About us

Szallas Group, the largest regional player of the CEE region, is proof of the scalability of the local-to-local strategy in the competitive technology and customer service driven online travel agency market. Built as a merger of the local champions of the domestic digital travel products of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland.

With 14 online travel products, more than 82 thousand bookable accommodation provider partners and a team of over 500 top-of-their-game employees, our goal is to provide the smoothest and cheapest domestic and cross-country reservation experience to the 90 million citizens of Central Eastern Europe.

Group history

Nocowanie.pl is established
Nocowanie.pl gains the first 1 million UU
Opening new Noclegguru.pl office in Warsaw
Noclegguru.pl becomes Nocleg.pl
First TV ad of Nocleg.pl
We move to a new, bigger office
Acquiration of Spanie.pl
40.000 objects are listed as „wizytówka”
Spanie.pl and Nocleg.pl becomes Noclegi.pl
We move to a new, bigger office
First wizytówka subscription sold
Foundation of Noclegi.pl spzoo, the Polish subsidiary of Szallas Group
We sell 400 wizytówka subscriptions on Black Friday
First BON promotion starts on Noclegi.pl
Nocowanie.pl has a new management board
Szallas Group name and logo was approved and the Group level communication started
Noclegi.pl breaks all records with the BON summer promotion
8 million sessions and over 40.000 bookings on Noclegi.pl
Nocowanie.pl’s own booking platform is launched
Online reservations can be made on Nocowanie.pl using Szallas Group’s engine and inventory in the background
Hotel.cz is born! Office in Prague with 3 employees
First investment to servers and IT infrastructure
Scaling up activities. 1000 contracted hotels
MITON Investment Group buys HOTEL.CZ a.s. The office is moved to Liberec
Launch of new Hotel.cz and Spa.cz
MIH Allegro B.V. acquires 51% of shares. HOTEL.CZ a.s. becomes a travel part of Allegro Group and benefits from group synergies
Break-even point of Hotel.cz. Rocket-rising performance of company: 3,7M CZK EBITDA
Starting to acquire Slovakian accommodations for Szallas.hu
Spa.cz is renewed with outstanding results: almost 9000 stays sold
MIH Allegro B.V. becomes a 100% owner of Hotel.cz
More than 4 million unique visitors and more than 50.000 paid bookings
Hotely.cz is purchased by HOTEL.CZ a.s.
Reaching 250.000 guests traveling through the websites in a year
Launch of Penzion.cz
Acquisition by Szallas Group, Szallas.hu Zrt becomes 100% owner of HOTEL.CZ a.s.
Szallas Group name and logo was approved and the Group level communication started
Acquired more than 1250 new accommodation providers by own sales team
We finish the year with oustanding performance and all-time record: 122.000 paid reservations and >30% growth compared to 2019
We finish the year with oustanding performance and all-time record: 122.000 paid reservations and >30% growth compared to 2019!
Launch of the predecessor of Szallas.hu (miskolc-szallas.hu)
1000 Hungarian accommodation partners
Start of using szallas.hu domain and brand
First radio spot of Szallas.hu
Sanoma becomes a 50% shareholder of Szallas.hu Kft
First TV commercial advertising of Szallas.hu
Launch of MaiUtazas.hu
Superbrands award received for Szallas.hu
Launch of Szallasguru.hu
Having more than 10.000 accommodations in Hungary
Having more than 100.000 accommodations worldwide with the integration of Hotel.de
Introduction of real-time bookings
Szallas.hu Kft received Deloitte Technology Fast 50 CEE award (1st place)
Deloitte Technology Fast 50 CEE award: 3rd place
New shareholders: PortfoLion (70%) and OTP Bank (30%)
Launch of experiential tourism
First cooperation with channel managers
Launch of Utazok.hu travel agency
Acquisition of discount travel pages (Nemaradjle.hu, Csakutazas.hu and Sporoljvelem.hu)
First tourism service discounts
Our loyality program, Szallas Club is launched
Szallas.hu Kft becomes a shareholder in Travelminit RO
1 million guest reviews
Acquisition of Maiutazás Group HU (discount travel portfolio: Maiutazas.hu, PihiPakk.hu, Utazok.hu travel agency)
Acquisition of Hotel.cz Group (Hotel.cz, Spa.cz, Hotely.cz, Penzion.cz) to become Szallas Group
Start of the development of the multi-platform, multi-product CEE NOP IT platform
Start the government initiated Erzsébet program coordinated by Szallas.hu
Our online payment system is launched
Szallas Group name and logo was approved and the Group level communication started
New owner: Wirtualna Polska Holding (100%)
All Hungarian partners on Szallas.hu are bookable in real-time
Hű!, the new loyalty program of Szallas.hu was launched along with the digitalization of POI coupons within the app
Szallas Group Zrt. was officially formed, merging with Szallas.hu through legal succession and Szállás és Utazás Kft. was integrated into Szallas Group Zrt.
Foundation of Travelminit, official Travelminit.hu launch focusing on Hungarian and Transylvanian market
The 1st fully functional OTA platform roll-out
1000+ contracted active accommodations on the platform
EUR 1 million gross booking value delivered to the accommodation partners
Launch of Travelminit.ro with full focus on the RO domestic market
Tour Operator and Travel Agency licences received, the 1st reservation paid with „Tichet de vacanta”
Became the top player in the „Tichet de vacanta” reservation segment
The launch of Promotii.travelminit.ro discount packages product and the 1st Black Friday campaign
Major update on Travelminit OTA platform (new reservation type, new backend), the 1st „real-time” reservation
Szallas.hu Zrt. acquires Travelminit International SRL
3 million sessions/month and the market share is doubled compared to the previous year
Travelminit launched a full online payment handling system
Szallas Group name and logo was approved and the Group level communication started
Doubled down on the Romanian seaside (compared to 2020) reaching 120.000 guest nights
Launched the „Travelminit VIP” Guest loyalty program
Reaching 7500+ accommodations, Travelminit has the 2nd largest inventory in Romania
1 million guests served by the Travelminit reservation platform
The Travelminit VIP guest loyalty program was laucnhed
First co-branded TV spots launched
200.000 VIP accounts reached
Launch of Intranet, where you can find (almost) everything
Over 1 million EUR invoiced commission for the first time in Travelminit history
Travelminit SWITCH
Travelminit ADMINI – APP for RO partners
Szallas Group acquires Creative Eye SRL, the company behind Litoralulromanesc.ro
Starting to acquire Croatian accommodations for Szallas.hu
The first partner integration project in Croatia to increase the number of bookable properties
Our Croatian brand name was changed from Hotelguru.hr to RevNGo.com
Opening the first office in Zagreb
Foundation of Szallas d.o.o., the Croatian subsidiary of Szallas Group
Szallas Group name and logo was approved and the Group level communication started
Reaching more than 20,000 accommodations in Croatia

Locations

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Budapest

Szallas Group Inc.

One of our Hungarian offices is placed in the prime Buda hill location and can provide a high-quality work environment for 70 employees. The Group management, the Hungarian management, the marketing and sales teams are working in this office. The majority of the discount, travel agency, product and finance team is also located in the Budapest office.

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Miskolc

Szallas Group Inc.

The largest office of the Group is located in Miskolc, Hungary. It was the home of the founding team of Szallas.hu. Now it’s occupied by IT development, the Hungarian and cross-country customer service teams, the HR department, the Experience tourism team and part of the Hungarian finance team – more than 150 employees in total. The 800 sqm office has been designed to meet the standards of a 21st century workplace.

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Liberec

Hotel.cz a.s.

We opened our Czech office in the country’s fifth-largest city, Liberec, in 2007. Our years here have given us remarkable opportunities. Our local team of over 50 employees is building the Hotel.cz, Penzion.cz and Spa.cz products and serving our more than 100 thousand customers each year.

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Cluj-Napoca

Travelminit International

Have you ever been to Cluj-Napoca, also known as the heart of Transylvania? We highly recommend it! You have the opportunity to discover a beautiful big city, full of history and hospitable people. Here you can find our spacious brand new office, where every employee works on the same purpose: being the number one booking platform in Romania.

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Warsaw

Noclegi.pl Sp.z.o.o.

Our Polish team works in our downtown, office in the capital of Warsaw. Our management, sales, marketing and customer service teams of more than 10 colleagues serve the guests and hoteliers throughout Poland.

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Zagreb

Szallas D.o.o.

Since the Croatian market is the No1 destination for CEE travelers, we have opened an office in the capital. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve had to close its doors, but our local team did not stop working on providing the best services to our customers.

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Lublin

Nocowanie

Nocowanie.pl is headquartered in the modern Centrum Zana Office Park at 14 Nałęczowska Street in Lublin. More than 100 specialists, including the Finance and Administration Department, HR Department, Creation and Project Execution Team, Product Development Department, IT Department, Sales and Customer Service Department work together on 1300 sqm.

Group management

The group management team is responsible for the strategic and operational management of Szallas Group. We make sure to find the right balance between the standardized region-wide rules and guidelines but always leaving enough flexibility for the HU, CRO, CZ&SK, RO, PL managements. The bi-weekly group management meetings are the main events to align the operation to share best-practice and know-how within the regional group.

Piotr Furmański, CEO

Budapest (HU) since 2024

Piotr has extensive international experience from his leadership roles at Google, Delivery Hero, and other global brands, having led teams across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He is passionate about fostering innovation and dedicated to collaborating with the talented team at Szallas Group to solidify and expand the company’s position in the CEE travel industry. Beyond his professional endeavors, Piotr is an avid traveler who has enthusiastically embraced life in Budapest, even finding time to pursue his passion for tennis and polo.

Gerald Grace, Group CFO

Budapest (HU) since 2023

Gerald Grace, CFO of the Group since September 2023, is responsible for the finance operations of the Group with the goal of building a regional finance organization that can support the exciting growth and expansion plans of the company. He is qualified as a Chartered Accounting with KPMG Dublin; with over 30 years of professional experience in C-level executive roles in various companies including Invitech Hungary, GTS Central Europe and Six Degrees UK. Gerry is originally from Ireland and enjoys travelling and bee keeping.

Krisztina Agárdi, Head of Group HR & Communications

Budapest (HU) since 2019

Krisztina has been engaged with content, communication and people management in a host of fields from book publishing, university services and e-commerce. She joined Szallas Group in 2019 as CEO assistant, with a strong focus on internal communication from day one. In her free time she’d most likely be found in a theatre, in a museum, hiking in Hungary and the neighbouring countries, or simply reading on the couch – if her 4 kids allow her.

Eszter Gubucz, Group CTO

Budapest (HU) and Miskolc (HU) since 2024

Eszter joined Szallas Group in January 2024 to tend to the Group CTO responsibilities. Her background is in software development in various industries – telecommunication, automotive and e-commerce. As the CTO, she is responsible for the technology side of the Group platform integration initiatives and the well-being and professionalism of people in the technology department. She loves to travel to domestically and internationally for hiking and beach destinations.

Dániel Molnár, Chief Marketing Officer

Budapest (HU) since 2024

Dániel started off aiming to be an economist, switched gears to history and journalism, and then found his true calling in online marketing in the early 2000s. At Szallas Group, Dániel’s vision is clear: to turbocharge our operations with cutting-edge automation, smart data optimization, and hit those coveted EBITDA and profit milestones. When he’s not revolutionizing online marketing, Dániel is out running, soaking in audiobooks, doing bodyweight workouts, or enjoying the open waters sailing and the snowy slopes skiing with his family.

Péter Sziebig, Chief Product Officer

Budapest (HU) since 2016

Péter has been a pioneer, trying to get a hold on the Polish online travel market since 2016. After an acquisition and multiple product and service design loops, he has led the Noclegi.pl team to successfully ride the waves of the tourism boosting BON program in 2020. Beside his Polish duties, Peter is also responsible for the Group platform integration and the online payment service in Hungary. He is a seasoned traveler; with biweekly trips to Warsaw and multiple vacations each year with his wife and 3 children.

Dániel Gönci, CZ&SK Country Director

Budapest (HU) and Liberec (CZ) since 2018

Daniel joined the Szallas team at the time of the Hotel.cz a.s. acquisition in 2018. He has successfully taken over the leadership from the founder and integrated the strong local team into the regional group. Apart from his Czech duties, he is also responsible for the Szallas Group communication activities. He has a serious backpacker track record, with travel experiences from six continents, plus an expat year in Malaysia. In recent years he traveled biweekly to Liberec (CZ) and multiple times a year to regional destinations with his 4 kids.

Tamás Szabó, HU Country Director

Budapest (HU) since 2021

Tamás joined Szallas Group in February 2021 to take over parts of the Hungarian operations from the CEO and CFO of that time. He has 20 years of professional experience working in industries like telecommunications, software development, and sports. His background is in business and marketing, but he has always had a passion for technology – all starting with a Commodore 64. He enjoys traveling all around the world, focusing on European destinations with his wife and their 3 kids.

Our mission statement

Szallas Group is a team of passionate experts with the goal to make people happier by providing local and regional travel experiences in cooperation with our partners.

Our vision statement

Szallas Group is to become the largest and most trusted provider of innovative online tourism platforms in the CEE region.

Our core values

1We do our work with passion so all challenges and tasks are solvable for us.

FIFA World Cup

During the FIFA World Cup update the datasheet of the Fan Zone every single day in order to enter the competition for Google’s 1st place. Our team gained many pictures and even videos from the venue and we succeeded; the event became the site’s most visited event of all times!

Dzsenifer Orosz, Tourism Associate, Hungary

The show must go on

We were all very excited and nervous to relaunch our marketing activities after the first wave of the pandemic. Our first campaign launched at midnight and I couldn’t help but check our website at 0:01 from my phone to see if everything was okay (even though no one asked me to do so). I quickly realized that the landing page was broken, so I sent out a Skype message, wondering if anyone else was awake. I was pleasantly surprised to see that others from the marketing team were also online, passionately discussing the problem. Together we reached out to the developers and the bug was fixed by the morning. I cherish every moment of working in a passionate team like ours. 🙂

Beatrix Trepess, Szallas.hu Social Media & PR manager, Hungary

Voucher for Black Friday

Only 2-3 days before our Black Friday campaign, a popular wellness hotel didn’t want to participate as they couldn’t accept the word “voucher” for financial reasons. They would let the hotel appear if we changed the word “voucher” to “package” everywhere. Józsi, our CEO sat next to me and together we changed the terms and conditions, the confirmation letters and every text appearing on Szallasguru.hu. Many developers, a product manager, lawyers, finance and customer service colleagues worked on this process that normally takes about 3-4 weeks. We made it in 1 day and success followed; this hotel gained more than 1000 vouchers (or packages:)).

Orsolya Gonda, HU Sales Team Leader, Hungary

Picturesque Balaton

Beaches at Lake Balaton have a raised role on the program’s site of Szallas.hu. Our content is really good but we did not get enough pictures about them from our local partners. Therefore, at the beginning of summer we decided to go and take the pictures for ourselves; we planned the detailed routes and took the pictures of 100 beaches in 5 days.

Dzsenifer Orosz, Tourism Associate, Hungary

2Honesty: we speak openly with our partners, colleagues and clients because we trust each other.

Transparency above all

The Group CEO has a monthly presentation for every colleague about financial results, news and happenings in the company. During the pandemic, we knew that the future of our company depended on our work, so we did our best and did not give up. If the company had not spoken about this honestly with us, we would not have put this much effort into our work.

F***ing good!

One night I checked my phone and a partner answered to me to our reservation mail: “Check this accommodation, it is f***ing good!” Not much later I received a second email, saying that he wanted to forward it to one of his colleagues and he was so sorry. That night I made the reservation for them and responded that it is honorable if they like our suggested accommodations.

Milán Fülöp, Szallas Group Corporate Team Leader, Hungary

3Customer and partner focus: we are committed to travelers and to service providers.

Moving in

Someone was looking for a long-term accommodation but did not mention that he had been moving and was arriving with a removal truck. As this information only turned out on the day of arrival, during the 3-hour-long drive we were in touch with our accommodation partner and our client, and were able to find a compromised solution for the situation. It was a challenging race against time but all parties were content with the results.

Milán Fülöp, Szallas Group Corporate Team Leader, Hungary

Your knobhead

I was activating a new partner who could not handle the interface. We discussed her ideas on how she would like to sell her accommodation. By the time she finished, I had already set up the interface for her. She was beside herself with joy. The next day she called me and said: “Hi Szilvi, it is me, your knobhead! I have a problem again but I am sure you can help me…”

Szilvia Tóth, HU Partner Team Leader, Hungary

Gratefulness

Castle of Füzér won 2nd place at the Tourist Attraction competition of 2020. They were very grateful to us for our support: we got mugs, postcards, fridge magnets and keychains by post, together with a letter. It said: “We are really happy that we won this prize. It could not have happened without your help, thank you for your cooperation!”

Dzsenifer Orosz, Tourism Associate, Hungary

4We believe in continuous development therethrough we can flexibly adapt to any situation, that is what drives the company forward.

Lions in the house

When it comes to planning campaigns, our marketing team operates somewhat like a creative agency – we get together and have brainstorming sessions, gather best practices and go crazy with new ideas. But there’s one thing marketers don’t usually get to try on the client side: creative competitions. However, when Dorina (Head of Marketing) and I came up with the idea of enrolling in the 2020 Cannes Young Lions competition, our managers were super supportive and let us off work for the occasion. Working together on the brief was an amazing experience; challenging yet rewarding. Not only did we develop new skills and get closer as teammates, we also won the local round and made it to the international finals, where we got shortlisted as the top 7 Young Marketer teams in the world.

Beatrix Trepess, Szallas.hu Social Media & PR manager, Hungary

Helpfulness

I remember how nervous I was when I was hired as I did not have any previous experience in this field. Moreover, it was during the pandemic so the company could easily decide to let me go. But they did not. Instead, I got every opportunity to close up and develop my skills. It is rare to have a job that is your hobby as well and feel that you could not have any better workplace.

Exchanging ideas

Our Czech sales colleagues came to Budapest to change experiences. It was interesting to see how they look for solutions for the same problems we have. We could learn a lot from each other and it was a great experience that I can still use today.

Milán Fülöp, Szallas Group Corporate Team Leader, Hungary

5We base our decisions on data.

Success of a SEO software

In February 2019, we were at the 14th place in Google ranking for the keyword “sights”. Then we started to use the SE Ranking Seo software and thanks to that, in 2021, we were able to get the first 3 places.

Dzsenifer Orosz, Tourism Associate, Hungary

BI system rules

When we analyze our data independently it hasn’t been consistent; the analysis has taken a long time and so the results have been inconsistent as well. With our BI system, we created an integrated database that our colleagues can easily use. It is so good to see that more and more colleagues use the system on a daily basis. I believe that this system makes the daily tasks easier and we can make faster decisions built on consistent, reachable data.

Kitti Jasztrabszki, Junior Data Specialist, Hungary