RootRez

Ripe, formerly known as RootRez, is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company that offers a lodging booking platform designed to help destination tourism organizations connect their marketing efforts with local lodging providers and drive economic demand within their communities. The company's technology enables tourism organizations to integrate a booking engine directly into their websites, allowing travelers to search and book accommodations, including hotels, vacation rentals, and other lodging options.

Ripe's platform has the unique ability to access live rates and availability from multiple global distribution systems and channel managers, ensuring that travelers have access to up-to-date information and pricing. The company's technology integrates with various partners, including Sabre, TravelClick, SiteMinder, Track Hospitality, Escapia, Inntopia, Booking.com, VRBO, TripAdvisor, and Expedia, among others. Additionally, Ripe has integrated with Bandwango, a Utah-based company, to bundle local experiences with lodging reservations.

By leveraging Ripe's platform, destination marketing organizations can stimulate demand for their destinations, provide better service to travelers, and obtain attribution data to measure the results of their marketing efforts. Instead of relying solely on online travel agencies, which often charge high commissions, Ripe's solution enables lodging partners to receive commission-free bookings directly from the destination's website.

As of October 2022, Ripe secured USD 1.8 million in Series Seed funding to support its rapid growth and further accelerate adoption. At that time, the company powered over 50 cities across the US and Canada, including Atlanta, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Ottawa, Charlotte, Park City, and Columbus, as well as events and resorts like the Sundance Film Festival and Alta Ski Resort.

Key customers and partnerships

In March 2023, Ripe announced its plans to offer co-branded micro-sites, allowing the company's tourism clients to power lodging bookings for their local event and attraction partners. This new offering aims to enable events and attractions to become their own hyper-local online travel agencies, resulting in improved traveler service while keeping money local and increasing bookings and attribution for Ripe's clients.

One of Ripe's notable clients is Visit Mesa, a destination marketing organization in Mesa, Arizona. Kimberly Forest, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Visit Mesa, has stated that Ripe's platform has provided them with metrics to understand their destination visitors' travel patterns, make more informed decisions, and directly measure the results of their marketing efforts. Additionally, Ripe has helped Visit Mesa's hotel partners maximize their revenue by avoiding net rates and commissions that may exist with other platforms available to consumers.