SoftBank Invests $150 Million in Tech Provider Cloudbeds

Cloudbeds, a hospitality tech provider mostly serving independent hotels, hostels and vacation rentals, attracted a $150 million investment round led by new investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

The Series D financing, by far the largest round in Cloudbeds' nine-year history, brings its total venture funding to $253 million, the company said in its Wednesday announcement.

Cloudbeds provides a variety of technology solutions to smaller properties, averaging around 40 beds, in services ranging from revenue management and channel management to booking engine services.

The company's challenge is to expand beyond its customer base and into larger hotels, including the mid market sector and major chains. Cloudbeds said it intends to use the funding to recruit employees, sign new customers, and expand its integrated product offering.

Cloudbeds competes against the likes of Siteminder and Mews, although its competitive set varies by market.

In the hospitality sector, SoftBank has a 47 percent stake in Oyo, which is slated to go public in India, and it has an investment in South Korea online travel agency Yanolja, which has a property management business.

SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which has a minority stake in Cloudbeds, was joined in the funding round by Echo Street, Walleye Capital, and returning investors Viking Global Investors, PeakSpan Capital, and Counterpart Ventures. The Series D round brings the company’s total venture funding to $253 million.

Cloudbeds claims to have been profitable during the pandemic. A minority investment of $82 million in March 2020 enabled Cloudbeds to avoid much of the jobs' bloodletting that competitors had to endure, and the San Diego-based company currently has about 600 employees, Skift Senior Travel Tech Editor Sean O'Neill reported a few weeks ago.