OTA Insight Nabs $80 Million in Funding From Spectrum Equity

OTA Insight, a business intelligence service for the hotel industry, secured $80 million in new funding from Spectrum Equity.

Citing the private equity firm’s portfolio of data-oriented companies, including Ancestry and Survey Monkey, Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of London-based OTA Insight, said his company plans to leverage Spectrum Equity’s experience in growing data companies for OTA Insight’s next growth phase.

Spectrum Equity joins existing investors Eight Roads, F-Prime Capital, and Highgate Technology Ventures. OTA Insight’s total funding to date is $100 million.

With more than 200 employees, Fitzpatrick said the company plans to expands its ranks to 300 to 325 people by the end of 2022.

He said the company doubled its employee roster in North America over the last year, and that expansion of its services to hotels around the world would be a priority.

The company’s product portfolio for chains and independents includes insights into market, rate, revenue and parity issues. It counts more than 55,000 properties in 185 countries as clients, according to the company.

The challenge, Fitzpatrick said, is to increase brand awareness and to scale up its customer base. He said rebranding from the hotel data company’s name OTA Insight is not a major priority because it has “brand equity” in the name.

OTA Insight both aggregates data from partners, including online travel agencies, metasearch engines, global distribution systems, among others, and then provides insights, as well. While some competitors focus on the big chains, his company is seeking to make gains across the total addressable market, Fitzpatrick said.

“There’s a lot of blue ocean and plenty of space for everyone,” including in North America, Fitzpatrick said.

Spectrum Equity Managing Director Steve LeSieur, said in a statement that his firm has a long history of partnering with data intelligence and decision support firms. “We’re excited to join forces with the entire OTA Insight team as they grow the company and develop new products and tools to meet the demands of an industry that is hungry for new technology,” he said.