SiteMinder has started off 2014 with a shot across the bows of its hotel distribution rivals by winning a mighty $30 million investment from Technology Crossover Ventures.
The Sydney, Australia-based online distribution company had previously raised a mere $5 million in Series A investment in May 2012, so the jump up perhaps illustrates the ambitions of the company as it looks to expand aggressively into the Americas and elsewhere around the world.
The capital will also be used, the company says, on enhancing its existing product line and building new services for hotels looking to grow sales online.
Eight-year-old SiteMinder primarily works with accommodation brands on cloud-based distribution services such as channel managers, online booking engines, customer record tools and a GDS switch.
It claims to have helped secure some $5 billion in booking revenue for customers during 2013, almost double the figure for 2012.
Hotel brands using SiteMinder include major chains such as IHG, Accor, Marriott, Hyatt and Best Western.
As well as its high profile support for Facebook, TCV has previously invested in the likes of Expedia and HomeAway in the travel sector, alongside NetFlix, GoDaddy and Zillow in other industry sectors.
TCV venture partner Erik Blachford (who was previously CEO of Expedia) and David Yuan, a general partner, will both join the board of directors at SiteMinder.
Mike Ford, CEO of SiteMinder, says:
"There is a relatively low penetration of our kind of technology in the global hotel market, and with TCV’s wealth of technology and investing experience, we are confident that we have chosen the ideal partner to help us to capture market share rapidly."
SiteMinder's previous investor from 2012 was Australian investment management company, Bailador.