14 Dec 2017

Pace steps up a gear with £2.5 million in funding

Pace,a startup which helps hotels boost occupancy and maximise revenue, has received seed funding of £2.5 million.

The round was led by IndiGO parent InterGlobe with Seedcamp, Speedinvest and Amadeus Capital Partners also investing.

London-based Pace, which was founded last year, claims to be the first to fully automate pricing to allow for peaks and troughs in demand. The dynamic pricing technology aims to ensure every room is sold at an optimum price and hotels can adapt rates according to demand.

The startup says it’s targeting boutique and independent hotels and is currently in closed beta with 20 properties across five markets.

Pace says that through its technology, hotel prices are adjusted 500,000 times a year leading to an average increase in revenue of 10%.

Floris van Es, general manager at Star Lodge Hotels in Utrecht, says:

“Pace has revolutionised how we price our property. After just six weeks, our revenues are up more than 25%.”

Founders of the startup Jens Munch, John-Paul Clarke and Jason Pinto have a background in optimising airlines and financial systems.

Munch, who is CEO and co-founder says:

“Static and inefficient pricing has held hotels back for too long. Drawing on research from finance and aerospace, we want to raise the bar for revenue management and help hotels sell every room at the optimum price. We’re excited to announce this investment, which lets us expand our science and engineering team and give hotels the solution they deserve.”

Neena Gupta, executive director – strategy at InterGlobe, says:

“Businesses across the travel industry have been constantly seeking smarter technological solutions to enable robust price management. The talented team at Pace has demonstrated that a tech-enabled automated approach has the potential to revolutionise the industry. Pace will lead the way in transforming revenue management not only for the hospitality industry but also for other relevant industries.”