Bob W, the self-described “tech-driven” hospitality supplier that provides an alternative choice to conventional inns and short-stay leases, is disclosing €10 million in seed funding.
Leading the spherical, which included a primary tranche of €four million final yr, is byFounders VC and personal fairness agency Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi). Other European actual property and enterprise capitalist buyers collaborating embody Kaamos, Superangel, United Angels and NREP (by way of its anchor funding into the 2150 enterprise capital fund, which guarantees to again sustainable city applied sciences).
Founded in 2018 by Niko Karstikko and Sebastian Emberger, Bob W — which is a play on the phrase “best of both worlds” — is described as providing tech-powered short-stay flats that mix hotel-like high quality with the authenticity of particular person leases.
Its “full-stack” mannequin sees it supply and handle properties and supply an accompanying app for visitors, with assist for chat-based customer support and contactless on-line check-in. It additionally claims to have made nearly all of its operations autonomous. “[This] not only minimises human error but also allows the company to craft the entire guest experience, from booking to check-out, at scale,” says the corporate.
Launched in plenty of Nordics markets, and on the verge of opening properties in London, the startup appears to be weathering the pandemic, reaching occupancy charges as excessive as 90% at its current properties in Estonia and Finland. Revenue can be mentioned to have grown by 80% in 2020, with the corporate placing numerous advertising towards claims behind being extra hygienic than many inns.
“A new generation of travellers have developed a refined taste when it comes to accommodation; they’re mixing business with pleasure and often staying for longer,” says Niko Karstikko co-founder and CEO of Bob W. “They want the reliable quality of a hotel and the authenticity and convenience of a private apartment. The problem is that many hotels feel generic and lack key amenities like kitchens, while booking a private rental feels like playing roulette”.
Despite this contradiction, Karstikko says the short-stay rental market has continued to develop over the previous decade with thousands and thousands of properties out there, “demonstrating the demand for home-like settings where guests can live like a local”. And it’s this demand that was the inspiration behind Bob W.
Image Credits: Bob W
“Bob W guarantees the best short-stay apartment experience, which includes the amenities and local authenticity of a home combined with responsive host communication available 24/7, the best professional cleaning program in the industry, curated local service partners (gym, breakfast, etc.), dedicated business services and more”.
This implies that visitors can depend on “hotel-like consistency” throughout all of Bob W’s places, with out paying resort costs and with “the flexibility to stay days, weeks or months”.
Karstikko says a typical Bob W visitor is somebody who “travels less but stays longer”.
“They often mix business and pleasure and come for leisure, work, digital nomad-ery or just to get away and get a taste of living like a local,” he explains. “To do that, they seek out authentic places to stay which also have the amenities and consistent quality they expect, like a fully equipped kitchen and some elbow room. What they want is a home away from home”.
Meanwhile, direct rivals embody the likes of Sonder, Cosi Group, Lime Home and, extra broadly, the resort and short-stay segments. To that finish, Karstikko argues that Bob W is the “most local, authentic experience” in the marketplace and presents essentially the most constant, but personalized expertise. It additionally pitches itself on being extra sustainable.
“We have put sustainability at the core of everything we do,” provides the Bob W CEO, “from powering our flats with 100% renewable vitality to recycling, minimising single-use plastic, sourcing…
