SmartHotel Raises an Additional USD $1 Million to Scale its Ground-Breaking Contactless Communication Software
SmartHotel Raises an Additional USD $1 Million to Scale its Ground-Breaking Contactless Communication Software
SmartHotel, a startup that develops software for the hospitality industry, has raised $1 million in a pre-A round led by Smok Ventures with participation from LT Capital Ventures and Next Road Ventures. The funding will be used to expand the company's services across Africa and Europe.
Wiktor Schmidt – co-founder of Netguru (one of Europe's largest software development companies – and Mirosaw Janik – former Vice President of Wincor Nixdorf Group – are also included in the round.
The additional investment will be used to further develop and expand its innovative software, which enables contactless and easy communication with guests in hotels and apartments throughout Nigeria, Tanzania, Poland, and South Africa. The startup also intends to use the funding to expand into other parts of Africa, Europe, and the United Kingdom.
SmartHotel was founded in 2019 by Maciej Prostak (CEO) and Damian Dabrowski (CTO). It integrates with hotel management systems, enabling quick handling of issues relating to guests' stay on-site, reducing phone calls to the reception desk, simplifying procedures, and ultimately saving owners and managers time and money.
With the registration card, the software sends a link to the guest's telephone number or email address via messaging channels such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. The guest completes the hotel's request for information via their smartphone at their convenience.
This relieves them of the stress associated with check-in queues. Following that, the guest selects their preferred messenger through which they will receive the most critical information about their stay. They can also place an order for additional services or report an issue. Everything is available without the need to visit the front desk or call us.
Kayode Oluwatuyi, Country Manager SmartHotel Nigeria, commented, "Our SmartHotel technology has been widely accepted and endorsed by Nigerian hotels because it eliminates the need for staff to physically interact with guests in order to provide services. The advantage is that the hotel protects both its staff and guests from the coronavirus pandemic while also digitizing its services.”
The company's position is bolstered further by technological alliances with industry heavyweights such as Oracle and Nightsbridge.
“So far, the response has been phenomenal, with Eko Hotel & Suites, CitiHeights, Lagos Oriental Hotel, and Sheraton all expressing interest in using our software. The response has been astounding. We look forward to assisting additional hotels in Nigeria and Africa in digitizing their operations.”
SmartHotel's development potential is dependent on the low level of digitization of hotels and apartments in emerging economies, the need to stay safe in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and the dynamically growing value of the hotel services market, which will exceed USD$5 trillion by 2025.
“Until now, no one in the hotel industry has proposed using their preferred and most widely used messengers, such as WhatsApp or Messenger, to communicate with guests, even more so now that guests can check in remotely and communicate via well-known messengers. This is why SmartHotel has gained such popularity among hoteliers in the aftermath of the pandemic and is growing at such a rapid pace, ” notes one of the investors, Mirosaw Janik.
Maciej Prostak, SmartHotel's founder, stated: "Over the years, we have accumulated knowledge that we now use to continuously adapt SmartHotel to our clients' needs." We meet with facility owners and managers on a regular basis and collaborate to design the product so that it meets all of their needs and is customized for each facility.
“We want to assist hotels and their guests in surviving the pandemic by providing a secure stay without the need to queue at the front desk or wait for service. The non-contact manner in which guests were served in hotels and apartments ensured the highest level of security. Simplifying the check-in process, enabling remote check-out, and enabling the ability to send critical messages to all guests with a single click – this was a home run! ”
About SmartHotel
SmartHotel opened its doors in 2019. Maciej Prostak, an entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience in the hotel industry, had the idea to create a communication platform for the industry. SmartHotel integrates with a variety of hotel management and hospitality systems, including Oracle Opera, Mews, CloudBeds, and Protel, to enable guests to quickly resolve issues related to their stay via Messenger and WhatsApp.
