Lucia
Headquarters: New York
CEO: Grace Van Hollebeke
Website: Lucia
Founding date: 2022
Investment: $1.1 million
In hospitality, finding skilled talent often means
long, expensive hiring processes or dealing with underqualified staff,
leaving businesses overwhelmed.
Lucia eliminates these challenges by
connecting service businesses with vetted, industry-specific freelancers
in areas like operations, marketing, customer service and concierge
support. The platform streamlines the process, aiming to make it quick and easy to
find top talent.
PhocusWire coverage
Startups Lucia and BLCK forge ahead with scholarship backing
Phocuswright selects two recipients of the Philip C. Wolf Memorial Scholarship
Founder Grace Van Hollebeke
Strategic goals for 2025
Throughout 2024, Lucia is laser-focused on driving
growth, building strategic partnerships and streamlining our internal
processes to better serve the hospitality industry. By collaborating with
key players in the travel ecosystem, we’re delivering integrated solutions
that support operations, marketing and customer service needs.
Our aim is
to simplify access to top-tier, hospitality-specific talent, enabling
businesses to scale more efficiently and stay competitive in an industry
that’s constantly evolving.
Lessons learned since founding
One of the most transformative lessons we’ve learned is
the power of community as a growth engine. Early on, we realized that
focusing on meaningful engagement with our users — not just as clients but
as members of a shared ecosystem — had a profound impact.
By creating
opportunities for connection, offering value-driven content, and actively
listening to feedback, we’ve built a loyal community that has become one
of our strongest marketing tools. Community isn’t just an outcome; it’s a
strategy that continues to drive our growth.
Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2025
See the full list of companies poised to make a mark on the industry in 2025