Software firm Kipsu Inc. will incorporate its mobile messaging technology across all Hilton properties by the end of the year, effectively doubling its utilization at the global hotelier.
Founded in 2010, Kipsu is a Minneapolis-based software firm that develops real-time engagement products for customer service industries. For example, it allows customers to text companies on their mobile devices to report issues such as bathrooms running out of toilet paper. Besides texting, Kipsu also develops live web chat and other social messaging tools for a range of clients in hospitality, retail, airports, healthcare, rental properties and educational institutions.
In its announcement Tuesday, Mclean, Virginia-based Hilton said the decision to double Kipsu's contract comes in response to a "dramatic shift in traveler communication preferences."
Hilton first tried out Kipsu's messaging system in 2013. After over 40% of guests responded to the hotel welcome message, Hilton decided to put Kipsu in more hotels. Last year alone, it reported that Kipsu facilitated over 70 million messages across 3,618 Hilton properties.
Kathy Heneghan, the general manager at Hilton Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile’s Embassy Suites, said in a statement that since implementing Kipsu's mobile messaging system, the hotel has been able to respond to guest inquiries faster than ever before.
With the newly expanded partnership, Kipsu will allow immediate exchanges between guests and hotel staff at over 7,000 Hilton properties worldwide.
“Travelers’ preference to communicate with hotel team members via their mobile device is growing,” said Chris Silcock, Hilton’s president of global brands and commercial services, in a statement. “By expanding this capability to all of our hotels around the world, we are meeting our guests where they are and creating an elevated and reliable experience.”
Kipsu was co-founded by CEO Chris Smith, who was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020. Kipsu was ranked No. 18 in the 2022 Business Journal’s ranking of largest software development firms in the Twin Cities, with a 2021 revenue of $10 million. According to that year’s research, Kipsu had 25 software developers, and a total employee count of 69. Its first customer was the Mall of America, and has since landed over 3,500 partnerships in at least 60 countries, according to its website. Last year, IHG Hotels & Resorts selected Kipsu as its preferred messaging vendor, a partnership that includes over 6,000 hotels in over 100 countries.
Kipsu's vice president of marketing Jennifer Schrader said in an email that Kipsu is aiming to maintain at least 100 employees this year, with over 35 in the engineering department. Their current revenue has reached over $15 million. Besides its core offerings, Smith said the company's ability to capture data and sentiment information will enable expansion into "a variety of verticals in the coming years."
