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This Singapore’s Online Hotel Booking Site Rises as Leader in Southeast Asia

This Singapore’s Online Hotel Booking Site Rises as Leader in Southeast Asia

RedDoorz, Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest-growing hotel management and booking platform announced today the successful fundraise of US$45 million in a Series B round. The Singapore-based startup has operations across more than 80 cities in four countries in Southeast Asia, namely Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam and operates more than 1,200 budget hotels and properties. 

According to Business Mirror, the new round of funding was led by Chinese venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners alongside Jungle Ventures and its network of limited partners.

A signage of Singapore-based start-up RedDoorz is set up at one of its properties in Southeast Asia. Image: SCMP/Facebook
A signage of Singapore-based start-up RedDoorz is set up at one of its properties in Southeast Asia. Image: SCMP/Facebook

The round also includes new investors MNC Group (the leading media company in Indonesia) and saw continued support from Susquehanna International Group, Hendale Capital, International Finance Corporation and others. The company intends to use the new amounts to aggressively pursue growth strategies and further increase its lead in the region’s hospitality segment.  

Unlike international hotel chains, though, RedDoorz focuses on the domestic travel market in Southeast Asia. According to RedDoorz founder and chief executive Amit Saberwal toSouth China Morning Post, domestic travellers makes repeat trips so there is no need to reacquire customers each time. He estimated that 70 per cent of RedDoorz’s customers are repeat guests. That compares with an industry average of 20 per cent to 25 per cent.

Saberwal announced that RedDoorz could reach 1 million occupied room nights – what the industry refers to as “heads in beds” – by December. Most recently, it has reached 500,000 occupied room nights, an industry-first in Southeast Asia travel category.

RedDoorz founder and chief executive Amit Saberwal. Image: SCMP/Facebook
RedDoorz founder and chief executive Amit Saberwal. Image: SCMP/Facebook

 

“We are adding 200 new properties to our network every month and we plan to increase this even further for the remaining months of the year. As we expand across the region, we continue to build our business as the go-to-choice for quality and reliable accommodations," added Saberwal, as quoted by Asia One.

According to e-Conomy SEA 2018 study by Google-Temasek, online travel is the largest and most established of the four verticals of the internet economy in Southeast Asia, reaching US$30 billion in gross bookings value (GBV) in 2018 and heading towards US$78 billion GBV by 2025.

The vertical is expected to grow 15 per cent year over year, and online sources are dominating travel planning and booking. With Southeast Asians prioritising their discretionary spend on travel and tourism, the region presents largely untapped potential that RedDoorz intends to further capitalise on.

 

 

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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