Budget hotel accommodation provider Treebo Hotels on Tuesday said it has raised USD 34 million in Series C round led by Hong Kong-based investment firms Ward Ferry Management and Karst Peak Capital. Existing investors, Matrix Partners India, SAIF Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments also participated in the round. Treebo will invest the fresh funds in enhancing customer experience, building a stronger brand, strengthening its technology team, and expanding its footprint in existing and new cities.
It works with new and existing hotels where Treebo offers its brand name, access to leading vendors, staff training, and sales and marketing expertise to the property. It claims to be enabling higher revenue for the franchise partners against their previous standalone businesses. Prior to this round, the company had raised a total of USD 23 million over two rounds from Matrix Partners India, SAIF Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments. The company competes with Softbank-backed Oyo, which is in talks with investors to raise its next round. It last raised USD 62 million from Softbank a year ago. Smaller rival Fab Hotels last month also raised USD 25 million in a Series B funding round led by Goldman Sachs. Not just start-ups but even Nasdaq-listed online travel agency MakeMyTrip that acquired rival GoIbibo last year, is betting heavily on the budget accommodation sector. However, the sector also saw bloodbath with Stayzilla that also had backing from Treebo's existing investor Matrix succumbing to lack of investor interest and rise in competition and shutting shop.