Group travel booking platform Groups360 has completed a $35 million funding round led by Zigg Capital that included Blackstone Innovations Investments and Fir Tree Partners. They join existing investors Accor, Hilton, IHG Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International.
Groups360 provides real-time availability and instant booking capabilities for both hotel room blocks and meeting space, streamlining group travel for organizers, attendees and hotels. Through the GroupSync platform, travel organizers can access enhanced global search capabilities, hotel group inventory and rates and can choose between purchasing method via instant booking or simplified proposal process. Groups360 also provides these capabilities to hotels via private label group-booking engines.
Over the past 12 months, Groups360 has launched instant booking for group stays at more than 7,000 hotels and booking capabilities at 200,000 properties worldwide via GroupSync. Groups360 will leverage the financing round to continue to grow its operations and expand further globally.
“Groups360 is reshaping the hospitality industry in a manner that makes booking groups simple, transparent and efficient for both hotels and event organizers,” said Kemp Gallineau, CEO, Groups360. “Now, with support from our new partners, Groups360 is positioned to more quickly seize the opportunities which lie ahead for improving group travel.”
“Event organizers increasingly expect their entire hotel purchase experience to be seamless, instantaneous and online. Groups360 has built an integrated, intuitive platform that benefits hoteliers and event organizers anywhere in the world,” said Dave Eisenberg, a founding partner at Zigg Capital.
“Groups360 offers a solution that is truly differentiated in the marketplace,” said John Stecher, chief technology officer at Blackstone. “The Blackstone Innovations Investments team is focused on identifying, investing in and partnering with pioneering companies like Groups360 to help take their businesses to the next stage of growth. We believe that Groups360’s inventory distribution model and instant booking capability will help drive industrywide transformation and can create value for Blackstone’s real estate portfolio.”
“With Groups360’s innovative platform and unique relationships with some of the largest hotel brands in the world, the company is well-positioned to simplify group bookings for both suppliers and travelers,” said David Sultan, Fir Tree Partners chief investment officer and managing partner. “We see a tremendous opportunity for Groups360 to drive online penetration in a global meetings market that has remained largely offline.”