SaaS startup Hotelogix gets $5 mn funding boost

Noida-based HMS Infotech Pvt Ltd, which owns and operates software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Hotelogix, has raised $5 million (Rs 32.5 crore) from investors led by Vertex Ventures.

Hotelogix offers a cloud-based property management system (PMS) for small and medium-sized hotels. The firm said in a statement that existing investors Accel Partners and Saama Capital had also participated in the round.

The company said that it will use the funds for product innovation and market expansion.

“Rapid as well as well-thought out expansion is on the cards,” said Sanghi, co-founder and chief executive of Hotelogix. “We have gained a strong foothold in Indian market that has set the stage for us to now invest aggressively in this segment to scale up operations.”

Hotelogix was founded in 2008 by Sanghi and Prabhash Bhatnagar. It offers a unified approach to meet functions such as front-desk operations, housekeeping and restaurant operations at hotels.

Hotelogix targets budget and mid-market hotels as well as hotel chains, motels, resorts, boutique hotels, service apartments, bed-and-breakfasts and hostels.

Hotelogix also integrates with travel agent networks and external booking sites, providing a wider inventory distribution along with real-time integration with partner sites, group booking sites, and other central reservation systems.

Some of the prominent hotel brands in India that use Hotelogix include Treebo Hotels, Mint Hotels, Leisure Hotels, and Country Inn Hotels and Resorts, among others.

Hotelogix says its services are used in more than 100 countries including the US, the UK, Mexico, Spain, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore.

“As part of our global expansion strategy, we plan to expand our operations in Thailand, and make it the hub for Southeast Asia,” said Bhatnagar. “Funding will be used to strengthen our product’s do-it-yourself capabilities that would help us penetrate further into regions including South America, North America, and United Kingdom, targeting independent hotels.”

The startup’s last known funding took place in 2014, when it had raised $1.8 million from Accel and Saama Capital.

The firm had earlier raised $1.2 million led by Accel Partners, with participation from Blume Ventures and Mumbai Angels, in April 2012.

Last week, Trilyo, a tech startup which provides artificial intelligence-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce clients in the hospitality sector, raised $250,000 (Rs 1.6 crore) in funding.

Vertex Ventures
Vertex Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm backed by Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings. It surpassed the target corpus for its third fund last October to mark the final close at $210 million.

The fund invests in early-stage technology companies in Southeast Asia and India across enterprise technology, financial technology and consumer internet.

Vertex Ventures’ recent investments in India include Synup, a digital marketing for local businesses firm; Flutura, an Internet of Things (IoT) analytics firm; Ace Turtle, an omni-channel order management firm; and Cloudcherry, a customer experience management SaaS firm.

Its early bets in India include baby- and kids-focussed e-commerce platform FirstCry and online travel agency Yatra.