Futurestay, a vacation rental technology startup and a PhocusWire
Hot25 Startup of 2020, has raised $11 million in Series A funding.
The round was led by BNM Capital Management with participation
from New York Angels and Harvard Business School Alumni Angels.
Founded in 2015, Futurestay provides technology and
strategies to help independent property managers grow their businesses. The
platform offers tools for dynamic pricing, distribution through Airbnb,
Booking.com, Vrbo and Google Vacation Rentals, rental insurance, party
prevention and community advocacy.
“The short-term rental industry is the leading creator of
entrepreneurs in the world, and Futurestay’s mission is to help each one of
them succeed,” says S. Philip Kennard, Futurestay co-founder and CEO.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
“Amid enterprise property manager SPACs and IPOs it’s often
overlooked that real people own and manage the vast majority of short-term
rentals. Futurestay levels the playing field and gives every rental
entrepreneur the opportunity to earn their financial freedom.”
Kennard says the company will use the funding to continue to attract top talent from the travel and hospitality industry and beyond, such as executive vice president Tim Knowling, who joined last year and had spent 10 years at Kayak. Kennard says Futurestay will also “accelerate growth and onboarding and expand our award-winning platform.”
“Futurestay has cracked the code for acquiring,
onboarding and professionalizing independent managers at scale. Managers who
use Futurestay see a considerably positive impact on their business almost
immediately,” says Samuel Shevat, partner at BNM Capital Management. Shevat and
fellow BNM partner Thomas Sparico have also joined Futurestay’s board of
directors.
Futurestay has raised $15.5 million to date, with its last
round coming in May 2020.
In November, PhocusWire editor in chief Kevin May
interviewed Kennard during the event PhocusWire Pulse:
Startups In The Spotlight. Watch the full discussion below.
PhocusWire Pulse: Startups In The Spotlight - Lessons learned and staying the course