Intro
The hotel industry is no longer just about rooms and RamadaBreakfastBuffets. Rising guest expectations, labor shortages, operational cost pressures and digital shift mean hoteliers need more than good service — they need smart service.
Technology is stepping into the guest room, the back-office, the booking funnel and even the pricing engine. According to the PwC Global Advisory survey: when brands and operators invest in tech that supports both guest experience and real-time data performance, they capture a performance premium worth 13× that of their peers. PwC
To keep up, hospitality tech startups are pulling in meaningful funding rounds, building scalable solutions and prepping for global expansion. Below are ten such companies to keep an eye on — where they’ve come from, who’s backing them, and what they’re planning next.
The 10 Startups
1. Lighthouse (UK/Europe) — “Hotel room pricing goes unicorn”
What they do: Advanced revenue-management / pricing optimisation software for hotels and accommodation providers — more than static pricing, think AI forecasting, dynamic yield, market-signals.
Founder(s): Matthias Geeroms & Gino Engels (Belgian entrepreneurs). The Times
Funding & backers: Raised ~$370 million, backed by KKR in this round, at a valuation above US $1 billion. The Times
Best for you if you: You run a hotel group or chain and want to optimise pricing, boost ADR (Average Daily Rate), and scale yield-management with speed and precision.
Next moves: Further international expansion, more product modules (ancillaries, upsells), potential acquisition of complementary verticals.
2. Qstay Hospitality Technologies Ltd. (UAE / Middle East) — “Virtual hotel brand + tech stack for short-stay luxury”
What they do: High-end apartments/villas leased, branded, managed with hotel-like services + tech-enabled guest interactions; pivoting into global virtual hotel platform. Wikipedia
Founder(s): Artur Khayrullin, Ekaterina Rogozhina, Alec Redelman Fesenko, Natalya Fesenko.
Funding & backers: Raised US$6.5 million seed in 2022; added ~$4.6 million in pre-Series A in 2024; total >US$11 million. Wikipedia
Best for you if you: Are a hospitality group or real-estate owner looking to scale a tech-enabled short-stay model, especially in the Middle East / global luxury segment.
Next moves: Broaden property network, integrate blockchain/payment tech, global brand roll-out.
3. Inntelo AI (UK / Europe & UAE) — “AI concierge meets hotel operations”
What they do: A guest & team communications platform for hotels using conversational/agentic AI, automating guest enquiries (WhatsApp/phone) and converting them into tasks for housekeeping, maintenance, FOH etc. Bebeez
Founder(s): Asif Alidina (CEO & Co-Founder).
Funding & backers: Raised £506,000 (~US$650k) in pre-seed in July 2025, led by Haatch & British Business Bank. Bebeez
Best for you if you: Manage independent or branded hotels needing to automate guest-facing and internal workflows in a lean way.
Next moves: Scale platform across hotel properties in UAE/Europe, deepen integrations with property management systems (PMS), roll out multilingual support.
4. ALICE (USA) — “Operations platform for hotel staff & guest requests”
What they do: A back-office operations tool plus guest channels — guest service app, staff task-management, communications between departments. Wikipedia
Founder(s): Justin Effron (CEO), Alexander Shashou (President), Dmitry Koltunov (CTO).
Funding & backers: Earlier funding: $9.5 million (2016) led by Expedia Group; $26 million round in 2017. Wikipedia
Best for you if you: Operate a hotel group or resort with many staff/departments and want to improve guest satisfaction + internal coordination.
Next moves: Expand more features (guest-data analytics, integrations to PMS/CRM), global rollout.
5. Stay22 (Canada / Global) — “Event-based & hotel accommodation tech for large groups”
What they do: Originally event-accommodation search + map-based interface; evolving into broader affiliate/hospitality tech platform. Wikipedia
Founder(s): Andrew Lockhead (CEO & Co-Founder), Hamed Al‑Khabaz (CTO).
Funding & backers: Raised seed ~$750k (2018); GMV ~$372 million in H1 2025. Wikipedia
Best for you if you: Host events, conferences, or manage hospitality for large groups and need tech to manage booking logistics, attendees, room blocks.
Next moves: Expand product into corporate/hospitality platforms, integrate hotel partners globally, scale affiliate/revenue model.
6. Hotel Engine (USA) — “Business-travel hotel bookings scaled”
What they do: Tech platform for companies (business travel) to book hotel rooms, manage bookings, savings, travel logistics. Reuters
Founder(s): (Not detailed here)
Funding & backers: Raised $140 million Series C in 2024 led by Permira; valued at ~$2.1 billion. Reuters
Best for you if you: Are a hotel operator focusing on business travel or a partner who can integrate with business-travel platforms to fill rooms & optimize yields.
Next moves: Expand services to flight/car rental bookings, broaden global hotel network, deeper integrations with corporate travel tech.
7. SevenRooms (USA) — “Reservation-&-guest-data platform for hotels & restaurants”
What they do: Cloud-based platform for bookings/reservations, guest profiles, data insights across hospitality venues (hotels, restaurants). Wikipedia
Founder(s): Joel Montaniel, Allison Page, Kinesh Patel
Funding & backers: Acquired by DoorDash in 2025 for ~$1.2 billion. Wikipedia
Best for you if you: Are a boutique hotel or chain looking to unify guest data, manage upsells/reservations, or deepen guest loyalty via experience platform.
Next moves: Leverage large-scale data, more integrations (CRM, PMS, guest apps), expand globally.
8. RedDoorz (South-East Asia) — “Budget-hotel aggregator & brand platform”
What they do: Aggregates budget hotels in Southeast Asia, provides training, digital services, branded hotel network. Wikipedia
Founder(s): Amit Saberwal (CEO & Co-Founder), Asheesh Saxena (Co-Founder)
Funding & backers: Total funding ~US$140 million (last public disclosure Series C Aug 2019). Wikipedia
Best for you if you: Are owning/running hotels in emerging markets and want to partner with a scalable brand/platform; or you’re looking at hospitality expansion in Asia.
Next moves: Expand brand network, deeper digital services for owners, explore new markets beyond SE Asia.
9. Nappr (USA / Global) — “Day-use hotel stays & hotel-booking innovation”
What they do: Marketplace for 2-12 hour hotel stays, monetising under-utilised inventory, working across hotels globally. Wikipedia
Founder(s): Jared Lerner (Founder & CEO)
Funding & backers: Seed/early stage; reports of global expansion to 1,100+ hotels in 29 countries. Wikipedia
Best for you if you: Own hotel inventory with un-monetised day-rooms; or are a tech partner exploring short-stay / day-use markets.
Next moves: Corporate partnerships (employee rest/travel); airport/layover offerings; expand globally.
10. StayNTouch (USA) — “Cloud-property-management system built for modern hotels”
What they do: Cloud PMS (Property Management System) designed for hotel chains and independent hotels to digitise operations, mobile check-in/out, guest services.
Founder(s): (Founders not detailed here)
Funding & backers: Not publicly detailed here in this draft; recommend verifying.
Best for you if you: Are transitioning from legacy systems to modern cloud architecture, looking to enhance guest-experience, staff efficiency, integration with other hotel tech stacks.
Next moves: Global scaling, deeper integrations (IoT, voice, guest-apps), servicing mid-scale & luxury segments.
How to Choose/Partner with a Hotel-Tech Startup
When you scan these stories, some patterns emerge — useful filters when you evaluate a partner or startup:
- Operational alignment: Does the startup understand hotel operations, guest pain-points, service flows — not just “tech that looks cool”?
- Traction & deployment: Are there live site deployments, paying customers, hotel chains or brands onboarded — not just a proof-of-concept?
- Scalable architecture: Can they handle multi-property, multi-brand, multi‐market environments (especially if you’re global)?
- Ecosystem integration: Do they integrate with PMS, CRS, ERP, guest-apps, revenue systems — or will they create isolated silos?
- Business model viability: Is it built for scale (rooms, nights, global units) rather than a niche pilot?
- Next-move clarity: They’ve raised capital — where are they going next (geography, product extensions, brand partnerships)?
- Partner-friendly design: If you are a hotel/owner/brand looking to collaborate, how open is the startup to co-innovation, customisation, joint go-to-market?
Final Thoughts
Here’s the story: The hotel & hospitality industry is in a pivot. Capital is flowing into startups that can help hotels run smarter — pricing, guest-experience, operations, inventory usage. The question is no longer “can you build tech?” but “does your tech unlock value at scale for real-life hotels?”
For your agency at McArrows, this is exactly the moment to lean in. When a hotel chain or hospitality brand has raised funding or is preparing to scale, they need product-positioning, marketing-messaging, go-to-market outreach, and partner networks. The technology is there. The challenge is execution.
Imagine: A Middle-East hotel chain launches a “smart-guest-room” initiative globally; or a tech-platform partner rolls out to 10,000 rooms across Asia. That’s when your messaging and growth engine become meaningful.
If you’re reading this and thinking: “Yes — we’re a hotel brand, a hospitality tech startup, or a hotel-operation company scaling now — we need marketing orchestration, partner outreach, product positioning, storytelling” — then this is your moment to act.
