US-based hotel management platform Alice has secured $26m in series B funding from travel company Expedia, which now owns a majority stake in the business, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
Alice enables hotels to manage all aspects of their establishment through a single platform, from check-in and room service to communication with the concierge and handling requests for amenities.
The company’s clients include chains such as Sixty Hotels, Triumph Hotels and Nylo Hotels. It claims its customer-base has increased by almost 200% over the past six months.
The money will go towards staff recruitment across development, product sales and customer support teams.
Expedia previously led a $9.5m series A round in January 2016, with participation from Laconia, 645 Ventures and the founder of collaborative workspace provider NeueHouse.
In 2015, Alice secured $3m in seed funding from 645 Ventures, unnamed principals from property management firm Tishman Realty, the founder of Neuehouse 645 Ventures and the founding team of food ordering service Seamless.
Cyril Ranque, president of lodging partner services at Expedia, said: “It is time for the internet to expand beyond revolutionizing how our hotel partners market and distribute their products into how they work and treat their guests.
“Alice is developing smart mobile and cloud technology to fundamentally improve the hotelier and guest experience at scale. That is a revolution worth investing in.”