MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 27, 2013) - Hotel search engine Room 77 today announced the appointment of two strategic executive roles: Jessie Becker, a former Netflix marketing executive, will become the company's first chief marketing officer; and travel industry veteran Doug Aley will assume the role of vice president of product and corporate development. These strategic hires follow closely on the April appointment of Drew Patterson as the company's first CEO, as well as the $30.3 million financing round announced earlier this year to support the company's continued growth and international expansion.
"Jessie and Doug are the best in their fields, and we're excited to welcome them to the Room 77 team. Their experience will be invaluable as we build the world's leading hotel search engine," said Drew Patterson, CEO of Room 77. "It's still too hard for travelers to find the best room at the best price; adding Jessie and Doug to our already incredible team of PhD data and search scientists and industry pros will accelerate our efforts to solve this problem."
As chief marketing officer, Becker, 45, will oversee all marketing activities for the organization, including branding, customer acquisition, PR and social media. Most recently, Becker was interim chief marketing officer at Netflix, where she was responsible for the global brand, customer acquisition and consumer insights programs. She joined Netflix in 2000 and held a variety of marketing positions with increasing responsibility, including vice president of consumer marketing. Prior to Netflix, Becker worked at Amazon.com, Oracle and IRI Software. Becker holds a bachelor's in history from the University of Pennsylvania, a bachelor's in Economics from The Wharton School, and an MBA from Stanford University, where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar.
"I'm incredibly impressed with what Room 77 has done to date, the caliber of people on the team and the investors behind them," said Becker. "Room 77 is really just getting started, and I'm excited to climb aboard another great business and help navigate the path to becoming a global brand."
Aley, 34, will oversee product development for Room 77's mobile and Web offerings and strategic opportunities as vice president of product and corporate development. Aley most recently held the same position at Zulily, a daily deals company focused on moms, babies and kids. Previously, Aley was chief of member experiences at Lockerz, which acquired Off & Away, an auction-based travel startup Aley co-founded and led as CEO. Before that, Aley was vice president of marketing and business development at Jott Networks (sold to NUAN '09), and he also previously led product management efforts in retail and digital categories at Amazon.com. Aley holds a bachelor's from Stanford University and a MBA from Harvard Business School.
"Room 77 has established itself as an innovator that's pushing the limits of hotel search, and I'm really excited to join the team and disrupt this category for the better," said Aley. "Because Room 77 isn't weighted down by legacy, it can shape how travelers shop for and book hotels on mobile and the Web, now and in the future."
Room 77, which officially launched in 2012, searches more hotel sources -- including hotel direct sites -- and rate types than any other travel search engine. Because of this, Room 77 uncovers an average of $72 in savings per hotel stay in two out of three searches.
The company, which now employs 40 people, has raised $43.8 million to date from strategic partners, venture firms and high-profile angels, including: Expedia, Inc.; Concur Technologies; General Catalyst Partners; Sutter Hill Ventures; Felicis Ventures; Rich Barton, founder of Expedia and co-founder of Zillow; Erik Blachford, former CEO of Expedia and IAC Travel; Hugh Crean, former CEO of Farecast; Spencer Rascoff, co-founder of Hotwire and CEO of Zillow; and Bob Pittman, founder of MTV, among others.
About Room 77
Room 77 is a growing hotel search engine where travelers can instantly shop hundreds of travel sites at once to find great hotel deals. By combining fast and comprehensive search technology with unprecedented service, Room 77 helps users save time and money -- and score a great room. Two out of three searches on Room 77 uncover real hotel savings, averaging $72 per stay. Plus, only Room 77 offers free Room Concierge service, which leverages Room 77's proprietary room data and insights to get travelers in a room that meets their needs. Based in Silicon Valley, Room 77 launched out of beta in 2012, and has raised $43.8 million. For more information, visit www.room77.com.
Room 77 is a registered trademark of Room 77, Inc.
