quadrophenia Walking Tours A Huge Draw

One of the strongest pieces of evidence as to Quadrophenia’s endless appeal? Brighton walking tours themed around the film continue to enjoy massive popularity to this day. Walking tours are popular in this seaside city as it is, but those that highlight beloved locations that were featured in the film remain among the top options. On any given Quadrophenia walking tour, one can find people well over the age of seventy – and those not a day over sixteen. If that doesn’t speak to the film’s enduring appeal, nothing does.

See For Yourself

The next time you book hotels in Brighton for a holiday, make a point of trying a Quadrophenia walking tour. Better yet, watch the film before leaving so that it is fresh in your memory upon checking into Brighton hotels. As you explore this delightful seaside city, you will be reminded of various scenes from the movie again and again. Before you leave, be sure to head over to Beachy Head to see the cliffs from which young Jimmy sent his scooter soaring at the end of the memorable and much-loved film.

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