- The tech startup specializing in exact hotel room selection has secured strategic backing from GED Conexo Ventures, along with key investors Faraday Venture Partners, Eoniq Fund and continued support from existing investors Sabadell VC and Archipélago Next.
- Hotelverse revolutionizes the sector, bringing the concept of airline seat selection to the hotel industry. Guests pay an average of €60 extra to choose their specific room, boosting conversion rates by over 30% and enhancing the customer experience with highly personalized stays.
Palma, Spain, September 26th 2024 – Hotelverse, the pioneering tech platform for exact hotel room selection through digital twins, has announced the successful close of a €5 million Series A funding round led by GED Conexo Ventures. Other key investors, including Faraday Venture Partners and Eoniq Fund, and existing investors Sabadell VC and Archipélago Next participated in the round with follow-on investments.
This new capital injection provides the financial resources needed for the startup to enhance its technological development and accelerate its international expansion, strengthening its presence in the hotel market through strategic clients such as Hyatt Hotels, Radisson Hotel Group and Palladium Hotel Group, among others. One product highlight is the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) to further personalize guest experiences and enhance the realism of its immersive offerings, allowing customers to enjoy more advanced and tailored solutions to meet their needs.
Rafael Bover, Co-Founder & COO at Hotelverse, explains: “This funding round marks a milestone in Hotelverse’s growth. The confidence shown by GED Conexo Ventures and the continued support from our existing investors will enable us to scale our technology and keep transforming the hotel industry. Bringing on clients like Hyatt Hotels and Radisson Hotel Group reflects the value our solution delivers to major hotel chains. This investment allows us to focus on hotel deployments, aiming to grow from €2M to €3.5M in ARR over the next two years. We are planning a new Series B round of €10M with a U.S.-based VC by summer 2026.” GED Conexo Ventures, with €150 million in assets under management, focuses its investments in startups and entrepreneurs driving technological and digital advancement through proprietary new technologies and disruptive business models that contribute to the transformation of the traditional economy. Joaquim Hierro Lopes, Managing Partner of GED Ventures, stated: “We are excited to lead this round and support Hotelverse in its mission to transform the hotel industry with its exact room selection, much like airlines did with seat selection. We strongly believe in its potential to become an essential platform for hotels worldwide.” Hotelverse’s executive highlights the relevance of the entry of GED Conexo Ventures, a fund that co-invests with American VCs. This action gives the startup the opportunity to become an American company and be able to continue its internationalization from the US. Gonzalo Tradacete, Founder and Managing Partner of Faraday adds: “We are proud to be able to support Hotelverse in their transformation of the hotel industry. Their solution brings a lot of value to both hotels and travelers and offers a crucial differentiation in the shopping experience through artificial intelligence. Their innovative technology not only increases value for the traveler but also generates significant additional revenue for major hotel chains, who have already joined the ‘Hotelverse revolution’.”
Room selection generates an additional €60 per booking Hotelverse has revolutionized how hotels manage their bookings, enabling effective disintermediation that boosts conversion rates by over 30% on their direct channels instead of on OTAs. With its innovative approach, customers can request a specific room number—a unique feature that adds significant value to the booking process.
The platform also creates a new revenue stream by charging for room selection, with 20% of users paying an average of €60 extra. Additionally, Hotelverse has established itself as a key upselling tool, increasing additional sales by 50% during both the pre-stay phase and at hotel check-in, using its digital twin technology to offer visually appealing upgrades. The tool enhances the guest experience with hyper-personalized bookings, increasing website dwell time by 103% and boosting interest in premium rooms by 70%. From an ROI perspective, just one direct booking per week covers the service cost, while also generating significant additional revenue from room number requests and upselling through the digital twin.
Recently, the startup received nearly €500,000 in non-repayable innovation funding from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sports of the Balearic Islands as part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU. This grant, in addition to the funds raised in the recent financing round, will focus on product development, enabling the company to accelerate its growth and strengthen its market presence.
