Germany: Digital hospitality platform NUMA Group has raised $59 million [€55.5 million] in growth equity capital in a Series C funding round.
The round was led by global investment firm Verlinvest, which joins Cape Capital, Headline, Cherry Ventures, DN Capital and Soravia in investing in NUMA. The operator and technology developer had previously raised $45 million [€42 million] in growth capital in a funding round led by DN Capital in February 2022, and more than $21 million [€20 million] in March 2021 under its former name COSI Group.
NUMA plans to use the investment to further develop its sophisticated technology stack and to continue expanding its digital hospitality platform across Europe.
Since its foundation in Berlin in 2019, NUMA has sought to build a digitally-native offering that combines the best of traditional hotels with the convenience and flexibility of short-term rentals. The company fully digitises the hospitality experience from online check-in to checkout, providing a one-stop-shop solution for consumers who are increasingly demanding more seamless, mobile-only, digital journeys.
NUMA’s mission is to transform the €100 billion-plus European hospitality industry in which traditional hotel chains are struggling to adapt to new consumer behaviours, while short-term rental platforms are facing tightening city regulations across Europe, particularly regarding the misuse of residential properties.
With its technology, pricing tools and use of anonymised data, the company believes it can offer a superior consumer offering to its competitors, driving operational savings via process automation and higher revenues through smart pricing and maximising occupancy. This results in more sustainable growth and higher structural profitability than averages across the hospitality industry, according to NUMA.
Christian Gaiser, co-founder and CEO of NUMA, said: “Our mission at NUMA is to create a new category in hospitality that meets the needs of modern consumers. We have only scratched the surface in terms of digitising and enhancing the entire travel experience and are always striving to better connect our guests with the cities they’re visiting.
“We’re delighted to partner with Verlinvest, whose team shares our vision for transforming the sector and whose expertise in scaling globally successfully business will help us to achieve our goal of creating an iconic brand for the modern traveller. With additional financial firepower, we can accelerate the continued development of our market-leading proprietary technology while maintaining a strong balance sheet.
“We’re excited to further unlock prime locations across Europe together with our trusted real estate partners, financing partners, and most importantly, our guests,” he added.
Raphael Thiolon, managing director at Verlinvest, said: “In recent years, traditional hotel chains have struggled to respond to the needs of ever more digitally-savvy, time-poor consumers while being constrained by legacy backend infrastructures, large networks of franchisees, and slow-moving cultures. NUMA provides a holistic solution to these problems with its user-friendly interface on the front end and its new tech-first, data-led model that optimises business processes on the back end.
“NUMA fits squarely into our strategy of backing ambitious tech-enabled businesses that are obsessed with offering superior consumer experiences. We’re excited to help Christian and his team to build Europe’s first truly digital hospitality brand,” he added.
Despite the pandemic, NUMA has been on a rapid growth trajectory across Europe since its founding in 2019, with its portfolio now consisting of 4,500 units in ten countries and 28 major European cities, including Berlin, Munich, Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Vienna and and Paris.
