By HTN Staff - 1.27.2023
Hospitality technology solution provider Grazzy, a next-generation employee payments platform, has received $4.25 million in seed funding from Next Coast Ventures and Tuesday Capital. The funds will reportedly be used to support the rapid expansion and growth of its digital tipping, same-day pay, and financial wellness solutions for hourly employees in the hospitality industry.
The platform offers a variety of features designed to improve the lives of hourly employees in the hospitality industry. With its digital tipping, same-day pay, and financial wellness solutions, Grazzy helps to increase employee retention and improve the guest experience at hotels, bars, restaurants, salons, and other service-based businesses.
The Texas-based startup’s digital solution enables guests to tip employees using QR codes in under 10 seconds, with no app required. The interface is property-branded and can be integrated with existing guest applications, leading to an increase in employee earnings by up to 20%. The platform also offers same-day access to earnings, providing a powerful competitive advantage for businesses to retain and recruit hourly employees.
Hotel Abri, a client in San Francisco, saw a 20% increase in service scores and a $2 per hour increase in wages for 20% of its housekeeping employees within 60 days of using the platform.
Additionally, Grazzy provides employees with instant access to same-day tips from hotels, bars, restaurants, salons, and other service-based businesses. This helps to reduce the risk involved for businesses that previously kept money in a safe to facilitate same-day tip outs to staff. The platform also improves efficiency for back-office staff while maintaining high levels of compliance.
Grazzy’s CEO, Russell Lemmer, stated that the company’s goal is to address the financial wellness of hourly employees in the hospitality industry, reduce turnover, and improve lives. With its ability to serve the complex needs of the enterprise and its proven ability to deliver at scale, Grazzy is well positioned to become a dominant player in the market.
“The annual cost of voluntary hourly staff turnover for US businesses is over $100B, with most leaving for financial reasons. By addressing the financial wellness of those employees, we can reduce turnover and improve lives,” said Lemmer in a press statement. “Even as hourly pay rates increase, we know that cash constraints have meant meaningfully less earnings for service industry workers who depend on tips to supplement their hourly wages. We’re on a mission to fix that. Our digital, employee-centric platform helps those folks make more money, use it the same day, and save and spend in better ways.”