UK: Luggage storage network for the sharing economy, Stasher, has announced that it has raised $2.5 million in a funding round.
The round was led by VentureFriends, along with various angels including Johan Svanstrom, former president of Expedia-owned OTA giant Hotels.com, who rejoins the illustrious team of backers supporting Stasher.
The funding comes after a landmark year for Stasher, which saw the luggage storage startup scale worldwide and more than triple its revenues year on year. The company is now set to consolidate its position as a market leader by focusing its attention on strengthening its offering in key global markets and gaining ground in the travel industry.
Stasher CCO and co-founder, Anthony Collias, said: “We’re bridging the gap between VR and Hotels. In fact, our model is so scalable that we could launch in any urban area that you could reasonably stay in an Airbnb.
“This means there’s an opportunity to launch more than 10,000 new cities in the near future,” he added.
2019 saw Stasher partner with the likes of Klook, Sonder, Marriott and Hotels.com.
CEO and co-founder, Jacob Wedderburn- Day, believes the key for 2020 is to continue building partnerships with trusted companies and to continue working with quality brands such as Premier Inn, Expedia, Holiday Express, OYO and Accor to expand its network of locations globally.
Commenting on Stasher’s strategy for 2020, Wedderburn-Day said: “Exclusive integrations with top quality brands have helped solidify our position as the most trusted brand in the market, and they hold the key to our expansion strategy for 2020. We don’t just want to be present in every city in the world, we want to be present in the most trusted and secure locations in every city in the world.
“This will set us apart from our competitors,” he added.
The platform has gone on to launch in over 250 cities, a significant leap from the 20 since its first investment round in early 2018, and a testament to the demand for the service.
Most notably, the luggage storage app has expanded to the United States and Australia since 2018. Staying ahead of competitors in those markets and making the modern travel experience more seamless will be the focus of Stasher’s investment round.
Looking forward, Wedderburn-Day said: “As a travel platform with an obvious global network effect, we always aimed to build a global platform, and we’re extremely proud to have reached that goal. Being already present across Europe, the US and Asia proves there is a demand for our services worldwide.
“However, we are far from finished. Advancing our relationships with hosts and improving customer service will enable us to ensure a frictionless city break for customers worldwide,” he added.
Stasher’s development and progress will be worth monitoring in 2020 as it continues to grow at a rate of three-times year on year.
VentureFriends partner and co-founder, Apostolos Apostolakis, said: “We have been impressed by the demand for the service as well as the ability of the team to expand the offering in so many cities within just two years. However, what really impressed us with the team at Stasher was their uncompromising focus on the consumer experience and safety from day one.
“This is what sets them apart and will allow them to remain the leading service provider globally,” he added.
For more information, visit the Stasher website here.
