France: Apartment rental provider Sweet Inn has raised new capital funds from Israeli and French investors.
Launched three years ago by Paul Besnainou, the company says it “combines the best of hotel services and the local feel of apartment rentals”.
The fund-raising round was managed by QUMRA Capital, an Israeli growth capital fund that invests in late-stage technology-driven companies. Another Israeli venture capital fund BRM joined, as well as two other investors: LA MAISON managed by Michel Cicurel and Marc Levy, and Luxembourg holding investment M.I.3 managed by Philippe Dhamelincourt and Christian Haas.
Sweet Inn now has 350 apartments in a variety of European cities (Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Brussels, Lisbon) as well as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and has a staff of 150 employees. It plans to quadruple this number over the course of the next two years.
Sweet Inn says: “High-quality hotel services are offered to the guest during their stay including housekeeping, laundry, breakfast and a 24/7 dedicated guest relation representative as well as a local central lobby with a business centre and a storage room for luggage. Owner of the apartments leases, Sweet Inn brings specific attention to the local design and sophisticated services, offering security and a unique experience to its guests.”
“We are very proud of the choice of our new shareholders, who, by their own expertise, symbolise the perfect combination of the well-known Israeli technology and the French ‘savoir-faire’ in the luxury hospitality industry. These new shareholders not only give us the means to accelerate our development but mainly to take part in the on-going digital revolution that will lead to a deep reconfiguration of the industry. These raised funds will allow sweetinn.com to implement in-depth technological tools in Yield Management and Big Data as well as in loyalty programs”, said Paul Besnainou, founder and CEO of Sweet Inn.</p
