WhyHotel plans to use the funds to fuel its national expansion; to offer additional products and services to guests during their stays; to hire additional staff for its real estate sales, marketing revenue and technology teams; and to ramp up Hospitality Living, the real estate development arm of the company, with the goal to deliver its first development in 2022.
“How people use space is evolving at a much faster pace than the three to five years it takes to deliver a high-rise building,” Jason Fudin, CEO/co-founder of WhyHotel, said in a statement. “To address this, we are accelerating innovative real estate offerings for consumers and developers alike. However, unlike major operators that have been hobbled by delivering products that mismatch long-term lease obligation and short-term consumer contracts, our products are designed with an understanding of real estate cycles in mind and the goal of building a sustainable, profitable business.”
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Harbert Growth Partners led the funding round with participation from Camber Creek, Highland Capital Partners, Working Lab Capital, Geolo Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, and Mark Nunnelly, former managing director of Bain Capital Partners.
“We’re excited to get behind WhyHotel’s exceptional team and product. With Harbert’s long history in venture and real estate investing, we are in the unique position to evaluate innovation in this market,” Tom Roberts, general partner at Harbert Growth Partners, said in a statement. “As a capital efficient business with an eye on the evolution of real estate, WhyHotel is set to define a new and tremendous market.”