Matrix Partners-backed Treebo Hotels raises $34M Series C

Bangalore, August 30, 2017: Treebo Hotels, India's largest budget hotel chain, has raised $34 Million (INR 220 crore) in its Series C funding round led by Hong Kong-based investment firms Ward Ferry Management and Karst Peak Capital. Existing investors, Matrix Partners India, SAIF Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments also participated in the round.

Founded in 2015, Treebo Hotels is a technology-enabled budget hotel brand with close to 300 franchisees operating exclusively under its brand across more than 50 cities. The company offers high-quality accommodation options to travelers in the Rs 1,000-3,000 per night price range.

Commenting on the fundraise, Sidharth Gupta, co-founder, Treebo Hotels said, "Ward Ferry and Karst Peak are both seasoned investors in the global markets including in the travel and hospitality space. Between them they have invested in hotel chains, cruise ships, OTAs, F&B chains, duty free shops, and several other sub-segments within the space. We are glad that our approach of building a sustainable, long-term business resonated with them. We feel privileged to have them onboard and look forward to leveraging their experience in driving business growth.'

Treebo will invest the fresh funds into enhancing customer experience, building a stronger brand, strengthening its technology team, and expanding its footprint in existing and new cities. It is already the highest-rated hotel chain in this segment as per data from review portals like TripAdvisor and Booking.com.

Rahul Chaudhary, co-founder, Treebo Hotels said, "We pioneered the technology-enabled franchise-based model in the budget hospitality segment in India. We have several breakthrough initiatives in the offing to further enhance the experience we offer to our guests, and the value we create for our franchise partners. This new capital will allow us to invest in these endeavours. We are thrilled to receive continued support from new and existing investors.'

Founded in 2015 by ex-Myntra/ McKinsey/ MakeMyTrip executives, Sidharth Gupta, Rahul Chaudhary, and Kadam Jeet Jain, Treebo works with new and existing hotels on a franchise model where Treebo offers its brand name, quality oversight, access to leading vendors, staff training, and sales and marketing expertise to the property, thereby enabling higher revenues for the franchise partner and a superior experience for the customers.

Tarun Davda, Managing Director, Matrix India, which co-led the first round of funding in the company, said, "As an early investor, we have been witness to the phenomenal growth of Treebo, which has emerged as the highest-rated brand in the budget hotel space. With its differentiated model, Treebo has been able to drive increased economic value to hotel owners through higher occupancy and technology enablement. The founders' single-minded focus on delivering a consistent, high quality guest experience along with the ability to drive scale sets them apart. We welcome Ward Ferry and Karst Peak to the Treebo journey.'

Prior to this round, the company had raised a total of $23M over two rounds from Matrix Partners India, SAIF Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments.

About Treebo Hotels
Founded in June 2015, Treebo Hotels is India's 3rd largest hotel chain overall and largest in the budget segment. It is the brainchild of ex-McKinsey and Myntra executives Sidharth Gupta and Rahul Chaudhary, and ex-VP of engineering at MyGola Kadam Jeet Jain. Treebo Hotels offers a quality accommodation alternative to India's $20 billion unorganized and fragmented budget segment. Treebo works on a full inventory model with carefully selected, existing, standalone hotels and prescribes the quality standards to which hotel operators need to adhere, and helps them achieve those standards through staff training, bulk contracts with vendors, and technology implementation. Treebo is the largest network of branded budget hotels with more than 6,000 rooms across ~300 properties in over 50 major cities in the country. It offers its guests value-for-money by providing branded toiletries, complimentary breakfast and free Wi-Fi. Further information is available at www.treebo.com

About Matrix Partners India
Matrix Partners India is an investment firm with INR 4,500 crore under management. The firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer and enterprise markets at the seed, early and early growth stages. The firm has invested in several market leading companies in the consumer technology space including Ola (local transportation), Mswipe (mobile POS), Quikr (online classifieds), Practo (digital health platform), Dailyhunt (mobile local language platform), Five Star Finance (SME lending), Limeroad (mobile social commerce marketplace), OfBusiness (B2B marketplace), Belong (recruitment platform) and Razorpay (payments) among others. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China and India with US $4 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in