Thayer Lodging Group, a value-added hotel investment company, and Quest Hospitality Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in hospitality technology companies and affiliated with lodging equipment supplier Quest Hospitality, have agreed to form a new corporate venturing firm.
Thayer Ventures will be the successor of Quest Hospitality Ventures and focus on sponsoring investment funds to invest in emerging technology companies in the global hospitality industry.
Along with approximately 75 other limited partners from the hospitality industry, the principals of Thayer Lodging Group seeded Quest Hospitality Ventures’ inaugural venture capital fund in 2009, which has made eight investments, including Hipmunk, Hotelme.com, Nor1, Adara Media, Duetto Research, NewBrandAnalytics and ID90T.
The four principals of Quest Hospitality Ventures – Mark Farrell, Chris Hemmeter and Lucien Ruby – will manage Thayer Ventures, which is currently part of Thayer Lodging Group’s family of funds.
Thayer Ventures expects to begin making investments next year from its new investment vehicles.
Jeff Jackson, former chief financial officer of travel reservations service Sabre, will join Thayer Ventures as a general partner.
Leland Pillsbury, Fredrick Malek, Bruce Wiles and George Dabney, each managing principals of Thayer Lodging Group, will serve as senior advisers to Thayer Ventures and its sponsored funds.
Pilsbury said: "Just five sectors of the hospitality industry — travel, lodging, foodservice, cruise lines, and gaming — account for more than $850bn in annual revenues in the US alone, and there is a tremendous opportunity for smart entrepreneurs to come up with innovative solutions to advance this immensely profitable industry."
Chris Hemmeter added: "Our mission is to help entrepreneurs build profitable global companies by providing smart funding, hands-on counsel, strategic insights and industry connections."