Tourism continues to recover in wake of Covid-19, with 2023 with $2.23 trillion worldwidesurpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time since 2020. This has big implications for startups building technology to serve the industry. Mewsone of the startups building tools to help hotels better manage IT, announces a $110 million seed round to win more business.
The funding – led by Kinnevik – comes at a post-money valuation of $1.2 billion. This is a slight uptick in the Series C that Amsterdam-based Mews announced in late 2022, when Mews raised $185 million at an $865 million valuation. My company has confirmed that it is not profitable.
But it has increased. The company’s SaaS tools cover both tools for hoteliers themselves, such as front desk check-in, payments, reservations and housekeeping management. as well as for guests such as room and service booking. While it does not disclose revenue or net losses, it notes that gross payment volume is now $8 billion, up from $2.3 billion at the end of 2022.
It said it now has more than 5,000 hotel customers, compared with 3,253 hotels a year ago. And while it has had some traction with the long tail of independent hoteliers, it has also brokered key deals with larger chains such as Accor, Generator-Freehand, Strawberry Group, Social Hub and Airelles.
Part of the startup’s strategy to get out of the red is indeed focused on economies of scale: the company has now acquired eight other hotel IT startups, including three in the last year (Frontdesk Anywhere, Hotello and Nomi).
Back in 2022, company founder and president Richard Valtr told us the plan was to look at how to bring its tools to a wider set of customers beyond hotels, building on the Airbnb phenomenon where more private properties are being picked up as alternatives. temporary residence. .
“We see ourselves as the platform on which businesses in our industry operate,” he said at the time. “We are taking a broad approach with our ambitions. Mews nominally caters to hotels and hospitality, but this could be hostels or Airbnbs or services for people in mixed-use properties. In the long term, we believe that what is considered commercial or residential is merging. This is the direction all real estate is going. What’s happening after the pandemic is that more people are realizing that they want to live more of their travel life more of the year.”
Fast forward to today and the company has tools available for serviced apartments, but it has yet to expand further into the residential market, nor commercial properties, and its focus seems clearer than ever on the hospitality sector.
“As more hoteliers embrace modern technology, we have a tremendous opportunity to help them improve their operations,” CEO Matt Welle said in a statement today.
That’s perhaps the kind of focus that’s paying off these days, too, among investors who have generally reduced the number of growth rounds they’re participating in in Europe and are looking for more stable bets and exits among those that close.
In addition to Kinnevik, Revaia, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Notion Capital and new investor LGVP also participated in this Series D.
“Mews is having a transformative impact supporting some of the most innovative hospitality brands around the world as cloud adoption accelerates in the $15.5 trillion global travel and tourism industry,” said Alexander Lippert, MD in Growth Equity of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in a statement.
