Tourism continues to recover after Covid-19, with 2023 raising $2.23 trillion worldwidesurpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time since 2020. This is having a huge knock-on effect for startups creating technology to serve the sector. StableOne of the startups creating tools to help hotels better manage IT is announcing a $110 million growth round to attract more business.
The financing, led by Kinnevik, is approaching a $1.2 billion post-money valuation. This is a slight upgrade from the Series C that Amsterdam-based Mews announced in late 2022, when Mews raised $185 million at a valuation of $865 million. The company has confirmed to me that it is not profitable.
But it has been growing. The company's SaaS tools cover both tools for hoteliers themselves such as front desk check-in, payments, reservations and cleaning management; as well as for guests such as reservation of rooms and services. Although it does not disclose net income or losses, it notes that the 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 to 3,253 hotels a year ago. And while it has had some traction with the long tail of independent hoteliers, it has also negotiated key deals with larger chains such as Accor, Generator-Freehand, The Strawberry Group, The Social Hub and Airelles.
In fact, part of the startup's strategy to get out of the red is focused on economies of scale: the company has acquired eight other startups in the hotel IT space, including three in the last year (Frontdesk Anywhere, Hotello and Nomi).
In 2022, company founder and president Richard Valtr told us the plan was to consider how to bring its tools to a broader set of customers beyond hotels, piggybacking on the Airbnb effect, where more private properties are co-opted. as temporary accommodation alternatives. .
“We consider ourselves the platform on which the businesses in our vertical are managed,” he said at the time. “We take a broad approach with our ambitions. Mews nominally deals with hotels and hospitality, but could be hostels or Airbnbs or people services in mixed-use real estate. Longer term, we believe that what is considered commercial or residential is merging. This is the direction all real estate is going. “What is happening after the pandemic is that more and more people are realizing that they want to live their travel life more for longer.”
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 into commercial properties, and its approach seems more direct than ever specifically in the hospitality sector.
“As more hoteliers embrace modern technology, we have a great opportunity to help them optimize their operations,” CEO Matt Welle said in a statement today.
That is perhaps the kind of approach that is rewarded these days also among investors, who have generally reduced the number of growth rounds they are participating in in Europe and are looking for firmer bets and exits among those they are closing.
In addition to Kinnevik, Revaia, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Notion Capital and new investor LGVP also participated in this Series D.
“Mews is making a transformative impact to support some of the world's most innovative hotel brands as cloud adoption accelerates in the $15.5 trillion global travel and tourism industry,” said Alexander Lippert, MD in Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, in a statement.
