What started as a humble concept of providing travelers a comfortable bed and a simple space for a short stay is now a multi-billion industry. The enormous increase in tourism has opened the floodgates to a deluge of accommodation providers, including independent property owners who want to inch their way into the massive industry. While a strong online presence is a key to becoming successful with a hotel and hospitality business, an equally huge bulk of the work comes from the back end. It’s called a hotel management system and it keeps track of bookings, inventory, and analytics, among others. The absence of it could easily send a hospitality business spiraling down. There is one company that does all of this, and Cloudbeds lives by its tagline: More Reservations. Happier Guests.
Currently, the global hotel and hospitality industry’s total retail value is at $570.18 billion. In the US alone, the industry’s total revenue from 2001 to 2017 was at $208 billion.
More so, the sector is seen to grow further with the consumers’ amplified interest in travel and tourism. Despite the tremendous growth and innovation in the hotel and hospitality sector, it faced a unique set of challenges. For instance, smaller companies are facing difficulties competing with more established and known players. Enter Cloudbeds Software – a San Diego- based startup that has been providing a suite of solutions to hospitality professionals around the globe. From the get-go, Cloudbeds Software as a hotel management system is primed to change the hospitality industry game.
A Venture Not Like a Bed of Clouds: The Challenges of Turning an Idea into Reality
Founders Richard Castle and Adam Harris were constantly on the lookout for places that offered authentic and unique travel experiences. Having traveled to numerous countries and locations, they saw the need for a hotel management system. It would be one that would help independent industry members showcase what they have to offer to the market.
Castle and Harris scribbled the idea on a paper napkin. With initial funding of $800,000, they launched the company in 2012 in Brazil.
As a startup, Cloudbeds Software went through roadblocks in 2013, such as not being able to jumpstart their Business to Consumer (B2C) business model.
Learning from these challenges, the founders decided to change their business model to Business to Business model (B2B) and commercially introduced Cloudbeds Software in 2014. They made their acquisition in the same year – Myallocator – and raised a total of $200 million worth of reservations in just one month. From this point, Cloudbeds Software was unstoppable.
Cloudbeds Software: Winning and Growing within the Hospitality Sphere
Indeed, Cloudbeds Software is winning and growing within the hospitality industry. As a hotel management system, the company has been winning the hearts of property owners.
At the close of 2018, Cloudbeds Software developed an impressive customer base of 9,000 companies located in 135 countries. The best part, Cloudbeds Software’s hotel management system offers a wide selection of property types including hotels, hostels, bed & breakfast, and vacation rentals – all updated in real-time.
It’s a win-win deal for travelers who will never run out of lodging options. Property owners can also maximize the utilization of the assets for profitability.
Improving Hospitality Management for Hotels, Hostels, Vacation Rentals and More
As a promising startup, Cloudbeds Software got funding nods from investors such as PeakSpan, Cultivation Capital, TechCoast Angels, and Silicon Valley Bank. They raised total funding of $21 million. Cloudbeds Software has now reached annual revenues of over eight figures. It has also secured a partnership with some of the biggest names in the hotel booking industry namely Expedia, Booking.com, TripConnect, HostelWorld, and Airbnb.
Clearly, Cloudbeds Software is on to something good. The company ranked number 75 in the Inc. 5,000 list of the fastest growing company for 2018. Likewise, 2018 Entrepreneur’s 360 List included Cloudbeds Software as one of the companies noted for their impact, innovation, growth, leadership, and business valuation.
Cloudbeds Software has been reaping accolades as a progressive employer banking on values of transparency, grit, and agility. At present, the company has over 200 employees located in 24 countries and speak more than 17 languages. Cloudbeds Software was cited by Inc. as one of the Best Workplaces for 2017. HotelTech Report also listed it as one of the Top 10 Best Places to Work in 2018.
“Cloudbeds is one of the easiest software out there. It comes at a great value, extremely competitive to any other option and can replace multiple other systems: channel manager, revenue manager, e-mailing automation… it does it all! The customer support is excellent and very quick to respond – always with a “can do” attitude, ” Ettore Zotarelli the Marketing Manager at Heritage Cruises.
A Hotel Management System That Powers Your Business
Cloudbeds Software as a hotel management system has been powering independent property owners. They also established hoteliers in running various areas of operation — from booking and managing guests to keeping track of cash flow to tracking status of housekeeping. Cloudbeds Software is true to its promise, “One System, One Login, Always In-Sync.”
- Property Management Software – Cloudbeds Software provides features that enable its user to manage the rooms and reservations from the calendar, real-time. It has also functions that keep track of cash flow, transactions, and taxes & fees.
- Channel Management – The system automatically maps the property’s inventory to booking engines, online travel agencies, and marketplaces. It reduces instances of overbooking.
- Guest Management – Cloudbeds Software offers tools in enhancing customer experience. These include customized booking confirmation email, previous guest recognition, seamless integration with popular payment gateways. And, it also monitors customer status and records customer’s special requests.
- Insights – Users of Cloudbeds Software have access to a full reports suite. Additionally, the report includes reservation sources, financial reports, availability matrix, as well as pricing comparison with competitors.
- Payment – Process payments easily through a host of features including customization of payment options, setting up invoices, assigning different pricing for each channel. It also covers retrieving credit card information for easy payment processing and currency conversion.
- API and App Store – Cloudbeds Software allows smooth connection with the company’s preferred applications and tools like Hostellers, Zapier, Poster, and TrustYou, to name a few.
The ability to provide an amazing hospitality experience shouldn’t be limited to five-star hotels. With Cloudbeds Software, independent hoteliers and smaller property owners can leverage the growing hotel and hospitality industry. As what Cloudbeds Software founder and CEO Adam Harris states, “No shortage of where technology can drive us.”
