Maven Capital Partners invests in boutique hotel marketplace Chic Retreats

The technology company operates the B2B Chic Retreats marketplace that enables independent and boutique hotels and luxury villas to optimise their distribution of rooms, rates and availability online.

Maven’s investment will enable Chic Lifestyle to complete the development of its core technology platform, enhance its web and mobile offerings and expand its footprint into new geographies.

This tech platform, developed on Google Cloud, targets the underserviced segment of the boutique hotel and villa marketplace by offering a distribution solution, which allows hotels and villas to manage inventory in real time and process bookings through a wide number of leading traffic generators.

Increasingly consumers are looking for an authentic local experience when they travel. Chic Retreats is capitalising on this trend by focusing heavily on the content of the local destination which informs and enables travellers to become absorbed in the local area. Information that goes beyond simply informing customers what a hotel can offer is becoming an increasingly differentiating factor for travellers.

Hotels and villas are able to join Chic Retreats by invitation only, thereby enabling the network to retain its exclusivity.

Once approved, the hotel is curated and vetted and becomes part of the unique Chic Retreats collection online.

Chic Retreats is targeted at the discerning, experiential traveller which wants to experience a more personable service that the hosts of these selected hotels provide.

The independent hotel and villa marketplace has experienced strong growth in recent years as a result of increased online bookings and improved transport links which are making such holidays more accessible.

Amir Azulay, CEO at Chic Retreats, said: “We are extremely excited about the prospects for Chic Retreats and the new technology platform. The trend is clear, people want an unforgettable, authentic experience when they are traveling and increasingly are opting to experience a destination as a local would. Who better to show them around a locality and make recommendations than the passionate hosts at the boutique hotels and villas that we work with. By providing our Chic Retreats guests with unparalleled access to the inventory of these hidden gems, together with our planned user-friendly guides and booking interfaces online, we aim to transform the discovery and booking of these hotels. At Chic Retreats the trip starts online.

This is no small technological feat. We have developed a highly sophisticated platform which allows independent hotels to efficiently manage their inventory for the first time. We pride ourselves in the excellent team we have recruited to date and are excited to now have an investor like Maven on board which brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight into managing and scaling businesses like ours.”

Stella Panu, Partner at Maven, added: “Chic Retreats is a technology focused company that is providing a software solution to small boutique hotels to manage their inventory across the world. We have been impressed by the high calibre of the management team and its commitment to fully understanding its customers’ businesses and create a marketplace that puts the company in a leading position to deliver a one-stop tailored solution to its members.”

The transaction in Chic Retreats represents Maven’s third Venture Capital Trust investment in six months, following the investments in The GP Service, a provider of online services for general medical consultations and prescriptions, and Rockar, which is aiming to revolutionise the car buying experience on behalf of some of the world’s biggest automobile manufacturers.