Vancouver’s Operto Guest Technologies has secured a $15 million Series A funding round led by FUSE, with follow-on investments from Watchfire Venturers, BlackPines Capital Partners, and a consortium of other investors.
Operto – from the Italian word aperto; meaning to open – is a leading property automation and IoT operating system for vacation rentals, hotels, and serviced apartments.
Through technology that connects teams, guests, managers and smart devices; Operto addresses common friction points to provide fully seamless and personalized stays – creating greater efficiency, guest satisfaction and more revenue.
In the last 10 years, the experience of finding and booking a short-term rental has improved dramatically. However, as all travelers experience first-hand, there is still a significant gap in how technology is used to improve the guest experience after a booking is made.
Whether it be instructions on how to enter the property or how to access wifi once you get in, information is often often scattered or unclear. Property owners recognize this, and want to provide a more seamless and enjoyable guest experience, but are currently hamstrung by the lack of a simple, holistic, and digitally-enabled solution.
This is where Operto comes in.
Operto’s SaaS-based property automation software improves short-term rental operations and the entire post-booking guest experience, by digitizing and enhancing the process end-to-end.
The platform brings a rich set of digital tools and IoT into one place – allowing guests to seamlessly check-in and access the property on arrival (via digital key card or smart lock access code), have all the property instructions and technology devices available on their mobile device, receive an immediate overview of services & amenities offered by the property, and begin to action those services & amenities with the click of a button.
Beyond the benefits provided to the guest, Operto allows property managers to view and manage their portfolios in real-time and automate any related workflows. This includes visibility into how many guests have checked in/out, which units need to be serviced and in what order, housekeeping schedules, maintenance orders, access permissions, and more.
Operto will use the new funding to further accelerate the development of its Connect operating system, and continue its expansion across all accommodation verticals and into new geographies.
“2021 was an absolutely huge year of growth at Operto, in terms of revenue, reach into new accommodation verticals, and launching new products and services to delight our customers. Acquiring VRScheduler, and launching Operto Connect, all while driving 400% year-on-year growth, highlights the strength and resilience of the hotel and short-term rental technology sector, and how demand for guest-centric technology solutions has grown since the Covid-19 pandemic,” shared Steve Davis, CEO of Operto.
“Now is the right time to double-down on our growth plans, and working alongside our new incredible partners at FUSE, Watchfire and with our broader investor consortium, will allow us to build on this momentum. 2022 is going to be another year of record growth, and the incredible team we have built here in Vancouver is ready to grab this unique opportunity with both hands, and run with it.”
In 2020 Davis took over the role of CEO, replacing co-founder Michael Driedger, who led the company from its inception.
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