After facing virtual collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic, London-based VenueScanner is now one of the largest online venue booking platforms in the UK. Now, the company is in the headlines as it pocketed $1.5 million (nearly £1 million) in a funding round.
Supports hospitality industry’s recovery
The investment round was led by Rianta Capital and ACF Investors. The funding will be used to drive international expansion and enhance the VenueScanner platform, where Airbnb meets Skyscanner to deliver an end-to-end online experience for event planners. Also, the funds will let the tech startup support the hospitality sector in its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tom Singh, founder of New Look and lead investor in VenueScanner, commented, “VenueScanner’s technology is a game-changer for the future of event booking – it simplifies the entire venue search process and crucially helps venues fill space that would otherwise sit empty. This will be invaluable in helping UK venues recover from the pandemic and as a long-term investor in the company, I see huge potential for massive growth in the next couple of years, particularly in entering new international markets. Watch this space.”
Tim Mills, Managing Partner at ACF Investors, said: “With the economy beginning to open up again we are seeing most businesses looking to re-group and re-engage with their employees, something which requires the right spaces in the right places and VenueScanner is perfectly positioned to facilitate this. The company has the most comprehensive inventory of venues in the UK and enables businesses, teams, friends and families to come together again as we move towards more flexible environments for both work and play. We are excited to see VenueScanner form a key part of the national unlocking and give everyone access to a service that truly supports the needs of the modern company.”
Digitises future of venue booking
Just like Airbnb, London-based VenueScanner is a venue search and booking platform, which helps venue hosts generate more bookings and event organisers find better and more affordable venues. It was founded in 2016 and its venue booking platform has listed over 25,000 venues. It is shaking up the events industry by helping undiscovered and independent venues, including schools, churches, warehouses, coffee shops and pubs, reimagine how they use their space.
The SaaS platform accessible anytime, anywhere, is used by event organisers at some of the world’s biggest and well-known brands including, Facebook, Cancer Research, Accenture, NNS, Unilever, BBC, EY, Mastercard, and M&S among others.
Rebecca Kelly, founder and CEO of VenueScanner, commented: “We are going to see a sharp rise in demand for locations and experiences that enable businesses to come together for brainstorms, workshops, team away days and more. Our role is to help companies create these in-person experiences for their teams and help venues adapt their spaces to accommodate this shift. The future of event planning and venue booking was always going to be digital, but the pandemic has massively accelerated this. Venues need to be able to offer virtual tours, digital chat functionality, as well as online book and pay to make the process as easy as possible for their customers. We do this for them.”
The post VenueScanner, where Airbnb meets Skyscanner, secures £1M for post-pandemic growth appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
