The reservation system is ready to grow with the completion of a Series A fundraising round.
Coronavirus has been dominating the travel news cycle over the past two months, but that doesn’t mean good news is a thing of the past.
Today the Victoria, BC-based reservation system Checkfront announced they raised $9.3 million in a Series A round.
The fundraising was led by Framework Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that focuses on Canada companies.
Up until now, the 2010-founded reservation system has had very little outside capital. According to Checkfront CEO Jason Morehouse, the funding will help the booking software brand build new products, expand sales and marketing, and “grow through strategic partnerships.”
While the specific types of partnerships planned by Checkfront remain unclear, we expect it won’t include a significant alignment with any one online travel agency (OTA), as Morehouse has publicly been critical about reservation system-OTA alignments.
On stage at Arival Orlando 2019 in October, for instance, he expressed that alignments such as OTA acquisition of booking software companies can create confusion and anxiety for operators. “We get to set our goals based on our operators, and are somewhat driven by the top-level OTA,” he said. “I think there’s a conflict there that some people are uncomfortable with.”
One thing is for certain: the completion of the fundraising round indicates there’s still investor enthusiasm for in-destination, even as travel is taking a global hit.
Learn more about the monumental investments that have poured into the in-destination industry within the past three years.
