D.C.-based WhyHotel, which runs pop-up hotels in newly built apartment buildings, has closed on a $10 million funding round.
The capital infusion was led by Highland Capital Partners, with participation from D.C.-based Camber Creek and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, as well as Mendacre, MetaProp and Geolo Capital.
The startup, incubated at Vornado Realty Trust, is an alternative lodging service in new multifamily luxury buildings. During the lease-up of a new building – the time period for a newly available property to attract tenants – WhyHotel runs small hotels. As apartment residents start to fill the units, the pop-up hotel gradually downsizes and eventually vacates.
The company said it will use the funds to launch three pop-up hotels in Virginia – at Ballston Quarter, Centro Arlington and The Boro in Tysons – and will continue expanding nationwide in 2019.
The Ballston Quarter pop-up will house up to 175 WhyHotel units, and The Boro and Centro Arlington pop-ups each will house up to 150 units.
It's not the company's first foray into Arlington County. WhyHotel ran its first pilot project at The Bartlett in Pentagon City in 2017, before opening another pop-up in Baltimore this year. Its most recent project, at 100 K Street NE in D.C., opened in October and will run through spring 2019.
The startup previously closed on a $3.94 million seed funding round in June, which also included Camber Creek and Revolution. It was also recently featured in DC Inno's 19 Startups to Watch in 2019.
