Virdee Raises Millions for Automated Hotel Check-in: Travel Startup Funding This Week


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This week, travel startups announced more than $15 million in seed rounds of funding. Names included Virdee, MyPlace, The Host Co., and Cruisewatch.

Series: Startups This Week

Travel Startup Funding This Week

Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes at [email protected] if you have funding news.

This week, travel startups announced more than $15 million in seed rounds of funding.

>>Virdee, a hotel tech vendor, has closed a seed round of investment, bringing its total raised to date to $9 million.

Silverton Partners led the round. LiveOak Venture Partners, as well as hotel technology investors DJR Advisors also joined.

Austin-based Virdee offers contactless check-in technology as part of an all-in-one guest experience suite of tools.

Automating or replacing check-in has been promised for years. Yet a majority of stays at hotels worldwide continue today require a check-in with a front desk clerk.

A few hurdles remain. One key sticking point has been payment verification to prevent fraud. Another has been an inability to accept all forms of payment.

A third hurdle has been obstacles to integrating with the core property management systems that hotel companies use.

Attempted tech solutions have ofte