Original Post by Digital News Asia
SINGAPORE-based Zuzu Hospitality Solutions, (Zuzu) the ‘yield management as a service for independent hoteliers’ on March 19 announced its regional expansion on the back of completing a US$3.7 million (RM15.09 million) Series A investment round.
The Series A round for Zuzu, based in Singapore, was completed in 4Q18. It was led by Wavemaker Partners with other existing investors Golden Gate Ventures, Convergence Venture, and Alpha JWC Ventures as well as new investors Access Ventures and Line Ventures.
Zuzu co-founder Dan Lynn said, “Having continued support from our existing investors in this investment round shows that we have fulfilled our mission to deliver yield management as a service for independent hotels. We are also grateful to have new investors come onboard and help us in our next phase of international expansion. ”
Zuzu delivers an outsourced yield management solution for independent hotels. It couples a proprietary hotel operating system with a service model delivered by specialist revenue managers to deliver an average uplift of 30% in online revenue
Lynn added, “Zuzu is now the only complete outsourced yield management solution for independent hotels. Rather than dropping a piece of software on a hotel and expecting them to figure it out for themselves, we provide both the software and the service.
“We let hoteliers outsource their yield optimisation so they can focus on hospitality and delivering a great experience day to day. We are also the only partner of independent hotels that delivers revenue upside for them, making us true hotel partners for the long term.”
The company was founded in 2016, and had raised a seed round of US$2 million (RM8.16 million) in 2017 to allow it to invest in its product development. With this new round of funding, the company is expanding its operations from its launch markets of Indonesia, Taiwan, and Singapore, to further its Asia Pacific coverage.
The company has appointed veterans in the industry, Jake Coleiro as country manager for Australia; and Prae Wattanalapa as country manager for Thailand.
Globally, there are more than 300,000 independent hoteliers, and less than one in 10 use any sort of revenue management software. More than 10,000 of these independent hotels are in Thailand while Malaysia and Australia have 5,000 each.
Zuzu co-founder Vikram Malhi said, “Zuzu is very excited to have Jake and Prae on board to lead our growth in Australia and Thailand. They have a proven record of furthering the online ambitions of hotels and will ensure we deliver a locally relevant solution for yield management in these markets.”