By Lea Mira, HTN Staff Writer - 12.14.2023
Stayntouch, a prominent player in the hotel property management systems (PMS) sector, has secured $48 million in a strategic growth equity investment. The financing round was spearheaded by Sixth Street Growth, the technology growth investing division of Sixth Street.
Established in 2012 and later acquired by MCR in 2020, Stayntouch provides a user-friendly cloud PMS that enables hotels to streamline operations and integrate front and back office functions. These functions encompass reservations, front desk operations, payments, revenue management, reporting, and multi-property management. In October 2022, Stayntouch 2.0 was launched, enhancing its technology suite to include an end-to-end payments platform, a customizable booking engine, a channel manager, and comprehensive chain management capabilities.
The newly acquired capital will be utilized to expand Stayntouch’s PMS software and payment offerings, expedite customer acquisition, and continue providing superior customer service to independent hotels, management companies, and hotel chains worldwide. Since its inception, Stayntouch has received over $200 million in investments towards its growth and the development of its cloud-based software products.
As part of the investment deal, Michael Bauer from Sixth Street Growth will join Stayntouch’s board to support the company’s next growth phase.
Stayntouch’s cloud-native PMS offers a fully mobile guest-centric experience with a comprehensive library of over 1100+ best-in-class integrations. Their newly expanded PMS platform, Stayntouch 2.0, launched last year, further simplifies hotel operations, enabling hotels to streamline and accelerate direct bookings, process payments easily, and simplify integrations, thereby enhancing the guest experience.
The integrated technology suite features an amplified version of its flagship cloud PMS and guest kiosk. The new technology suite also includes a secure payment gateway, a customizable booking engine, and an easy-to-use channel manager, enabling hotel companies to expand their online distribution and booking capabilities, simplify payments, and streamline multi-property management. According to the company, Stayntouch 2.0 is the culmination of two years of work and $15 million of investment in development.
The company reported a 53% revenue growth in 2023 compared to the previous year, driven by hotel groups, property management companies, and independent hotels. The funding will be used to expand in the U.S. and Europe, particularly Germany, the U.K., and France. Additionally, Stayntouch is considering acquisitions of other property management systems or hotel tech products, according to Jacob Messina, who assumed the role of CEO in September 2022.
Stayntouch’s client roster includes industry-leading management companies such as Sage Hospitality, HEI Hotels & Resorts, EOS Hospitality, and Stoney Creek Hotels, innovative independent brands like Village Hotels, Pod Hotels, and First Hotels, and iconic independent properties such as the TWA Hotel and Zoku Amsterdam.
Stayntouch faces competition from other cloud-based property management systems, including Oracle Hospitality, which has been promoting its own version of the cloud-based product released over four years ago. Other competitors include startups like Mews and Cloudbeds, which raised $185 million and $150 million respectively in recent years.
Despite the competition, Stayntouch remains focused on adding more clients with multiple complex properties, leveraging tech capabilities released over the past year. The company’s cloud-based systems offer user-friendly interfaces, cost-effective implementation, and easy connections to third-party tech products that hotels may use. Stayntouch can currently connect with more than 1,100 other products, a number that is expected to increase.