Bethesda, Md.-based startup StayNTouch raised an important $9.5 million Series A investment round earlier this week to effectively expand its hotel management software product suite and to reach new customers. Though the round was led by a group of prominent corporate investors, including Concur, a large travel expense recording system, and Shiji (Hong Kong) Limited, an international hotel and restaurant IT developer, StayNTouch has only been in businesses for 4 years.
In an interview with DC Inno, CEO/founder Jos Schaap said that he realized the hotel industry was ripe for disruption during a bike trip through Wyoming with his teenage son. Schaap sat a table alongside his son ordering coffee when he noticed the waiter was using a electronic tablet to take down their order. The order was not only collected on the tablet, but it was also communicated to the kitchen with a kick tap.
Schaap, a senior VP within Oracle's MICROS eCommerce division at the time, began to think about how mobile devices could be used to change the hotel experience as a result of the trip—from checking in guests, managing back of the house functions and paying the bill.
The Maryland startup's software is "easy to install" and can "enhance customer engagement, and remove the front desk 'barrier' that stand between hotel and guest," Schaap told DC Inno. It is sold in a subscription service model and current customers include Great Wolf Hotels & Resorts, ARIA Las Vegas, Fontainebleau Miami and MGM Resorts International.
"It became clear that the movement in hotel technology is toward the cloud"
Schaap explained "it became clear that the movement in hotel technology is toward the cloud, and we seized the opportunity to develop a next generation PMS [property management system], developed all on the cloud on one platform, producing revenue gains as well as cost savings for hotels. That is how StayNTouch came into being."
At the moment, most hotels are running a legacy PMS that is "restrictive and wasteful," Schaap said. While in contrast: today’s traveler is largely demanding that hotels apply mobility to the guest experience, offering guests a choice of mobile check in and other services that are inline with products typically offered by high tech, on-demand or gig economy companies.
StayNTouch not only brings a mobile presence to the hotel purchase but it also allows for seamless communication between the customer and brand in addition to acting as a backend data collection tool.
Interestingly, the tech-centric hotel trend has become ever more present and major hotel chains like Marriott and Hyatt have undoubtedly recognized it. These well known franchise are dedicating to resources and software development teams so that they can introduce innovative mobile apps via multiple platforms. Starwood Hotels & Resorts, for example, was among the first companies to deploy an Apple Watch app.
"Apple, Nordstrom, the other companies that really know how to serve today’s consumers—they do not let their service professionals get stuck behind front desks. Neither should hotels," Schaap described.
Schaap said that StayNTouch's "secret sauce"—a term referring to a company's competitive advantage—lays in a dedication to mobile technology. "We are the only ones to offer a PMS completely built around mobile technology. Everything we do is designed around mobility, providing a full service operational solution where you can manage a hotel from your office or on property, but also via mobile phone. Unlike others in the space, we focus on the PMS only, from check in to check out. And we do that really well."
