The infamous dotcom flop Boo.com has been bought and relaunched as a travel website by Dublin-based internet company Web Reservations International (WRI).
Although established as a fashion "e-tailer", Boo.com is now being marketed by WRI as "the ultimate online destination for travel". It joins the company's existing stable of travel websites, which includes hostels.com, hostelworld.com and trav.com.
Boo.com collapsed in spectacular fashion in 2000, after its founders - a Swedish poetry critic and a former Vogue model - squandered $120 million (€88 million) on a lavish lifestyle of five-star hotels and trans-Atlantic Concorde flights while sales failed to live up to expectations.
In its latest incarnation, the website combines intelligent search facilities, price comparisons, travel reviews and a social network, and "is set to change the way travel is bought and sold on the internet", according to WRI chief executive Ray Nolan.
"Travel is about great experiences, and that should start with the planning and selection process," he said. "We've taken the key components required to make the perfect choice and put them together in one site."
Visitors will be charged a small commission for bookings made through the website, and Boo.com will also generate revenue through "pay-per-clicks" when visitors click on hotel links.
WRI already handles more than €300 million in bookings annually through its other websites.
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