Impala is being recognised as a game-changer in the future of travel and is sure to be going places with this Series B round of £15.4M from investors Lakestar (who previously invested into travel businesses like Airbnb, GetYourGuide, HomeToGo) and Latitude Ventures (who supported TravelPerk and SecretEscapes). Impala’s existing backers include Stride.VC and Kima Ventures who invested early in the French telecom startup Free.
Taking on the hospitality sector, Impala has created a platform that links businesses’ internal software to a wider network of products and apps. Impala’s customers include Phillips and TripAdvisor as well as more than 300 hotels, including Accor, Mercure and Hyatt-branded properties, and has over 3,500 hotels waiting to connect to the platform.
“Just like the trend towards open banking, the hospitality sector needs solutions that are smart, responsive and can ‘talk’ to the world outside – unlike the siloed, old-school operating systems they’re saddled with at the moment.” – Ben Stephenson, Co-founder and CEO of Impala Travel
The investment comes after a recent £8.5M Series A round and will enable the startup to influence consumer choice in the travel sector as they support hotels to get rid of their traditional and obsolete software systems. The additional funds will help the company improve and simplify the hotel booking experience by offering its data to travel agencies. This roll-out will enable travellers to get much more information about the rooms they’re booking.
