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Singapore-based startup RedDoorz, which operates a website and app that lets users book budget hotels, has invested more than US$5 million (S$6.78 million) to expand into the Philippines, reported the Business Times.
The company plans to use the capital to grow its presence to 100 properties there in the next 12 months, amidst the promising outlook of the country’s hotel industry.
“The Philippines ranks second as the fastest-growing Internet economy in the world, right after Indonesia – with an Internet penetration of 63 percent (or 67 million users) of approximately 105.7 million Filipinos,” said RedDoorz founder and CEO Amit Saberwal.
“We realised that the Philippines held a strong demand for hotel rooms not only for tourists but also for business travellers. We felt that it was timely for us to make the conclusive move to start expanding here.”
The country represents RedDoorz’ third market in the ASEAN region following Indonesia and Singapore.
With its foray into the Philippines, the company plans to launch a new category of hotels known as RedDoorz Premium that caters to budget business travellers and tap the remarkable growth of the condotel market there over the past 10 years. Aside from its convenient location, these hotels will offer more amenities than its two other existing properties, namely RedDoorz and RedDoorz Plus.
“The aim of this new category is to target business travellers who look for certain amenities like good Wi-Fi connection and location closer to business districts”, noted RedDoorz COO Rishabh Singhi.
In March, RedDoorz revealed that it raised US$11 million in pre-Series B funding from investors like UOB-backed InnoVen Capital, Shanghai-based FengHe Group, Sushquehanna International Group’s Asia Investment Fund and International Finance Corp, the private investment division of the World Bank Group.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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