Budget hotel chain group Treebo Hotels has raked up $34 million (Rs 220 crore) through Series C funding round led by Hong Kong-based investment firms Ward Ferry Management and Karst Peak Capital, according to a statement issued by the company. The current investors SAIF Partners, Matrix Partners India, and Bertelsmann India Investments also invested in the round.
A press note issued by Treebo said that the fresh funds will be used for improving customer experience, consolidating the brand image and in expanding its geographical footprints.
Established in 2015, Treebo is one of the many players in the industry that is aiming to take a big slice in the fast growing budget hotel market. It currently operates nearly 300 franchises and offers approximately 6000 rooms in over 50 Indian cities. Its rooms are available in the affordable price range of INR 1,000-3,000 per night and come along with facilities such as complimentary breakfast and free Wi-Fi.
The company’s co-founders Rahul Chaudhary, Sidharth Gupta and Kadam Jeet Jain have honed their entrepreneurial skills by working in many well-known companies like McKinsey, Myntra and MakeMyTrip.
Treebo’s main competitors include OYO Rooms and FabHotels, both of whom are well funded and boost a pretty good customer base. OYO Rooms especially has hogged lot of media limelight mostly because of its young CEO and founder Ritesh Agarwal, who is merely 21 years old. OYO also has support of comparatively larger cash reserve, which is most thanks to SoftBank’s investment backing.
Over all, the budget hotel is a highly lucrative market and is believed to grow further owing to unprecedented boom in tourism industry. But like all other categories, even budget hotel category is currently dominated by smaller and unorganized players, which is forcing branded player like Treebo and Oyo to work hard for closing this gap.