Dive Brief:
- Hotel technology provider Canary Technologies raised $50 million in a Series C funding round led by global software investor Insight Partners, the company announced Wednesday.
- The funding round brings Canary's total fundraising to date to nearly $100 million, the company shared. Canary provides hoteliers, some for leading brands like Marriott International, with enterprise hospitality AI solutions.
- With the funding, Canary plans to continue “helping hoteliers modernize their tech stack to deliver the best guest experiences possible,” according to Canary President and Co-Founder SJ Sawhney.
Dive Insight:
With the raised capital, Canary Technologies will extend its partnerships with existing investors, CEO and Co-Founder Harman Singh Narula said in a Wednesday statement. The company currently provides AI solutions to some 20,000 hoteliers across the globe, including for brands Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Marriott, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Hilton and Four Seasons.
In September, Canary partnered with Wyndham on a guest experience platform that includes AI-driven property messaging, allowing guests to text hotels directly with questions about their stay. The platform also offers mobile check-in and checkout.
Marriott and IHG, on the other hand, have tapped Canary in the last several months as a digital tipping provider.
“With Canary AI already deployed in some of the world's largest enterprise hotel brands, we look forward to further enhancing our AI capabilities and broadening its use across the industry,” Sawhney said, adding that Canary will “utilize the funding to continue building a world-class team focused on innovation.”
Canary’s growth is bolstered by “significant demand” in hospitality for AI products, Singh Narula said.
“ChatGPT is the fastest-growing app ever. We’re seeing the same enthusiasm for AI play out in the hospitality industry,” Sawhney told Hotel Dive. “This enthusiasm has quickly evolved from broad intrigue to ‘what can this actually do for my hotel?’”
“There are dozens of applicable use cases of AI for hoteliers that supercharge operations and enhance the guest experience,” Sawhney continued. “When AI assists an understaffed front desk in promptly responding to guests or automatically creates service tickets when they have a need, the value is clear.”
Other hospitality professionals agree that AI is a leading technology trend in the industry. In January, Eddie Schneider, global brand director at Marriott’s Renaissance Hotels & Le Méridien, told Hotel Dive that “demand for AI shows no signs of slowing and businesses in every industry must react accordingly.”
F-Prime Capital, Thayer Ventures, Y-Combinator and Commerce Ventures also participated in Canary Technologies’ most recent funding round.
