Russian Hotel Booking Site Gets $10 mln Nod From VTB Capital

Russian bank VTB Group has invested USD 10 mln in oktogo.ru, a Russian hotel booking website, through its investment wing, VTB Capital. The investment puts one-third of the company’s USD 30 mln value in the hands of the Russian bank. Founded by CEO Marina Kolesnik in 2010, oktogo.ru’s hotel booking sales are expected to hit USD 30 mln this year. By the year 2015, the local market potential for hotel bookings in Russia is expected to hit USD 3 bln. The St. Petersburg company has also tied up recently with TripAdvisor and Momondo in Russia, and now provides a listing of more than 140,000 hotels across the world, which includes more than 2,000 in Russia alone.