We got wind of some chatter that Joob is shutting down, the reasons are still unclear but it seems they’re financial. Joob, a company owned by the Jabbar Internet Group launched in April 2011 in the UAE and has been in Beta ever since.
For those of you who haven’t heard of Joob (which is maybe why they’re shutting down in the first place) its described on the Jabbar website as:
“Joob.com is an innovative online travel resource, available in Arabic and English. The name Joob.com comes from the Arabic word “Joob” which means to “roam” or “wander.”
By providing flight and hotel bookings at competitive rates, combined with a toll-free number linking to a call centre operating 24/7, state-of-the-art technology, and localised payment options for customers, Joob.com will redefine how leisure travel is purchased in the region.
The website offers extensive content in both Arabic and English, covering tailor-made destination information and travel products and services to help customers in the region to choose what is best for them.”
The site has officially gone into maintenance mode, we’re not sure if they’re planning on doing some changes or shutting down for good. But according to what we’ve been hearing it looks like things have gone bust for Joob. Which raises the following question what will happen to Sawty? Joob’s travel review website.
I’m just confused how a company backed by Jabbar could consider shutting down after a year of launching with no apparent marketing or advertising campaigns, was it bad planning, execution, management? Or simply a combination of all!
Whatever the reason I guess this will be a great learning experiences for Jabbar and hopefully they’ll come back with bigger and better localized products.
What are your thoughts? Let us know.