Online hotel booking startup The Guild is launching tech-savvy hotels. It will be launched once it gets funding from Maveron, Corigin Ventures, and Convivialite Ventures. The funding is worth $9 million.
The hotel booking startup offers its services in Texas, states of Austin and Dallas. It will be expanding to other US states as well. These states include Denver, Cincinnati, and Miami.
The Guild will collaborate with building owners to offer accommodations in mixed-use buildings or commercial-zoned buildings. It will offer both apartment-type rooms and standard hotel-style rooms.
The Guild has a really out-of-the-box business approach. It looks for areas that have a good by-foot approach, several businesses nearby and a lot of conferences next to each other.
These areas offer good marketability for the brand. The hotel booking startup is operating in 5 markets with 290 total units. By the end of 2019, it is looking to expand to 10 markets with close to 1000 units.
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Some of the tech-services the company will be offering food delivered via food-delivery apps such as UberEats and DoorDash, digital check-in and keyless entry. Such services will help save customers money by providing alternatives to expensive room service.
There will still be a person operating the front desk, to greet guests and help around the hotel.
Brian Carrico the Co-founder of The Guild told TechCrunch, “We use tech as a way to connect people. We’ve found people like human interaction and connection. Humans are fed a lot of information about why guests are there and then use that information to surprise and delight guests.”
The Guild, on average, exchanges around 40 texts daily with a single customer. Carrico is proud that his startup provides a great harmony between humans and technology. He believes that The Guild is meant to unite people rather than replace them by technology.
Carrico says the hotel booking startup is extremely versatile which is why it is able to sustain in this cutthroat business. The co-founder has been able to secure funding, while also taking care of his employees.
The employees which include reservations and maintenance workers, front desk operator all get health insurance and business stock. Currently, Guild hasn’t employed any housekeepers but it does have a reputation of being a fair and open-minded startup.
With startups like The Guild, prominent hotel booking apps like Airbnb should be more aware of how their customers are treated and what features they can add to make them feel more engaged with technology.
Fazeel Ashraf
Jazib Zaman
Amnah Fawad
Hafsa Akbar Ali