Skift Take
Hotel tech innovation has been partly hampered by high tolls that property management systems charge for accessing critical data. Impala, Hapi, and other companies hope to bring that connectivity cost down, which could be a windfall for vendors.
Nearly every problem hoteliers face today has a promising fix created by a company somewhere. Too bad that smaller hotels often lack the time and money to connect to these solutions. But in a positive trend this year, several smaller hotel companies have been testing new tools that may offer cheaper ways for tech vendors to connect to their systems — and, in the same breath, foster faster innovation for guests.
Some forward-thinking hotels are hoping to manage the problem of syncing the data in their property management systems — which form the heart of hotel operations — with tech vendors. It's like they're looking for stents to open up their clogged arteries for improved blood flow.
Two companies, Impala and Hapi, have gained traction this year with similar concepts. They both make it easier and cheaper for hotels to use small-tech vendors. If a hotel wants to add, say, door locks that guests can open electronically via mobile apps, it can do so more efficiently by using "pipes" from Impala or Hapi.
Two New Players
Last week, one of the companies aiming to streamline the hotel connectivity process, British startup Impala, closed an $11 million Series A. Impala's service became commercially available in January. It has fully integrated with 60 vendors, connecting those property's management systems with hardware and software at hundreds of hotels.
A case in point: Impala helps Grupo Real Turismo, owners of properties like Camino Real Hotel in Acapulco, give access
