Airbnb host management service Hostmaker closes $1m funding round to expand further into Europe
Piggybacking on the success of the booming sharing economy, Airbnb hospitality management service Hostmaker has closed a $1.1m (£843m) funding round to "turbocharge" its international expansion.
Hostmaker will use the funds, raised by Initial Capital, DN Capital and DSG Consumer Partners, to launch and design new technology for guest communication and to move into more European capitals.
The group already supports around 1,000 Airbnb hosts in London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona in a "hands-off solution for people who want to optimise their renting revenues without lifting a finger".
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In the last six months, Hostmaker launched its operations in Paris and introduced a new account management system for hosts.
The company has said it is growing at a rate of around 400 per cent year-on-year, and has been named as one of Forbes' five British businesses to watch.
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"We have been encouraged by the very positive feedback we’ve received from the Airbnb host community about our services," chief executive and founder of Hostmaker, Nakul Sharma, said.
"Hostmaker is now making hosting easy for nearly a thousand hosts across four major European Airbnb destinations – London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona, and we now have additional cities in the pipeline. This new backing from our supportive investor group will allow us to further invest in technology to improve customer experience. We’ll also continue to build our talented hospitality operations team."