The startup, which was founded in 2018 by Lars Stänke and Josef Vollmayr, raised €21 million in the first portion of the funding round back in February. Existing investors including HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, venture capital company Lakestar and investment firm Picus Capital all participated in the second part of the round this week.
Limehome automates all aspects of its hotel-style operation processes using its proprietary technology, allowing it to offer entire design apartments for the price of a single four-star hotel room, while maintaining equivalent exacting standards.
Stänke said that customers in the Covid era were increasingly looking for hotel alternatives, although were not willing to compromise on the standards they would typically expect from the asset class.
He told Forbes: “Due to our focus on customer needs, concepts such as contactless check-in and access as well as digital invoicing were standard with us from day one.
“As a digital-first company, Limehome offers a completely digital customer journey and thus saves the high operating costs. We see that customers are now actively looking for alternatives to the traditional hotel – technology-based models like us play that into the cards.
“The crisis therefore also offers numerous opportunities that we want to use with further financing in order to lead the hotel industry into the future with a strong focus on technology and customers,” he added.
The startup said it would put the funding towards further developing its proprietary technology platform, as well as further expansion in Europe.
Operating across 45 locations in Germany and Austria and with another 35 further openings in the pipeline, Limehome has set its sights on Spain for the next major step in its expansion strategy. The brand has now landed in Madrid, Seville and Granada, with apartments in those cities already open for bookings.
The apartment concept has also largely defied the pandemic by doubling its revenue since the outbreak of the crisis in March; something which Vollmayr [co-founder and managing director] believes has led its backers to re-invest in the startup eight months after the first part of the Series A round.
He said: “We see the further financing as a strong vote of confidence from our investors in our current course and the further expansion, for which we see enormous opportunities in the market in the coming months.”
