Hotel Online, a Kenya-based travel technology developer positioning itself as an e-commerce and digital marketing leader in the hospitality industry, has acquired Hotel Plus, a software provider with customers in 22 countries.
The full terms of the transfer were not disclosed, but Eric Muliro, who founded HotelPlus in Kenya 13 years ago, is getting a fee and a $1.9 million stake in Hotel Online, which was valued at $24 million before the deal. Muliro will be the chief technology officer at the promotion.
HotelOnline said the deal has grown its customer base to more than 2,200 and opened the door to additional customers and unique offerings such as payment solutions, AI-based pricing and revenue management.
Hvar Bauk, founder of Hotel Online, told TechCrunch, “Using the combined strength of both companies, we are growing our customer base significantly.”
“Because HotelPlus’ customer-base currently uses on-premises software, this creates a unique integration opportunity with our cloud solutions… We’re creating a big win-win situation for HotelPlus customers, in other words, we’re creating a big win-win situation for HotelPlus customers,” said co-owner Bauck. In 2014 Hotel Online was founded with André Opal.
Trond Riber Knudsen of TRK Group, an Oslo-based venture capital firm and investor in Hotel Online, said in a statement: “Such a deal will help build a strong African travel-tech player, with local and continental footprints.” This is a key part of our contribution to Hotel Online. We see great potential in the new company, and look forward to the journey from here.
HotelOnline helps hotels establish and enhance their online visibility to tap a wider customer base. In addition to enabling clients to manage operations on their own platforms using cloud-based digital tools, including property management systems, it helps them deploy booking engines and gain visibility on distribution channels such as Booking.com. It also provides management services to property owners.
Hotel Plus says it plans to expand aggressively across Africa, which currently has more than 6,000 customers in 27 countries, leveraging its reseller network and the growing hospitality industry — which is still recovering from the worst of the pandemic. His immediate plan includes gaining a dominant position in East Africa and Nigeria and Senegal as he works to become a powerful pan-African player.
“HotelPlus has built an impressive business organization, with skilled sales people, a high-performing dealer network spanning more than a dozen countries across the continent. Combining these resources will set the stage for accelerated expansion in Africa,” said Bauk.
The deal comes months after HotelOnline earlier this year closed a Series A funding round backed by SoftBank and Booking.com, a South Korean travel technology company based in Yanolja Cloud in Africa. Yanolgia provides cloud-based solutions for accommodations, restaurants and lodging, and boasts more than 43,000 customers in 170 markets.
Getting Yanolgia’s backing has given HotelOnline the financial muscle to cut deals and make investments that will help it grow and expand in its current and target markets. Hotel Online’s other investors include Tore Hofstad, Stetel AS and the Nigerian Angel Investor Group.
