Mews Raises $75M to Meet Growing Demand for Hotel Management Platform

Jordan Vega

Jordan Vega

March 04, 2025 · 4 min read
Mews Raises $75M to Meet Growing Demand for Hotel Management Platform

Despite the looming clouds of economic uncertainty and geopolitics, the demand for travel is expected to grow by 12% this year, reaching 1.75 billion "arrivals," according to analysts at Oxford Economics. To meet this demand, Mews, a SaaS platform for hotel management, has raised a fresh $75 million in funding.

This investment comes at an interesting crossroads in the travel industry, where several European-rooted travel tech startups are securing significant capital. For instance, TravelPerk raised $200 million at a $2.7 billion valuation in January, while Hostaway raised $365 million in December 2024, and Tourlane in Germany raised $26 million from Sequoia in November 2024. Additionally, Prosus acquired Latin American travel player Despegar for $1.7 billion.

However, the industry is not without its challenges. The impact of tariffs and economic maneuvers on people's travel budgets remains unclear, and the uncertainty surrounding geopolitics adds to the complexity. Furthermore, Expedia's recent layoffs have raised concerns about the industry's overall health.

Mews faces stiff competition from dozens of players, including incumbents like Oracle and startups like Softbank-backed Cloudbeds. Nevertheless, the company appears to be thriving, with Tiger Global leading this latest round of funding. Other investors, such as Kinnevik, Battery Ventures, and Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, also returned to invest in Mews.

According to CEO Matt Welle, this latest round was opportunistic, sparked by Tiger Global's approach to collaborate more closely with Mews. While the company is not disclosing its current valuation, Welle described it as a generic growth round, with plans to raise a much larger round in the next year or two. For context, Mews was valued at $1.2 billion when it raised its Series D funding exactly a year ago.

Mews has been experiencing significant growth, with 6,300 hotels currently using its platform, up from 5,000 a year ago. The company now processes $10 billion worth of payments, double the amount from last year. In 2024, its revenue crossed $200 million as it added more customers and services to the platform. One notable example is its acquisition of Atomize to help users with revenue management.

Mews has a strong presence in Europe, with 20% market penetration in the DACH region. However, the company has been focusing on expansion across the pond, with founder and co-CEO Richard Valtr spending most of his time in the U.S. Mews has doubled its revenues in North America over the last year.

Valtr founded Mews in 2012, leveraging his experience as an independent hotel owner to identify pain points in the industry. He realized the potential to build something new by leveraging the internet and the rise of software-as-a-service. Mews takes a comprehensive approach to the hospitality market, offering an end-to-end product that includes software for managing hotel availability and booking, tools for managing personnel and facilities, payment and accounting tools, event management software, loyalty and guest experience apps, and more.

In recent times, Mews has been doubling down on AI, with an in-house team working on various projects. One example is a new customer profile option that creates "Tweet-sized" summaries of individual guests' activities and preferences, enabling concierges and receptionists to improve customer service.

Sara Eadie, who led the investment for Tiger Global, praised Mews' innovative approach, stating, "Mews is redefining what it means to deliver exceptional guest experiences in the hospitality sector and beyond."

As Mews continues to grow, it has been focusing on securing deals with bigger players in the hospitality space. The company has seen the number of hospitality "brands" using its tools double, with new customers including Best Western Hotels, Weekender, and Lark Hotels. While this doesn't mean all Best Westerns are using Mews now, the company is now on an approved supplier list, paving the way for further expansion.

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