Fast-growing global accommodation and travel technologies platform HotelRunner announced today that the company has received a $6.5 million investment in its Series A round. In addition to 212, the company’s first investors, as well as Wix Capital, Founders Factory, Ascension Ventures, DHM and senior figures in travel and technology, Gerry Samuels, Melih Odemis, Daniel King and Niels Gron, and an angel investor group, who are also included in the company’s advisory board, participated in the investment round.
With its end-to-end sales, operations and distribution management platform, artificial intelligence-supported products and contract network, HotelRunner enables thousands of properties in 193 countries to fully manage all their digital transactions, ranging from resort hotels to daily rental properties. Thanks to the B2B network of HotelRunner, which powers the accommodation industry all over the world, hosting more than 35 million transactions daily, facilities, travel agencies, payment providers and end-user guests interact with each other and operate in a large and dynamic tourism ecosystem.
Despite all the turmoil and crises in the world markets and the accommodation sector, HotelRunner has turned into a world-renowned success story with offices in five different cities from the United States, England and Turkiye and over 100 team members. Aiming to democratize the use of technology for travel and accommodation businesses around the world and maintaining its rapid global growth, the company’s ability to maintain its profitability despite the adverse conditions that have shaken the tourism industry in recent years is based on its flexible and agile technology that provides sustainable growth to its business partners, and constitutes the essence of its success story.
HotelRunner will use the aforementioned $6.5 million financing to strengthen its presence in offline markets, to expand its highly qualified talent pool, which includes software developers who are competent in tourism technologies, vertical and sectoral experts, and to continue its advanced technology investments that enable it to export software from Turkiye to the whole world. In line with its global growth plan, HotelRunner intends to expand its scalable and accessible growth opportunities to the hospitality industry in North and South America, with new offices and teams to be established in the Americas in the coming months. HotelRunner, which has made two product and talent-focused acquisitions in the past, will continue to make new acquisitions in different markets with the aim of uniting the dispersed travel technology industry, which consists of many different players, under its own roof.
HotelRunner Co-Founder Arden Agopian commented on the investment as follows: “Since the day it was founded, HotelRunner draws its strength from its cutting-edge technology and always groundbreaking character. Our sole goal in our work is to move our business partners and the industry forward and prepare them for the future. This new investment will provide us with additional resources to rapidly expand the multifaceted marketplace around the world that allows all players from the industry to freely and seamlessly contract, connect and transact with each other.”
HotelRunner Co-Founder Ali Beklen said: “We are proud to be a trusted technology and sales partner that has been influencing the course of the industry for over a decade, thanks to our ability to adapt quickly to turbulent environments. This new capital is also a testament to the confidence in HotelRunner’s ‘crisis-free’ growth model. We will continue to perfect our pioneering platform and build a greater travel economy for every player in the global ecosystem.”
On the subject, Co-founder of 212 Numan Numan said, “We enjoy working with companies that develop technologies and business models that transform industries around the world. The biggest motivation for HotelRunner has always been to grow the global travel economy and democratize the use of technology. For this reason, we have supported the company and its founders, Ali Beklen and Arden Agopian, throughout their journey from the idea stage. As we observe what they have achieved so far, it is impossible not to get excited about the potential that HotelRunner promises to the whole world.”
“With our strategic partnership with HotelRunner, we offer an end-to-end solution for hospitality businesses to efficiently manage and grow their operations,” said Darya Fuks, Head of Corporate Development at Wix.
In June, HotelRunner and Wix announced their strategic partnership, combining Wix’s comprehensive online platform with HotelRunner’s end-to-end travel technology to offer a complete solution for all types of accommodation establishments to manage and grow their business online.
Source: Egirisim / Translated by Irem Yildiz