Europe’s Hospitality Tech Companies Get Funding

A string of funding rounds has highlighted a boom for European hospitality tech companies.

As restaurants and hotels increasingly digitize their operations, investors are backing startups that develop software platforms for the hospitality industry.

Leading the pack this week, Dutch firm Mews announced the close of a $185 million Series C round Thursday (Dec. 15) to help develop its cloud-based solution for hotel owners and operators and to fund its global expansion.

In a blog post announcing the raise, the company said the fresh capital will be used to fuel its expansion in markets including the U.S., the U.K., and France to put Mews on par with its 20% market share in the Netherlands.

Mews’ success in the past year has traced the recovery of the global tourism industry.

For example, in February, the firm picked up one of its biggest clients in Nordic Choice Hotels, enabling the Dutch company to grow its footprint in the Nordic region and enhance its portfolio of solutions with the integration of Cenium’s property management capabilities.

Another startup in the hotel management space that has recently caught investors’ eyes is U.K.-based Hotel Manager, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startup that helps hotel operators manage their internal operations as well as build connected customer-facing apps and services.

The company raised 1 million euros (about $1.1 million) in a seed round led by Fuel Ventures with several angel investors also participating, EU-Startups reported Wednesday (Dec. 14).

Providing a Digital Toolkit for Restaurateurs

Just like hotel tech is ascendending post-pandemic, restaurants have also accelerated their digitization efforts in recent years.

For example, the 2022 edition of the PYMNTS Restaurant Readiness Index, a report published in collaboration with Paytronix, found that even as lockdowns have lifted and in-person dining has returned, 31% of restaurants surveyed generate 50% or more of their total sales through digital channels.

The Restaurant Readiness Index also found that nearly half of the restaurants that were surveyed implemented digital features that supplement the on-site ordering experience.

These digital solutions are provided by ResTech firms such as Munich-based allO and Spanish startup CoverManager, which have both netted funding to expand their multi-functional restaurant platforms, enabling clients to integrate functions such as reservations, online ordering, payments and shift management.

For allO, the 1.4 million euro (about $1.5 million) seed round will fund its growth in Germany, where it plans to pick up more clients in the small- to medium-sized business (SMB) restaurant space.

The more established CoverManager, on the other hand, has already onboarded over 8,000 restaurants in 25 countries and will use the 17 million euro (about $18 million) cash injection it received from a Series A extension to fuel further international expansion.

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