NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Domio, a tech-enabled hospitality company that is re-inventing the apartment hotel, announced today that it has formed a $50 million joint venture with Upper90, a technology-focused private equity fund providing founder-friendly capital solutions to companies in emerging asset classes.
The joint venture will invest $50M into opening and operating multi-unit, apart-hotels that give group travelers a high-end, hotel-like experience with the cost benefits that the sharing economy provides. The first financed project will open in New Orleans later this year allowing vacation-goers to choose from two to four-bedroom units within the Domio branded property.
"As we've hosted tens of thousands of guests at our properties in 2018, we've seen increasing demand from group travelers for more spacious accommodations that make travel both more economical and enjoyable," said Jay Roberts, CEO and Co-founder of Domio. "Through this partnership with Upper90, we're excited to bring those traveling with friends and families more consistent and affordable apart-hotel options that cost 25 percent less, on average, than similarly sized hotels."
"The world is increasingly moving toward asset-light models and the sharing of assets; Domio operates at the center of these two major trends. Group travel presents a multi-hundred billion dollar market, which is often underserved by traditional hotels. Based on Upper90's experience building and operating branded consumer businesses leveraging marketplaces, we believe Domio can create a compelling hotel alternative for consumers." said Jason Finger, Co-founder and Chairman of Upper90.
Unlike, OTA's or vacation rental companies, whose listings are made up of properties from millions of different owners, Domio operates its apart-hotel accommodations from end-to-end. This control means all current and future Domio properties are branded and designed similarly to offer a higher standard stay across locations, and provide guests the comfort of home with the quality of a hotel at a lower price point because capital needs are substantially lower due to the Domio asset-light business model.
The New Orleans property will be the first multi-unit project for Domio. The company has hosted over 60,000 guests to date across its existing properties in Austin, Nashville, San Diego, Boston and Honolulu. Domio utilizes technology and automation to efficiently operate accommodations, which has enabled the company to grow 400% YoY with an occupancy rate of over 80% — close to 20% greater than the national hotel average.
"We chose to partner with Upper90 because they bring value beyond capital alone. Their members are top entrepreneurs from consumer technology, real estate and finance companies who are both actively involved in their portfolio investments and extremely creative with structuring investments and loans that help entrepreneurs meet the nuanced needs of building a business," added Roberts.
About Domio
Domio, a leading tech-enabled hospitality company that is re-inventing the apartment hotel. Travelers staying at a Domio property can enjoy the comfort of a home and the confidence of a hotel. With one-click, travelers can now join more than 60,000 guests to date in booking a Domio property across Austin, Nashville, San Diego, Boston, Honolulu and New Orleans. For more information visit https://staydomio.com.
About Upper90
Upper90 is a private equity fund that invests in new economy asset classes being created by technology and data. The fund provides flexible capital solutions to help companies accelerate growth with less dilution. The fund's limited partners are actively engaged in the portfolio and have built some of the world's most successful companies across Consumer Technology, Real Estate and Finance. For more information visit https://upper90.io.
SOURCE Domio
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