Ayenda, one of the largest hotel chains in Colombia, announced last week that it received $10 million in a Series B round. This brings its total investment to $20 million, according to Crunchbase.
The round was led by 500 Global, Dalus Capital, and BID Lab. The amount invested will be used to continue expanding in Latin America and develop technology that improves the customers’ user experience.
This is the largest capital raise Ayenda has had since its last round in February 2020, where it raised $8.7 million in a Series A.
Ayenda boosts small hotels in the region
The company was founded in 2018 in Colombia by Andres Sarrazola and Christian Gomez. Ayenda was born as a tech platform to help boost the revenues of small hotels.
Ayenda’s business model is a franchise system in which independent hotels can piggyback on its existing technological and commercial infrastructure. This helps them to increase their income by around 30% during the first months, the hotel chain said.
To do so, hotels wishing to join must undergo an inspection of up to 30 days before being approved to open for business.
Currently, more than 70% of hotels in Latin America and the Caribbean are independent, low-cost, and belong to small and medium-sized family businesses, said BID Lab.
Ayenda currently has a presence in Colombia, Peru, and Mexico with more than 280 digitized hotels. By 2025 it seeks to reach 50 cities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
