The software startup for the independent hotel sector Amenitiz executes its first acquisition. After raising 30 million dollars last April (27 million euros) to finance its expansion, the Barcelona-based company has already identified its first inorganic growth opportunity. This is the French online training platform Ododo, specialized in courses to help hoteliers increase their bookings and be more profitable.
According to Amenitiz, Ododo is the French leader in online hotel training and possesses knowledge that is particularly relevant in the current environment, where hoteliers claim to have problems hiring and training their staff. "Investing in training is a logical step to continue supporting independent hoteliers, especially at this difficult time in terms of recruitment," says the startup, which was considered in 2021 by Wired magazine as one of the ten most outstanding new companies in Barcelona.
Ododo founder, Marc-Antoine de la Rüe du Can, will join the Amenitiz team as content director. "With the available means, we will revolutionize access to knowledge for an industry that needs it so much," says the hotel consultant. For his part, Amenitiz CEO, Alexandre Guinefolleau, highlights that this acquisition is part of the startup's strategy to offer small independent hoteliers "an all-in-one tool adapted to their daily challenges and also practical advice, applicable in their day-to-day, that allows them to have an immediate impact on results."
In this sense, thanks to this operation, Amenitiz has launched The Hotel Club, a multilingual online training platform where hoteliers from all over the world, whether or not they are clients of the firm, will be able to find didactic and free information, useful for increasing their bookings and profitability. This portal offers specific training for management and hotel director roles and also tools to train the rest of the staff.
The Series A financing round that Amenitiz closed this year was led by international VC funds Eight Roads and Chalfen Ventures, although other investors already present in the shareholding, such as Point-Nine, Backed, and Otium Capital, also participated in the operation. Since its inception, the startup has raised 35 million euros.
The software developed by the company provides small hoteliers with all the tools they need to manage their establishments, from creating a website to automating most daily tasks, including payments and invoicing. The company has its operational base in Plaza Urquinaona in Barcelona, where a team of more than 150 people was already working before the summer, with the forecast of recruiting more than 200 additional talents this year.