Reeco, a marketplace that connects hospitality buyers and suppliers, has raised $10 million in seed funding. Reeco provides a streamlined process for hotels and other hospitality buyers to order everything from food-and-beverage items to cleaning supplies. The AI-powered marketplace offers availability of products while substantially reducing costs. The funding round was led by Net Capital Ventures and Joule Ventures with participation from Eynat Guez, CEO of Papaya Global, and other angel investors.
Pandemic-related supply chain issues hit the hospitality industry hard, with 86 percent of hoteliers reporting that it impacted operations. As the industry recovers and demand strengthens, hotels continue to face challenges with procurement due to inflation and ongoing supply chain shortages. “If a hotel can’t get eggs to serve for breakfast, that negatively impacts a guest’s entire experience,” Eyal Goldberger, former area GM of AC Marriott and Element Brickell Miami hotels, said in a statement. “Shortages are becoming commonplace and up to 30 percent of the items on each order can’t be filled by suppliers. Getting items from an alternate supplier isn’t as easy as just walking into another shop—it’s a difficult process which is further complicated by the fact that most procurement is still being managed with pen and paper.“
Reeco sells thousands of products in an online store. Buyers select the products they need, and their order is automatically matched with the optimal supplier from hundreds of top local and national suppliers, based on price, availability and delivery dates. Reeco can divide an order between as many as four suppliers to ensure full availability of products at the lowest prices, while allowing buyers to check out in one place and receive a single unified bill. This results in savings of 19 percent on average per order while cutting time spent on placing and receiving orders by 80 percent.
“Reeco was built for the unsung heroes of hospitality,” said Henrik Shimony, Reeco co-founder and CEO. “As a hotelier who has worked in every role, from the front desk to the back office, the purchasing department was always the most neglected. This makes no sense, considering hotels’ largest expenses originate there. Reeco helps mitigate supply chain issues and food waste by using AI-driven insights into purchasing habits.”
In 2022, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based company added Miami as its United States headquarters location. Among its customers, Reeco counts Playa Largo Resort - Autograph Collection, Hilton Aventura, The Even Hotel, hotel management company Shaner Hotel Group as well as hotels from brands like Marriott and Ramada.