- WhyHotel, an alternative lodging service that runs pop-up hotels in newly built luxury apartment buildings, announced it raised over $20 million
WhyHotel — an alternative lodging service that runs pop-up hotels in newly built luxury apartment buildings — announced it has raised over $20 million in Series B funding.
This round of funding was led by Harbert Growth Partners with participation from Camber Creek, Highland Capital Partners, Working Lab Capital, Geolo Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, and former Bain Capital managing director Mark Nunnelly.
This funding round will be used for expanding WhyHotel’s footprint thus allowing building owners and customers to capitalize on its proven unique business model nationwide.
“How people use space is evolving at a much faster pace than the 3-5 years it takes to deliver a high-rise building,” said Jason Fudin, CEO and co-founder of WhyHotel. “To address this, we are accelerating innovative real estate offerings for consumers and developers alike. However, unlike major operators that have been hobbled by delivering products that mismatch long-term lease obligation and short-term consumer contracts, our products are designed with an understanding of real estate cycles in mind and the goal of building a sustainable, profitable business. With hospitality and multifamily products continuing to converge, WhyHotel is poised to be the engine of this inevitable future.”
Fudin came up with the idea of WhyHotel while he was the VP of strategic initiatives at Vornado Realty Trust, a major REIT with a market cap of over $12 billion.
Bao Vuong is also a co-founder at WhyHotel — who was previously the VP of Development at PN Hoffman.
WhyHotel is planning to set up operations across multiple cities in 2020. And WhyHotel intends to use these funds to fuel its national expansion and offer additional products and services to guests during stays. Plus the company is also preparing for a number of additional hires to continue to invest in the infrastructure required for the real estate sales, marketing, revenue, and technology teams.
WhyHotel is planning to use the funds to continue to ramp up Hospitality Living — which is the real estate development arm of the company — with the goal to deliver the first development in 2022.
“We’re excited to get behind WhyHotel’s exceptional team and product. With Harbert Management Corporation’s long history in venture and real estate investing, we are in the unique position to evaluate innovation in this market,” added Tom Roberts, General Partner at Harbert Growth Partners. “As a capital efficient business with an eye on the evolution of real estate, WhyHotel is set to define a new and tremendous market.”
In order to support the continued growth and momentum since WhyHotel’s last financing in December of 2018, the company also opened its first purpose-built corporate headquarters in DC’s historic Uline Arena and the company brought on a number of top tier executives.
Going forward, WhyHotel continues its commitment to remaining an integral part of the vibrant DC-metro startup community.
Including this round of funding, WhyHotel has raised over $35 million since its inception in 2017.
WhyHotel plans to continue to accelerate the launch of pop-ups across the U.S. in 2020 and the company will lay the groundwork for building its own high-rise developments that bring the concept into buildings on a permanent basis via Hospitality Living.
