Hotel, short-term rental tech startup raises over $70 million

Large-scale investments in hotel technology have typically been limited to start-ups selling comprehensive systems like property management.

But Canary Technologies’ latest funding round makes it clear that investors see value in simplifying the guest experience: Products like mobile check-in and AI-generated messaging address customer demand for high-tech experiences while also addressing the significant resource constraints hotels face post-pandemic.

Beyond hotel tech, there’s clearly still demand for companies helping hosts generate income from short-term rentals: Three such startups around the world announced multimillion-dollar funding rounds last week.

In total, six travel startups announced funding totaling more than $75 million.

Canary Technologies: $50 million

Canary Technologies raised $50 million in Series C funding.

The round was led by Insight Partners, which also led Canary’s Series B round in 2022. Other investors in the latest round include F-Prime Capital, Thayer Ventures, Y-Combinator, Commerce Ventures, and others.

“It’s been a tough year for technology ecosystem growth and execution, but seeing Canary grow and exceed ambitious goals has motivated us to double down,” Thomas Klein, managing director at Insight Partners, said in a statement.

San Francisco-based Canary Platform focuses on hotel guest management, with software products for mobile check-in and check-out, upselling, guest messaging and digital tipping. The company has also added a generative AI chatbot for guest messaging, which aims to answer specific property questions and sell extra services like late check-out without interrupting front desk staff.

Canary has over 20,000 clients worldwide, including hotels such as IHG, Wyndham, Marriott, Hilton and Four Seasons.

Matsuri Technologies: $8.5 million

Matsuri Technologies, which provides a platform that hosts can use to manage short-term rentals, has raised $8.5 million (¥1.34 billion) in Series D funding.

The funding was provided by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, as well as a group of Japanese investors.

Matsuri raised $16 million in a Series C round in 2022.

The Tokyo-based StayX platform includes products for managing accommodation listings and reservations, guest messaging and smart locks, as well as housekeeping and maintenance tasks.

The funds will be primarily used to enhance the company’s software products, expand its footprint and hire.

As well as its short-term rental products, Matsuri also offers hotel technology and owns two brands: Stayme for hotels and S-Villa for vacation rentals.

Roamless: $5 million

Roamless, an eSIM provider for travelers, has raised $5 million in seed funding.

Shorooq Partners led the round and was backed by Revo Capital, Paribu Ventures, Finberg and DeBa Ventures.

According to its website, Roamless offers eSIM in 69 countries and plans to soon expand to 200. Roamless app users can download eSIMs onto their phones to get internet data internationally without having to swap out physical SIM cards.

The startup is officially based in the US, but most of its founders and staff live in Turkey, according to its LinkedIn page.

Buddy: $5.4 million

Badi, a Spanish platform for booking furnished rooms and apartments, has raised $5.4 million (€5 million) from Barlon Capital.

The startup also secured a $2.1 million (€2 million) loan from Santander Bank.

Barcelona-based Badi has an app and website where travelers can book individual apartments or rooms in shared spaces, with more than 700,000 properties listed on the central Badi marketplace.

The startup also offers premium bookings on Badi Plus, which also includes property management services like cleaning. Badi Plus has over 300 beds listed and aims to have 800 by the end of the year.

Qstay: $4.6 million

Qstay, a short-term rental property management company that also operates a booking website, has raised $4.6 million in pre-Series A funding comprised of traditional debt and convertible notes.

The Dubai-based startup operates more than 300 properties across four countries and plans to expand between 2024 and 2026. The company claims that its platform has facilitated more than 130,000 bookings for nights.

The company said it projects revenue of $63 million by 2025.

Arrow Index: $1.9 million

Alō Index, which connects sustainably-focused hotels with business travelers, has raised $1.9 million in pre-seed funding.

The round was led by Impellent Ventures and backed by Techstars and a group of angel investors.

New York City-based Alō Index focuses on finding and listing hotels with ESG (environmental, social, and governance) initiatives to help business travelers more easily achieve their corporate sustainability goals. The startup evaluates data on individual hotel properties and provides insights to travel managers, allowing them to compare hotel options based on their corporate clients’ goals.

The funding will be used to improve the platform’s hotel data reporting and verification capabilities, as well as speed up the onboarding process for hotels.

Skift Cheat Sheet

seed Equity is money used to start a business, led by angel investors, friends, family, etc.

Series A The funding is usually raised from venture capitalists, and the purpose of this round is to help startup founders ensure that their product is something customers actually want to buy.

Series B Funding is primarily for venture capital firms to help companies accelerate their growth. These funding rounds help them hire skilled workers and develop cost-effective marketing.

Series C Funding is to help a company expand, usually through acquisitions. In addition to venture capital, hedge funds, investment banks, and private equity firms often participate.

Series D, E and Beyond These are primarily mature businesses, and the funding round may help the company prepare for an IPO or acquisition. Private investors of all kinds are likely to participate.

Photo credit: Pictured is the Kimpton Gray Hotel in Chicago, by IHG Hotels & Resorts. IHG has approved Canary Technologies as a vendor for digital dipping.