The market for apartment-style accommodation rentals continues to draw investors, with Domio raising $100 million in Series B funding, split evenly between equity and debt, the company announced.
The equity round was led by GGV Capital. The lead debt investor was Upper90, which also contributed equity. Additional equity funders include Eldridge Industries, 3L Capital, Cain International, Tribeca Venture Partners, Softbank NY and Tenaya Capital. The funds, raised in August but announced this week, will be used for national and international expansion, as well as for increased staffing, according to the company.
Domio launched in 2016 and currently is in 10 markets, with its three latest added in August. When CEO Jay Roberts spoke to BTN in June, the company's goal was to be in 25 markets by the end of 2019. While Roberts said Domio still will launch in new markets in 2020, including internationally by the second half of next year, the focus now is to add flagship full apartment-hotel buildings to its current markets.
Roberts also said he was aiming to increase Domio's share of corporate and group bookings, and the company currently is in the process of hiring a North American sales manager dedicated to those segments. In June, Roberts said bookings from business travelers had reached 20 percent. Today, he said they were at 25 percent.
The company plans to launch a loyalty program during the first quarter of 2020.
The market for Airbnb-style accommodations for business travelers has heated up. In addition to Domio, which now has more than $170 million in funding, Mint House raised $15 million this year, and Sonder raised $225 million, bringing its total to $360 million, according to Crunchbase. Airbnb for Work and Stay Alfred are other competitors.