Treebo Hotels raises $6 million in a new round of funding from existing investors, including Matrix Partners India, SAIF Partners, Bertelsmann India Investments, and Ward Ferry.
Treebo hotels is a Bengaluru based mid-scale hotel startup founded in 2015 by Sidharth Gupta, Rahul Chaudhary and Kadam Jeet Jain. The startup has launched Treebo Hygiene Shield to build strong safety protocols in the face of the pandemic. All operational hotels of the startup are regularly audited on their compliance of COVID-19 related safety standards, and are accordingly given a gold or platinum hygiene shield rating on the website.
Sidharth Gupta, Co-founder, Treebo Hotels, said, “For any travel and hospitality company, the ability to survive for the time the crisis continues to play out, and come out on the other side to benefit the spike is important, and that spike is bound to happen. During this long weekend, we saw a big spike, and this will only increase when a vaccine is announced or when the number of cases declines. “We already were working on a lean cost structure; we had reduced our cost. While we were heading in the right direction in terms of revenue growth, COVID-19 hit. But our work on reducing cash burns earlier worked to our advantage.”
Tarun Davda, Managing Director, Matrix India said, “While the last few months have been difficult for many companies, it has forced everyone to focus on what truly matters. For Treebo, that is providing world-class technology solutions to its hotel partners to enable them to compete in a post-COVID world.”
Mayank Khanduja, Managing Director at SAIF Partners — one of Treebo’s investors — said, “While it’s true that the travel sector is severely impacted by COVID-19, we believe, this impact is temporary. When people start travelling again, they will look to stay with trusted brands rather than looking for the cheapest alternative or taking a chance with a mom-and-pop hotel. This is where Treebo’s strength lies. They have built a loved brand, which will likely see a spike in customer uptake and revenue once the pandemic recedes.”
Treebo Hotels aims to use the funds in focusing on strengthening its defences against the COVID-19 pandemic, and also build cutting-edge technology products.