20 hospitality investors actively patronizing hotels and travel tech in 2025

The hospitality sector is getting real money again. After years of uncertainty, VCs are writing checks for hotel tech, property management systems, and guest experience platforms. If you're building in this space, you need to know who's actually investing.

These 20 investors closed deals from 2023 to November 2025. Some focus on seed-stage restaurant tech. Others lead Series C rounds for hotel management platforms. A few do both. What matters is they're active and they understand hospitality operations.

Quick list

Picking the right hospitality investor

Experience: Find investors who've backed companies through product-market fit in hospitality. Ask their portfolio companies about actual help during hotel rollouts or franchise expansion. Review how others assess performance using document analytics.

Network: Check if they can intro you to major hotel brands or restaurant groups. That matters more than generic connections. Thayer Ventures has strategic LPs from Marriott and Hilton. That's useful.

Alignment: Make sure they've funded similar business models before. Seed investors often don't understand Series B burn rates for enterprise SaaS sales cycles. Evaluate how they think about risk by reviewing your own security posture.

Track record: Look at whether their portfolio companies raised follow-on rounds. Dead portfolio companies are a red flag. Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your financial projections.

Communication: Check how quickly they respond to their portfolio companies during emergencies. Ask about board meeting frequency.

Value-add: Ask what operational support they provide during hotel brand partnerships or PMS integrations. Generic "we have a great network" answers are useless. Most hospitality investors offer introductions but few help with actual implementation.

Reaching out to hospitality investors

Identify potential investors: Research recent deals on Pitchbook or Crunchbase. Seed funds won't lead your Series B, no matter how good your deck is. Check if they've backed hotel management platforms or guest experience tools before.

Craft a compelling pitch: Show your hotel-customer retention rates and integration success with major PMS systems. Most investors are tired of “better guest experience” claims without unit economics. Protect sensitive metrics through secure sharing.

Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on—if they skip your hotel-partnership slides, that's useful. Track how often they revisit your model using your pitch deck space.

Utilize your network: Message portfolio founders on LinkedIn and ask about response times and actual value-add. Most will be honest. Target founders who raised in the last 18 months.

Attend networking events: Phocuswright Conference and ALIS are where deals actually happen. The Hospitality Tech Summit matters if you're early-stage. Skip the small local events.

Engage on online platforms: Connect with partners on LinkedIn after an intro. Cold DMs rarely work. Comment on their portfolio announcements first, and follow up with consistent investor updates once the conversation starts.

Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room with your financial model, cap table, and hotel partnership agreements before they ask. It speeds up the process. Include your PMS integration documentation if you're hotel tech.

Set up introductory meetings: Lead with your hotel customer acquisition cost and payback period. Don't waste 20 minutes on market size slides they've seen 100 times. Be ready to demo your product live.

Why hospitality investment matters now

November 2025 marks a turning point. Hotel tech funding hit $480M between December 2023 and April 2025 just for revenue management systems. AI-powered guest solutions are getting real traction. Canary Technologies raised $80M at $600M valuation in June 2025. Mews crossed $1.2B valuation in their April Series D.

The difference now: hotels actually need this tech. Staffing shortages aren't temporary. Labor costs keep rising. Properties that waited are now desperate for automation and guest self-service. That creates real urgency for procurement decisions.

20 top hospitality investors

1. Thayer Ventures

Founded in 2009, focused on travel and transportation tech with deep industry connections.

• Recent Deals: Canary Technologies Series C ($50M, 2024), Diamo Series Seed ($4M, April 2025), Amenitiz (November 2025)
• LinkedIn: Chris Hemmeter LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel tech, travel platforms, transportation technology, guest experience
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: San Francisco, California, USA
• Website: thayerventures.com

2. Branded Hospitality Ventures

Operator-led investment platform focused on restaurant and hospitality technology.

• Recent Deals: FamilyMeal (October 2025), Brizo FoodMetrics (acquired by Datassential, June 2025), Bite ($9M)
• LinkedIn: Jimmy Frischling LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: restaurant tech, food and beverage, hospitality operations, catering platforms
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: New York, New York, USA
• Website: brandedstrategic.com

3. Brighton Park Capital

Growth equity firm backing entrepreneur-led software companies with hospitality focus.

• Recent Deals: Canary Technologies Series D ($80M, June 2025), HITRUST (March 2025), Orca AI Series B ($72.5M, May 2025)
• LinkedIn: Kevin Magan LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel management, guest experience, SaaS platforms, AI-powered hospitality
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
• Website: bpc.com

4. Insight Partners

Major growth equity firm with strong track record in travel and hospitality tech.

• Recent Deals: Canary Technologies Series C and D, Lighthouse (unicorn portfolio company)
• LinkedIn: Insight Partners LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: enterprise SaaS, hotel tech, revenue management, booking platforms
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: New York, New York, USA
• Website: insightpartners.com

5. F-Prime Capital

Healthcare and technology VC with hospitality portfolio including Toast and Mews.

• Recent Deals: Canary Technologies Series C and D, Mews (unicorn, 2024), TripSuite ($5M seed, December 2024)
• LinkedIn: F-Prime Capital LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel management, restaurant POS, travel tech, booking systems
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
• Website: fprimecapital.com

6. Thayer Investment Partners

New platform formed from Thayer Ventures and Derive Ventures merger in 2024.

• Recent Deals: Combined portfolio of 70+ travel and hospitality companies, continuing active investments
• LinkedIn: Thayer Investment Partners LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: travel tech, hotel operations, hospitality experiences, real estate tech
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: San Francisco, California, USA
• Website: thayerinvestmentpartners.com

7. SOSV

Deep tech accelerator and VC with HAX and IndieBio programs, hospitality in portfolio.

• Recent Deals: 75 investments in past 12 months across tech sectors including hospitality
• LinkedIn: SOSV LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel tech, food tech, deep tech for hospitality, climate tech
• Stage Focus: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
• Location: Princeton, New Jersey, USA
• Website: sosv.com

8. Y Combinator

Top accelerator that backed Airbnb, Canary Technologies, and numerous travel startups.

• Recent Deals: Canary Technologies (Series D investor), ongoing batch companies in travel
• LinkedIn: Y Combinator LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel tech, travel platforms, booking systems, guest experience
• Stage Focus: Pre-seed, Seed
• Location: San Francisco, California, USA
• Website: ycombinator.com

9. Commerce Ventures

FinTech and commerce-focused VC backing hospitality payment and tech companies.

• Recent Deals: Canary Technologies Series C and D, hospitality payment platforms
• LinkedIn: Commerce Ventures LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel payments, guest transactions, commerce platforms, hospitality fintech
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: San Francisco, California, USA
• Website: commerceventures.com

10. Derive Ventures

Early-stage fund now merged with Thayer Ventures, focused on hospitality innovation.

• Recent Deals: Life House Series C ($60M), now operating as Thayer Investment Partners
• LinkedIn: Tyler Carrico LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel operations, guest experiences, real estate tech, travel platforms
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: Dallas, Texas, USA
• Website: derive-ventures.com

11. Inovia Capital

Canadian VC backing North American tech companies including hospitality platforms.

• Recent Deals: Life House Series C ($60M), Diamo Seed ($4M, April 2025)
• LinkedIn: Inovia Capital LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel management, revenue optimization, SaaS platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Website: inovia.vc

12. Velocity Ventures

Travel and hospitality focused VC with operational expertise in lodging sector.

• Recent Deals: Active portfolio in travel and hospitality technology
• LinkedIn: Velocity Ventures LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: travel tech, hotel operations, transportation, hospitality platforms
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: United States
• Website: velocityventures.vc

13. ROCH Ventures

Europe and Israel focused fund investing in travel and hospitality startups.

• Recent Deals: Apartool (board member), active in European hospitality tech
• LinkedIn: ROCH Ventures LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: travel tech, hospitality operations, booking platforms, guest services
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Europe and Israel
• Website: rochventures.com

14. Geolo Capital

Private equity with hospitality ventures and hotel real estate investments.

• Recent Deals: Hyatt acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality (2018), Livly ($8M), Fra'Mani, Ori Living
• LinkedIn: Geolo Capital LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel management, hospitality brands, real estate, lifestyle properties
• Stage Focus: Growth, Late-stage
• Location: San Francisco, California, USA
• Website: geolo.com

15. KKR

Global private equity firm backing hospitality technology at scale.

• Recent Deals: Lighthouse Series C (unicorn valuation, 2024)
• LinkedIn: KKR LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel analytics, revenue management, enterprise hospitality tech
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Growth, Late-stage
• Location: New York, New York, USA
• Website: kkr.com

16. Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Investment arm backing high-growth hospitality and travel technology.

• Recent Deals: Mews Series D ($110M, April 2025)
• LinkedIn: Goldman Sachs LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel PMS, cloud platforms, revenue management, booking systems
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: New York, New York, USA
• Website: goldmansachs.com

17. Accel

Top-tier VC backing global tech companies including hospitality platforms.

• Recent Deals: Nuitée Series A ($48M, December 2024)
• LinkedIn: Accel LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel booking APIs, travel infrastructure, hospitality platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Palo Alto, California, USA
• Website: accel.com

18. 1848 Ventures

Westfield Insurance's venture arm backing insurance-adjacent tech including hospitality.

• Recent Deals: TakeUp Series A ($11M, July 2025)
• LinkedIn: 1848 Ventures LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel revenue optimization, AI pricing, independent hotels
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: Westfield Center, Ohio, USA
• Website: 1848ventures.com

19. Shorooq Partners

Leading tech investor in Middle East with hospitality portfolio.

• Recent Deals: 15 investments in past 12 months across regional tech
• LinkedIn: Shorooq Partners LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: travel tech, hospitality platforms, regional expansion
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Website: shorooq.ae

20. SFC Capital

UK's leading SEIS fund backing early-stage hospitality and travel startups.

• Recent Deals: 38 investments in past 12 months including hospitality companies
• LinkedIn: SFC Capital LinkedIn
• Sector Focus: hotel tech, travel platforms, food and beverage, guest services
• Stage Focus: Pre-seed, Seed
• Location: London, UK
• Website: sfccapital.com

Track your investor outreach

These 20 investors closed deals from 2023 to November 2025. Before you start reaching out, set up proper tracking.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your financials. Most founders are surprised to learn investors skip their market size slides but spend 5+ minutes on unit economics.

When investors ask for more materials, share an Ellty data room instead of messy email threads. Your cap table, financial model, and hotel partnership agreements in one secure place with view analytics.

Common questions

How do I know if an investor is still active?

Check their recent deals on Crunchbase or their website. If they haven't announced an investment in 12+ months, they might be between funds. Portfolio page updates are more reliable than press releases.

Should I cold email hospitality investors or get introductions?

Warm intros work better but don't wait forever. If you have hotel customers and real revenue, a well-crafted cold email with your metrics can work. Skip the life story. Lead with traction.

What's the difference between seed and Series A hospitality investors?

Seed investors expect you're figuring out product-market fit with 5-10 hotel customers. Series A investors want to see repeatable sales with 20+ customers and proven unit economics. Don't pitch Series A firms at pre-revenue.

How many hospitality investors should I reach out to?

Start with 10-15 that match your stage and sector focus. Track responses. If you're getting 50%+ no responses, your deck or metrics need work. If you're getting meetings but no term sheets, it's your pitch or valuation.

When should I set up a data room?

Before investor meetings if you have it ready. After first meetings if you're still organizing documents. Don't make investors wait 2 weeks for basic financial models. Use Ellty to set one up in under an hour.

Do investors actually care about pitch deck analytics?

The smart ones do. If an investor spends 8 minutes on your deck and focuses on your revenue model, they're serious. If they spend 45 seconds, they're passing but too polite to say it immediately.