Ayenda Shift From Hotel Chain To Profit Nearing Management Platform
Founded in 2018 by Andrés Sarrázola and Christian Gómez, Ayenda initially aimed to be Latin America’s largest low-cost hotel chain by property count. The Colombian startup expanded to over 280 franchise hotels across Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, attracting over $20 million from venture capital firms like Kaszek, SoftBank, and 500 Global. However, the journey encountered hurdles due to standardization challenges and inconsistent customer experiences across different locations.
Addressing these challenges, CEO Andrés Sarrázola realized the need for a business model overhaul. Ayenda, grappling with high capital investments in hotel renovations and operational complexities, shifted its focus in May 2023. The company transformed into a more asset-light entity, pivoting to a reservation and hotel management platform. This change addressed investor concerns regarding market size and profitability timelines.
Under the new model, Ayenda charges hotels a 16% fee for each booking, offering them a reservation management system, room blocking capabilities, and integration with platforms like Booking and Expedia. This system, available for free with optional paid features, significantly enhanced Ayenda’s efficiency in property acquisition. The company now manages a diverse range of properties, including hotels, hostels, apartments, cabins, and farms.
Ayenda’s integrated channel manager synchronizes availability across multiple platforms, providing a new sales channel with access to various customer bases, including corporate, repeat, and vacation clients. The company’s performance metrics are impressive: for every two bookings on Booking, Ayenda sells one, outperforming Expedia by five times and other channels by 35 times combined.
Geographically, Ayenda is strategically expanding, continuing operations in Peru and increasing investments in Mexico. The new model’s financial prudence has drastically reduced expenditures, bringing Ayenda close to its breakeven point.
Looking ahead, Sarrázola aspires for Ayenda to become Latin America’s preferred hotel management system. Ayenda stands out by offering its operating system to hotels free of charge, seeing this as a significant opportunity to dominate the Latin American hotel management sector. This transformation from a traditional hotel chain to a dynamic reservation and management platform underscores Ayenda’s adaptability and strategic foresight in the competitive hospitality industry.
