Whimstay Raises $10 Million for Last-Minute Vacation Rental Bookings

25.08.2023 - 13:50 / skift.com / Justin Dawes

Four travel tech startups raised $29 million this week. 

>>Thynk, which offers software products for hotel operations, has raised $13 million in series A funding. It was led by Singular, with participation from a New York-based fund managed by Itai Tsiddon, as well as Belgian investment firm CNP and returning investors, including Fly Ventures. 

The Brussels-based company’s suite of software products are meant to simplify and automate sales, operations, and data management. The startup said its products can help streamline group sales and customer relationship management, automate office tasks, cross-sell and upsell, track and analyze customer data, and more. 

The company has more than 2,500 hotel customers, including Postillion in the Netherlands, Rotana in UAE, Groupe Lucien Barrière in France, Design Hotels in Germany, and Mint House in the U.S.

“Everything we invest in serves our ultimate mission of enabling hoteliers to do more with less, to adapt faster to market changes, and to focus on what leads to higher profit margins,” said Pascal Petit, CEO of Thynk, in a statement. 

He said the funding will go toward strengthening the software products and continuing to expand internationally. 

>>Whimstay, a platform for last-minute vacations rentals, has raised $10 million in equity financing from undisclosed investors. 

The San Francisco-based startup aims to help short-term rental hosts in North America book nights at discounted rates that would have otherwise gone unrented. Vacation rentals are vacant roughly half of the time each year, the startup said. 

“We complement a property manager’s overall distribution strategy by providing specific capabilities and conducting specific types of missions, all focused on booking last-minute stays,” said CEO David Weiss in a statement. 

Bookings on Whimstay are up seven times year to date versus the same period last year, the startup said, and March has been the best month for bookings yet. The startup recently integrated into Google Vacation Rentals. 

The funding will go toward key new hires and the development of new products and features. Some of those focuses include search experience, guest engagement, loyalty and rewards programs, ancillary fintech products, and multiple sales conversion initiatives. 

>>SmartRyde, a booking platform for airport transfer services, has raised $3.4 million (450 million Japanese yen) in a series A+ round. It was led by led by NVenture Capital Limited, with support from SMBC Venture Capital, Yamaguchi Capital, Hiroshima Venture Capital, Shigagin Regional Revitalization SD Fund, and Iyogin Capital. The company also obtained a subordinated loan from Japan Finance Corporation.

The Tokyo-based startup, which offers connections to