Hotel Engine Propels to Unicorn Status With $65M Investment

Denver-based Hotel Engine, a travel tech company focused on making lodging management easier for businesses, raised $65 million in Series B funding, the company announced on Thursday (Dec. 2).

The round was led by existing investor Telescope Partners, with participation from funds managed by Blackstone.

The investment pushes the 6-year-old company’s valuation to $1.3 billion, a nearly ninefold increase over the Series A funding two years ago, according to the announcement. In 2019, Hotel Engine raised $16 million in funding with over a $150 million valuation.

Hotel Engine Founder and CEO Elia Wallen said the investment will allow the company to bolster its staffing, innovate faster and expand its global network of lodging partners. Hotel Engine is used by more than 550,000 individual members across more than 40,000 businesses and 700,000 hotels in more than 185 countries, according to the company.

Amid an ongoing global pandemic, Hotel Engine has managed to break company records monthly, according to the announcement.

“We know the world of travel is changing, and so are the priorities of businesses and their travelers,” Wallen said. “We’re excited for the opportunity to help shape this industry’s evolution.”

The travel and hospitality industry are showing signs of a slow rebound. Last month PYMNTS reported that Hilton Worldwide Holdings’ third quarter earnings surged 132 percent year over year, marking a decrease of only 14% as compared to 2019. In addition, the company’s August and September room rates were 805 of 2019 levels.

Read more: Hopes for Business Travel Recovery Rise as Rides to Airports Triple

In terms of travel industry advancements, last month corporate hospitality platform HRS launched a collaborative effort with Citi to enable the integration of the bank’s virtual payment product with HRS’s booking process.

Aimed at automating travel payments, the effort will embed Citi’s Virtual Card Account in the HRS platform for use in 46 markets, including China, India, Russia and Brazil.

See more: Travel Platform HRS Launches Citi Partnership