Kayak co-founder prepares to launch hotel reviews and booking in new app

The newest app from Kayak co-founder and serial entrepreneur Paul English is aimed at fixing what he calls the “broken” system that currently exists for online reviews.

“Like Yelp and Tripadvisor and Google - I think they largely have two problems. One, they are reviews by people who have nothing in common with me and [two] there’s a lot of fake reviews as well,” he says.

To solve those problems, English has created Deets , an app that provides recommendations based on reviews from a user’s friends, people they follow and from other users with similar interests.

The app launched in late January in Boston and New York, starting only with restaurant reviews and recommendations. English says lodging and events will be added in those markets this summer with plans to expand to 15 cities across the United States by the end of this year and then international expansion in 2024.

For lodging, English says he has a “term sheet with a top lodging provider” that will be announced soon, and users will be able to book a stay directly with the hotel or through a third-party partner. Deets will make money through commissions on hotel bookings.

When users install the Deets app, they are prompted to invite friends to download it. English says driving that social networking effect will be the biggest challenge initially.

“We’re going to be doing PR campaigns and marketing promotions in Boston and New York this summer," he says. "And we’re partnering with top foodies on Instagram.”

But he also says that social aspect is what will differentiate a Deets review.

“When you let people write anonymous reviews from the basement of their mother’s house, they just write nasty stuff. And on Deets, because it’s a social network, if I write a bad review, only my friends see it. So there’s not as much damage to the restaurant or hotel,” he says. “And because your friends are going to see what you write, you have social pressure to write something accurate. And we’re giving hotels and restaurants the ability to respond directly to anyone on Deets who writes a review of their property.”

English says he recognizes there are many competitors vying for travelers’ attention.

“It seems like every month or two I’m hearing about another competitor emerging,” he says.

“When we created Kayak, there were five other companies doing the same things as Kayak. Ideas are cheap and easy, what matters is execution.”