Hotelogix, a cloud-based hotel property management solutions provider, said on Monday that it has raised $5 million in a round led by Vertex Ventures. Early investors Accel Partners and Saama Capital also invested in the round.
Hotelogix is an enterprise Saas (software as a service) solution aimed at small- to mid-size resorts and hotels to manage operations like reservations, front desk interactions, housekeeping transactions, accounts, back office and payments.
The Hotelogix platform is essentially an alternative to legacy ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems and gives hoteliers additional capabilities to not only manage operations from any internet-connected device remotely but also link with online travel platforms for targeted marketing and integrated communication.
“Travellers have now become digital, so you need systems that can inter-operate and collaborate with the other internet platform. Our USP (unique selling proposition) is that we can not only manage operations but also increase their revenue and profitability by integrating with platforms like MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip, Booking.com and Trip Advisor,” co-founder and chief executive Aditya Sanghi said over the phone.
Ben Mathias, managing partner at Vertex Ventures added, “The number of interfaces needed by hotels to OTAs (online travel agencies), channel managers, search engines, and review sites is continuously increasing, which necessitates the need for hotels to have a cloud-based PMS (property management solution).”
HMS Infotech Pvt. Ltd, which operates Hotelogix, was founded in 2010 by Sanghi and Prabhash Bhatnagar. The start-up had raised a seed investment of $1.2 million in 2012. It employs 150 people across offices in Bengaluru and Noida.
Sanghi said his firm started out by pitching the solution to overseas clients primarily in North America, South America and South-East Asia, and shifted focus to India only over the last few years.
Some hotel brands in India that use Hotelogix are Treebo Hotels, Mint Hotels, Leisure Hotels, and Country Inn Hotels & Resorts, while global customers are spread across over 100 counties, the company claims.
Hotelogix will use the proceeds from this round towards customer acquisition through aggressive sales and outreach particularly in India and Indonesia, where it plans to open an office. The firm has also earmarked a portion of funds towards product development.
“As part of our global expansion strategy, we plan to expand our operations in Thailand, and make it the hub for South-East Asia. Funding will be used to strengthen our product’s DIY (do-it-yourself) capabilities that would help us penetrate further into regions including South America, North America, and United Kingdom, targeting independent hotels,” Hotelogix co-founder Bhatnagar said.
Source: Mint