Mews Raises $33 Million to Challenge Oracle Hospitality in Hotel Tech
Mews, a hotel tech vendor, said Thursday it had raised $33 million in funding from Battery Ventures, a top-tier Silicon Valley firm whose bet represents the first serious validation of a wave of hotel tech startups.
These companies are offering the first property management systems built for the internet era. The property management system provides the record-keeping heart of hotel front-desk check-in, check-out, and payment. The systems are critical for shepherding hoteliers through today's digital transformation.
Battery Ventures' Series B investment raises the risk of a reckoning for Oracle Hospitality. Oracle acquired the world's most widely used property management system in 2014. But the tech titan fumbled the integration. Its rebound depends on mastering more of the high-momentum ways of startups.
Battery's decision to bet on the hotel tech sector is thought-provoking. The firm was an early backer of travel companies Away, Duetto, GetYourGuide, HotelTonight, ITA Software, Omio/GoEuro, and Trust Group.
"Three years ago, we sat in a room and said we wanted to bet on a disruptor in hotel property management," said Sanjiv Kalevar, a principal at Battery. "But we couldn't find a good candidate."
Mews, founded in Prague in 2012, took six years to develop robust functionality, said Mews founder Richard Valtr. Its ideal market is professional managers of properties with 50 or more rooms.
