Automation Saves Travel

August 24 2020

Airbnb said that on July 8, customers booked more than 1 million nights of stays worldwide, the first time that daily bookings had reached that level since March. Airbnb's recent challenges call into question why Chesky is pushing to list the company this year, potentially disregarding Buffett's advice. One reason could be pressure from employees to go public before lucrative stock options expire. The stock market's swift recovery may also be a factor. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs earlier this week.

Several features of Airbnb actually aided it to become the leader in the travel recovery during this time of COVID. The company already has an integrated technology platform that facilitates self-service and no-contact communications. Guests and hosts can process payment, verify their identity, and obtain a digital room key through a mobile app on their phone.

Many hotels are now following suit. U.S. hotel companies are doubling down on automation and fast-tracking technologies such as digital room keys and voice-activated digital assistants to minimize contact between guests and hotel staff amid the coronavirus pandemic.

What is native to Airbnb is being quickly developed and implemented broadly in the industry. The initiatives, overseen by information technology executives, are aimed at helping hotels dig out of what has been a dire season, with steep declines in occupancy, staff layoffs and fear among some guests of contracting Covid-19.

Looking for US Private Company Information?
Start for free, Upgrade for more.

Get Started

Automation Companies Working on the Travel Industry:

UiPath Inc., a New York-based provider of software that companies use to automate tasks, said it saw a 30% increase in new customers from the hospitality industry during its first quarter ending April 30, compared with the same period a year earlier.

Pega Platform allows you to quickly and easily build applications. Complete visual-driven application development lets you deliver apps faster, with no coding required. If you are completely new to Pega, this platform free trial is the fastest way to experience the simplicity and power of the Pega Platform.

Softomotive currently helps more than 9,000 global customers seamlessly automate business processes across legacy and modern desktop applications. Together with Power Automate, WinAutomation will provide customers additional options for RPA desktop authoring so anyone can build a bot and automate Windows-based tasks. The combined offering will also enable RPA connectivity to many new apps and services including SAP and traditional green-screen terminal applications.

Uber Enters Home Prescription Delivery Business With NimbleRx

Rideshare giant Uber said it was jumping into the medication delivery business with the startup on-demand prescription platform NimbleRx. The partnership has started in the Seattle and Dallas markets with plans to expand elsewhere in the U.S. in the coming months.
[Read more].

India’s Reliance Retail acquires a majority stake in online pharmacy Nedmeds’ parent firm for $83.2M

Reliance Retail has bought a 60% stake in pharma marketplace Netmeds’ parent firm Vitalic for about $83.2M, it said today, as India’s largest retail chain looks to expand into new categories and compete more closely with American e-commerce group Amazon. [Read more].

Since last week, PrivCo has added:
1,108 Companies | 175 M&A Deals | 160 Funding Activities

Funding & Deal Highlights:

Diageo said it will pay up to $610M – an initial payment of $335M and a payment of up to $275M based on the performance of the acquisition over a ten-year period – for Davos Brands, which includes Aviation Gin as well as Astral Tequila, Sombra Mezcal and TYKU Sake.

Ant Capital Partners has launched a tender offer for Softbrain, a Japanese sales and marketing software developer, that values the business at approximately JPY26.9B ($253.1M).

Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC, one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing national insurance agencies, announces that it has closed on a new round of financing in support of its aggressive acquisition and organic growth strategy. The additional capital raised is a combination of equity and debt from existing investor Summit Partners and an expansion of Patriot’s existing debt facility co-led by Barings Global Private Finance and Antares.

HID Global, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, announces that it has acquired Access-IS, a leading technology provider of miniaturized reader devices that combine a number of key technologies ideal for mission-critical environments. Access-IS’s proven technology and solutions broaden HID Global’s technology portfolio, accelerate its vertical market expansion, and add new product offerings that help meet customers’ evolving needs for integrated, digitized solutions.

Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately-held businesses, announces that a Private Investor has made an investment in its client, Mach 7.4, Inc. (dba SHIPS-a-Lot). The acquisition closed August 5, 2020 and details were not disclosed.

ZUUM announces the recent close of a 2nd round of seed funding at $8.58M for a total raise of $12.58M to date. The funding accelerates critical technology innovation in the fragmented logistics industry.

Perishable Shipping Solutions (PSS), a leader in the e-commerce market for perishable cold and frozen food fulfillment logistics, announced today that it has closed an $8.7M Series A round of financing. The investment was led by SJF Ventures with participation from Grotech Ventures and others including Supply Chain Ventures. David Griest, Managing Director at SJF Ventures, Lawson DeVries, Managing General Partner at Grotech Ventures and Eric Spiegel, retired CEO of Siemens USA will join the PSS Board of Directors.

Narrativ, the marketplace for unbiased product reviews, raises $6M in additional funding led by Act One Ventures. Founded by Shirley Chen in 2015, Narrativ has now raised a total of $9M in reported equity funding.

In order to continue their mission of bringing stable and affordable housing options to more people, PadSplit announces it has raised $10M in Series A funding. Since its founding in 2017, PadSplit has transformed the Atlanta housing market by connecting those in need of housing with existing single-family homes or apartments redesigned as shared, affordable living places.

Thanks for reading!
Not a subscriber yet? Sign up here.