Airbnb Competitor Domio Lands $100M; Aims To Double Market Share

Domio, a startup that designs and rents apartment hotels, has raised $100 million in funding to expand both nationally and globally to 25 markets by 2020, according to reports on Tuesday (Dec. 17).

The company’s Series B round was led by GGV Capital. The funding round closed in late summer. Domio has not disclosed its valuation, but before this funding round, the startup had only raised around $17 million, according to PitchBook.

Eldridge Industries, Tribeca Venture Partners, 3L Capital,  Softbank NY, Upper90 and Tenaya Capital also participated. Upper90 led the company’s debt round, which will be used for setting up and leasing new properties.

Domio will use the funding — a combination of $50 million in equity and $50 million in debt — to expand to markets targeting an underserved audience of millennials, business teams, and families. It is currently in 12 markets.

“Airbnb has taught us that hotels are not the only to stay,” Hans Tung, GGV Capital’s managing partner, told TechCrunch. “One of the things we liked about Domio is that is very capital efficient … The short-term nature of customer stays and the combination of experience/price required to maintain loyal customers are natural enforcers of efficient unit economics.”

Founded in 2016, the New York-based startup offers a technology platform focused on servicing apartment hotel accommodations to millennials, families and group travelers.

The apartment hotels are available short-term and up to five times larger in size than a standard hotel room and less expensive. In fact, 90 percent of its inventory is two-, three- and four-bedroom apartment hotel units.

GGV views the startup as standing out in two distinct ways from Airbnb and hotels. Domio will capitalize on the global shift occurring within the short-term travel sector in hospitality and the consumer demand for more branded experiences.