US: Boston-based property operations and services platform, Breezeway, has announced it has secured $8 million in Series A funding to help property managers cross those jobs off their list.
The funding round was led by private investment firm Schooner Capital, also based in Boston, with existing investors Tamarisc Ventures, Krillion Ventures and Launch Capital all participating in the raise. The company had reportedly previously raised $5 million across three separate rounds since its launch in 2015.
In a second announcement, Breezeway confirmed that short-term rental industry figurehead Simon Lehmann, the former president of hospitality market research firm Phocuswright and CEO of Interhome, has joined the company’s board of directors. His current positions include serving as chairman for Vacasa Europe, as a board member at BookingPal, and as an advisor to Rented.com, Transparent, Properly, HelloHere and Travelnews.ch.
Breezeway intends to utilise the funds to expand its platform, develop its intelligence operations software and further grow its marketplace of services to allow property managers to continue delivering a high standard of service without having to worry about doing every task themselves. This includes developing a messaging service to connect tenants, guests and owners, if and when updates need to be communicated.
Speaking to Crunchbase News, Breezeway founder and CEO, Jeremy Gall, said: “Safety is the biggest trend in travel right now, as Covid-19 means you have to be more detail-oriented about protocol. We are providing property managers with tools to drive efficiency, get the right person to do the right job at the right time and validating, for us, that clients can get more done with less people.”
On Lehmann’s appointment, Gall added: “I have known him for many years, when he was on the board of HomeAway, and I think Simon is one of the best strategic thinkers in the industry. He is a big addition to the board.”
Gall, who previously co-founded booking platform FlipKey before it was acquired by TripAdvisor in 2008, told Phocuswire how the Covid-19 pandemic had reaffirmed his desire to help property managers deliver a high level of service and work with them to provide a clean and safe environment for travellers to stay.
He said: “While working with thousands of property managers at FlipKey, we learned that service and the experience at the property were the two primary differentiators between operators. We built Breezeway because we saw the need for a much higher level of service in property management than was previously available.
“Covid-19 has now underscored this need, particularly in the context of detailed cleaning and safety operations. Fulfilling that level of service requires a smart platform to help property operators verify the cleanliness, safety and quality of their properties, and deliver a predictable and safe experience to their clients,” he added.
As part of the company’s expansion plan, the CEO is planning to build up Breezeway’s presence in Europe and recruit another 20 employees over the next 12 months. It currently works with more than 400 clients across 15 countries.
