Holidu boss Siebers: These are the ultimate crisis tips from the model founder

Holidu has managed to do better after the pandemic than before. This has also recently convinced investors. Holidu CEO Johannes Siebers talks about his tips and secrets for founders.

Johannes Siebers is hard to miss with his wispy hair, which he always brushes through when he needs to think. Together with his brother Michael, he founded Holidu in 2014 and has since built it into one of the largest travel portals in Germany. He and his brother have used the crisis to grow. In this interview, he explains how they did it and what he advises other founders to do.

Mr. Siebers, how did the past year start for you?

Really well, we had 100 vacancies at the beginning of February, we wanted to take off and then had to put on the brakes because of coronavirus. The situation was scary: how long will the pandemic last, six months or rather years? We then had no more booking turnover and it was clear that the reserves wouldn't last forever. We sent an email directly to the shareholders: Watch out, this could be tough.

What was your next step?

We thought about what our goals were. It sounds banal, but we didn't want to make any hasty decisions. I think this also saved us from making mistakes that other companies or start-ups in our field have made, which may not have grown as much or at all in the past year.

Many travel companies have massively reduced their workforce in recent months and thus missed the crucial months of growth. We have adopted a completely different strategy

Johannes Siebers, Holidu

The travel industry has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Holidu has grown despite this. How is that?

Many travel companies have massively reduced their workforce in recent months and thus missed the crucial months of growth. We adopted a completely different strategy by going into a kind of hibernation for two months, putting everyone on maximum short-time working and, for example, senior management also waived their salaries or voluntarily reduced their pay. This enabled us to keep all our employees. When things started up again in the summer, we were able to benefit from this and quickly returned to the previous year's level and then even exceeded it. What's more, with vacation apartments and vacation homes, we were focusing on one of the most stable segments of the industry.

How did the employees react to the hibernation and the uncertain times?

It was well received. Of course, we were all unsure how things would continue. Everyone stayed on board, despite the difficult times. That was a great help because we were able to scale up so quickly when people went on vacation in the summer. Of course, it also helped that vacation homes and apartments tend to be safer than hotels.

What was the most important rule for the management team during this time?

Transparency. We explained all the figures in great detail and explained how long our reserves would last, depending on the steps we take now. It was precisely because we were so open that our employees understood this well. In my opinion, this works better than making things up behind closed doors and presenting them to them. We were already practicing this at Holidu anyway and the positive effect of this has increased during the crisis.

You already raised new capital for the first time in summer 2020. Why was that?

Back then, it wasn't just about the money, because we were already growing profitably, but also about the investor. Kees Koolen used to be CEO of Booking.com, so he was familiar with the crises in the travel industry in 2001 and 2008/2009. Of course, he can also give you important tips, so it's important to have people like that around you. I would also recommend this to other founders.

The most important rule: make a plan.

Johannes Siebers, Holidu

You recently raised an additional 37 million euros from investors. Was that necessary after the tough months?

We made a conscious decision to do so, so that we are now really well positioned when things get going and can secure market share. That's the difference to many other companies, which have tended to lay off employees and start very quietly. We even see the possibility of takeovers, but I can't say any more about that yet.

What advice would you give to other founders?

The most important rule: make a plan. If you have a plan that you can stick to, it helps immensely. If we hadn't stuck to the plan, we would probably never have grown as quickly or at all.

Where are you going on your first vacation after the pandemic?

We're taking the whole family to a vacation home in Italy, my brother is getting married there.

Thank you for talking to us.

Personal details: Johannes Siebers founded Holidu GmbH with his brother Michael in 2014. The Munich-based start-up operates an online platform that compares vacation homes and apartments. Holidu is financed by fees paid by the providers.