Smart hotel solution provider RestHour Technology announced that it had raised tens of millions of yuan in its Series A+ financing round, led by Koala Fund and joined by existing investor Bojiang Capital. The proceeds would be used for the research and development of self-service kiosk and online products, marketing and recruitment.
Since its founding in 2017, Hangzhou-headquartered RestHour has completed three rounds of financing. Before the latest round, RestHour had received seed capital from the Beijing Financial Holding Group.
In November 2018, the company banked tens of millions of yuan in its angel round financing, backed by Qidian Capital and Donglin Capital.
In July 2019, it received RMB 50 million (around USD 7.26 million) in its Series A round funding. Bojiang Capital was the lead investor, and existing investors Qidian Capital and Donglin Capital also participated in the round.
RestHour focuses on the research and development of software and devices for automatic hotel check-in. Its auto check-in system has incorporated an online-ID feature powered by the Ministry of Public Security.
RestHour launched its self-service check-in platform in January 2018, enabling consumers to check in with the electronic ID feature of Alipay.
RestHour primarily serves hotels and home-share providers in top-tier cities that have to deal with a huge visitor flow. Its smart front desk is connected to hotel PMSs, electronic door locks, WeChat and Alipay, as well as public security systems. It can automatically identify guests without staff intervention, thus simplifying the check-in process. RestHour’s system can also help hotel guests take an elevator, open guest-room doors and make purchases through facial recognition with their mobile phones.
Koala Fund is an Internet industry capital venture initiated by listed financial service provider Lakala and jointly invested by Legend Holdings, CAS Holdings, Blue Focus Group and other investors. RestHour has also reached strategic cooperation with Lakala in this financing round.
The partnership between the two companies will include online payment, intelligent applications and more, aiming to seamlessly connect self-service terminals with financial platforms. By leveraging Lakala’s financial resources, RestHour would enhance its advantages and bring more convenience to customers, according to RestHour’s founder and chairman Qi Wang.
