Short-term rental platform co Guesty raises $50m

Israeli short-term rental property management platform Guesty today announced it has completed a $50 million Series D financing round, led by the Apax Digital Fund with participation from the AMI Opportunities Fund, and existing investors Viola Growth, Flashpoint, Vertex Ventures, Kingfisher Investment Advisors and La Maison Partners. This brings to $110 million, the total amount raised by the company, which has developed a platform that automates and streamlines all complex operational needs accompanying short-term rental management.

Tel Aviv-based Guesty was co-founded in 2013 by twin brothers Amiad and Koby Soto.

Guesty CEO Amiad Soto said, “We are entering an exciting chapter in our company’s life cycle with short-term rentals having gone mainstream as a direct result of the pandemic, now catering to an increased user base that expects the comfort and privacy of a home coupled with hotel-like amenities. UK 2021 summer reservation volume alone is currently 180% higher compared to last year and in August specifically, only 10% lower when compared to pre-Covid, 2019 volume. These numbers will only grow and highlight a bright future ahead, and Guesty is looking forward to being there every step of the way to support our customers and an industry that has shown resilience during an unimaginable year in which many had to quickly pivot and adjust their business models to stay afloat. We are coming out on the other side stronger, together as a community that believes in the evolution of travel.”

Earlier this month, Guesty announced that it acquired fellow property management software and Y Combinator alum, MyVR, to further expand in North America and bring more standardization to the sector. Today, the company also announced it has acquired property management software, Your Porter. Both acquisitions will continue Guesty’s goal of powering hosting businesses of all sizes – ranging from small, family-run operations to enterprise-sized hospitality brands.

Guesty will use the investment and growing team to power a year of major growth in key markets, enhance its product capabilities to serve diverse customer segments, onboard top-notch talent and ultimately, be a pillar of support for the entrepreneurs who have built businesses off the democratization of hospitality. The company will also continue to build out its Marketplace of third-party integration partners — from digital concierges to remote staff management systems to keyless entry solutions — in order to aid customers in providing “contact-free” guest experiences, all from within the Guesty dashboard.

Certain that travel would recover, Guesty has kept busy over the last year, enhancing the platform’s functionalities to support more property types, including multi-unit listings and aparthotels. The company also focused on addressing consumer behavioral patterns that emerged as a result of the pandemic by opening up the platform to support extended stays of one month or longer.

Since graduating from Y Combinator in 2014, Guesty has continued to build a flexible, smart software in a fragmented market, providing customers in over 80 countries with an end-to-end solution in which they can manage their portfolio of properties across a variety of online travel platforms.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on April 27, 2021

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