Member Article

Airbnb hospitality management service Hostmaker closes $2m funding round

London-based hospitality management service, Hostmaker has closed a $2m seed funding round led by DN Capital and other venture funds, entrepreneurs and travel industry professionals.

Launched in July 2014, Hostmaker is a full-service hospitality management company founded by Nakul Sharma, an experienced hospitality professional and Airbnb host himself, giving hosts access to a team of housekeepers and concierges to ensure their guests’ enjoy memorable stays.

Hostmaker also helps hosts market their homes effectively, from the ‘Airbnb-ready’ presentation of the home in photographs to dynamic pricing of the property.

The round was led by DN Capital, backers of Shazam, Auto1, Purplebricks and Windeln.de. Other investors in the round include Avala Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, Delivery Hero co-founder Nikita Fahrenholz and former MD of Airbnb India and Middle East Mohit Srivastava.

Hostmaker’s CEO and founder, Nakul Sharma said: “The homestay category has been transformed over the last decade by the growing popularity of Airbnb with over a million listings worldwide.

“Whilst homes offer a unique and local experience to travellers, there is still a vast inconsistency in basic service standards.

“The uncertainty of not knowing what you are going to get is still a hurdle for many to book a home on Airbnb. Hostmaker’s aim is to bring hotel-quality consistent standards to homes across the world without losing the uniqueness of the homes themselves. I am glad to have found investors who believe in our vision and are excited by it”,

Hostmaker is currently offering its Airbnb management services in London, Barcelona and Rome - serving about 5000 guests every month.

The funding will be used for product enhancements and phase two of its expansion to other European capitals. Hostmaker will continue to focus and build on its price optimisation tools to deliver value to hosts and operations platform to make logistics more efficient.

Lawrence Barclay, Investment Manager at DN Capital, said: “After looking in detail at this market, and recognising the clear value proposition for Airbnb hosts, we are delighted to lead the investment in Hostmaker.

“We are incredibly impressed by the progress that Nakul and his team have made, and look forward to being part of fueling future growth,”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .