GuestReady, a London-headquartered short-term rental management startup has raised $6 million in its Series A led by Dubai-based VentureSouq and existing investor Impulse VC, the startup announced yesterday. The round takes total investment raised so far by GuestReady to $9.8 million. Business Incubator and Accelerator Company, VentureSouq’s Saudi partner that happens to be a subsidiary of Saudi sovereign wealth fund, also supported the investment. Some high-net-worth individuals from GCC also participated in the round.
Founded in 2016, GuestReady manages residential properties on behalf of hosts for short-term rentals. They turn vacant residential properties into short-term rental accommodations and then rent them using different online platforms including Airbnb, Booking.com, Experida’s HomeAway and some offline mediums as well. The startup, per statement, helps property owners to increase their revenues by delivering a hotel-quality experience to guests, “The set of services goes beyond housekeeping and guest check-in, GuestReady also helps property owners to ensure their asset stays in shape, is well maintained, and continuously delivers the maximum return on their investment.”
GuestReady makes money by taking 17 to 20 percent cut from owners for every booking to maintain and rent out the property and offering 24/7 guest support on behalf of hosts. GuestReady’s cut is in addition to the 15 to 25 percent that the booking websites charge.
The startup that has its services available in the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, had expanded to Dubai less than 12 months ago already operates close to 100 properties in the city.
Reem Al-Khatib, Managing Director of GuestReady Dubai, in a statement, said, “Dubai is one of GuestReady’s fastest growing markets, with the new funding we are exploring local investment and partnership opportunities to strengthen our market position and become the leading short-term rental management company in the Gulf region.”
Maan Eshgi, Managing Partner at VentureSouq and Director at BIAC, commenting on the occasion, added, “GuestReady is one of the most promising investments of VentureSouq. We were impressed by the fast growth of the company; the applicability to the region is tremendous. We will be working closely with GuestReady not only to support the further global growth plans but also to open doors to the GCC region to bring tech-enabled short-term rental management to the under-digitized real estate sector.”
Two Dubai-based startups; MaisonPrive & HiGuests, who operate in somewhat similar space, have also raised investment, during the last eighteen months.
