
Jurny
Jurny provides independent hotels and short-term rental apartments with turnkey
management services that enable a contactless
experience from check-in to check out
The company launched in June, has raised more than $4.9 million and has 370 units on its platform and more than 2,500 additional
units in the pipeline.
What is your 30-second
pitch to investors?
Jurny is a hospitality tech company offering SaaS-based
management solutions that enable an industry-first fully automated
accommodations experience from check-in to check out for guests, resulting in
seamless operations and increased profits for owners.
Describe both the business and
technology aspects of your startup.
At Jurny, we have developed a formula designed to address
the barriers that prevent the hospitality sector, particularly the hotel and
short-term rental industry, from implementing technology solutions and
streamlining operations to increase profit margins and weather market
fluctuations.
Rather than offering a master lease, we provide hotel and
multi-family building owners a turnkey management service that enables a
technology-enhanced and contactless experience from check-in to check out. The
company’s vertically integrated model is structured to reduce overhead, address
redundancies and increase profits for stakeholders. The end-to-end offering
includes interior design, sourcing and installation, marketing and photography,
cleaning management, customer support and security for a performance-based
fee.
Jurny’s goal is to be a long-term partner and strategic
resource for the property owner’s existing real estate, as well as a key asset
for expansion.
Give us your SWOT (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the company.
- Strengths - Our
operating model is extremely lean and efficient to drive higher profits and
lower costs, positively impacting the bottom line. Additionally, our
patent-pending technology, scalability, speed to go live and all of our
combined offerings, including branding and dynamic pricing, allow Jurny to
offer an industry-first product that puts the company in a net advantage
position.
- Weaknesses - Our product
is new and revolutionary, which makes a portion of the market still hesitant
and unable to fully understand its benefits.
- Opportunities - There
are more than eight million independent hotel units worldwide and 4.2 million
multi-family apartments just in the United States; Our product and services
enable us to cater to small and boutique hotels and multi-family buildings that
may not have the financial clout of larger brands to implement new technologies
or the critical mass to offset high operation and administrative expenses. This
is a revolutionary value proposition under normal conditions, but during a
pandemic, its value is exponential, making it a much-needed solution on the
market for many hotels and short-term rental apartments.
- Threats - Our biggest
threat is the hesitancy to adopt new technologies in the industry;
Additionally, many hotels who are currently struggling to survive in the
current climate may be afraid to invest in new technologies (even though Jurny
fronts the cost of the investment).
What are the travel pain points
you are trying to alleviate from both the customer and the industry
perspective?
Our technology was engineered to address two of the
biggest issues facing the hospitality industry - profitability and
efficiency. Because of the comparatively high levels of personal
service offerings, hotels, particularly boutique hotels, are more costly to run
and produce relatively low-profit margins compared to industry-wide
benchmarks.
From the guest standpoint, the hospitality industry has
been one of the slowest adopters of technology, limiting its efficiency and
ability to accommodate the “on-demand” generation. From booking reservations to
waiting in line to check-in, the whole experience can be time-consuming and
inefficient (and exasperating after a long day’s travel). The new generation of
travelers is looking for a service that seamlessly puts them inside their room
within minutes of arrival.
So you've got the product, now how
will you get lots of customers?
Prior to the pandemic, there was a
huge demand for a convenient, instant way to travel, driven by the shifts
impacting nearly every industry from music and food to transportation toward
on-demand services. The current situation has simply accelerated this shift and
created an even higher demand. Additionally, our business model, pricing
structure and AI algorithms enable us to offer a higher quality product for a
lower cost. The new generation of travelers isn’t as brand loyal as their
predecessor; they want the best experience for the best price, and we are
positioned to deliver.
Tell us what process you've gone
through to establish a genuine need for your company and the size of the
addressable market.
The hospitality industry has always been vulnerable to
market fluctuations, including seasonal downturns, staff turnover and price
competition. There are more than eight million independent hotel rooms
worldwide and millions of short-term rental units, and we’ve developed a solution designed to
help the industry address redundancies, reduce costs and increase profits. On
average, Jurny reduces overhead by nearly 70% and increases profits to 40% or
more.
How and when will you make money?
Our business model and pricing structure have enabled the
company to generate revenue almost immediately. Our asset-light management
model, lean operations and focus on technology has resulted in a sustainable
and scalable model even during the worst times. The company has the ability to turn
a profit at any time but has chosen to scale and grow instead with a plan to
raise additional capital in the near future.
What are the backgrounds and
previous achievements of the founding team?
Luca Zambello, the co-founder and CEO of Jurny, has successfully
launched several companies in the hospitality space and advised startups and
brands in the digital advertising and marketing space for more than a decade. Zambello
first discovered his aptitude for building businesses at the age of 17, when he
organized his hometown’s biggest local event in Mantua, Italy, and doubled its
size three years in a row to generate over a quarter of a million euros in
annual revenue. In 2009, Luca relocated to Los Angeles and launched one of the
first professionally operated Airbnb vacation rental companies, becoming one of
the youngest operators in the short-term rental industry. Within two years,
Luca was generating over $1 million a year in bookings with a single employee.
David Phillips, the co-founder and president of Jurny, has
over 10 years of sales, marketing and business development experience. In his
early 20s, he was responsible for building global brands that amassed tens of
millions in sales and entered negotiations for major entertainment production
deals. David has managed over $75 million in licensed consumer product sales
over the course of his career.
Together, Luca and David bootstrapped Jurny before raising
more than $4.9 million in funding to build technology and develop a complex
infrastructure. The company now operates in five markets with 370 units on its
platform and more than 2,500 additional units in the pipeline.
How have you addressed diversity
and inclusion within your business?
Our team is composed of talented individuals of diverse
backgrounds, races, religions, genders, ages, etc. Our commitment to inclusion
and attracting gifted individuals of all backgrounds brings unique perspectives
to our company culture and ultimately makes our team more successful.
What's been the most difficult
part of founding the business so far?
One of the most difficult parts of founding the company
was going against the market. We had the opportunity to grow rapidly using a
traditional master lease model but decided to go against the trend and invest
in technology instead. And then, we had to prove to advisors and investors why
our model was better than the current industry norm. However, we knew this
decision would be more challenging in the short-term but position our company
for longevity in the long term and give us a massive competitive advantage.
Generally, travel startups face a
fairly tough time making an impact - so why are you going to be one of lucky
ones?
As mentioned earlier, the new generation of travelers
isn’t as brand loyal as their predecessors; they value the experience over
luxury while being very price sensitive. With that in mind and given that
hospitality hasn't really adapted to this new trend, we simply believe that we
have the best product on the market for this new way of travel.
The Jurny app makes it the most efficient and convenient
way to book, check-in and control the entire stay experience with virtual
concierge services, on-demand cleaning and temperature control in one central
location. Our unique design gives you a top Airbnb-like experience with the
same quality of a high-end hotel, while our tech allows us to offer a superior
service at a very competitive price.
Additionally, the market has validated all of our
assumptions, making Jurny one of the best performing hospitality companies
during this pandemic.
A year from now, what state do you
think your startup will be in?
This year, we grew over 200% and anticipate continuing
this pace into next year to further expand to new markets in the U.S. and
internationally with thousands of units under our brand.
What is your end-game? (Going
public, acquisition, growing and staying private, etc.)
Ultimately, we want to go public and be the leading
hospitality technology provider worldwide.
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