Müller Medien and Deutsche Tele Medien invest in Munich-based software startup LODGEA
Munich based technology startup LODGEA successfully closes a seed investment round with the Müller Medien family and DTM Deutsche Tele Medien GmbH acquiring a stake in the company.
Munich, November 16th, 2021. LODGEA GmbH, founded in February 2021 by Ricarda Kies and Jan Kammerath, is a B2B technology provider, offering the first commercial "Software-as-a-Service" ("SaaS") solution to market and sell accommodation any kind. The LODGEA software enables every marketer to set up their own direct booking & marketing engine for hotels, holiday apartments and much more on a subscription model without any additional set-up fees. The included booking software ("Internet Booking Engine") can be integrated into the respective customer website in a few minutes or used as an autonomous website. The included AI components and marketing automation enable profitable E-commerce solutions for every marketer of accommodations and thus strengthen direct sales.
As part of a seed investment round, the Müller Medien Group and DTM Deutsche Tele Medien GmbH have now entered into a company participation in the Munich startup, which aims to liberalize the online marketing of accommodation using an easy-to-operate SaaS solution.
“The pandemic situation has changed the booking behavior of guests. Direct booking channels are becoming increasingly relevant. Technological prerequisites, budget or know-how are, however, frequent hurdles. With LODGEA, we are countering the problem with our Direct Booking & Marketing Engine”, says Jan Kammerath, CTO of LODGEA GmbH. “We are pleased that we now have strong strategic partners at our side with the Müller Medien Group and DTM Deutsche Tele Medien GmbH, who share our assessment that the right, available and affordable technology can liberalize the market of online bookings in hospitality. Success shouldn't be reserved for a few big players in the market,” comments Ricarda Kies, CEO of LODGEA GmbH, on the successful conclusion of the financing round.
“With our commitment in the New Business division, we want to promote new business models. In particular, through our business model expansion to include transaction models, we are able to create added value for SMEs and thus close gaps to large technology platforms and companies. With LODGEA, we are now adding another member to our corporate family, which makes an important contribution to the creation of new marketing channels and products in the digital world and further complements our network of and for medium-sized companies. The extensive and long-term experience of the founding team and, last but not least, their enthusiasm and conviction about the market fit of the product also promoted the decision to work together”, says Michael Oschmann, CEO Müller-Medien.
The managing director of DTM Deutsche Tele Medien GmbH, Barbara Faber, about the new member of the corporate family: “Together with around 100 partner publishers, DTM Deutsche Tele Medien GmbH supports small and medium-sized companies with tailor-made marketing solutions in companies under civil law with the directories Das Telefonbuch, Gelbe Seiten, Gelbe Seiten regional and Das Örtliche. Through the cooperation with LODGEA, we see numerous opportunities for the future to further advance the digital transformation of SMEs, especially with transaction-oriented offers.”
In this way, LODGEA not only strategically complements the range of services of the companies and associated companies of both investors, but also becomes an active part of a network for the exchange of innovative, entrepreneurial ideas. With the seed investment round, the startup also secures the opportunity to establish itself successfully in markets outside the EU such as the USA and Canada with this world's only SaaS solution of this kind. Likewise, the prerequisites for the constant technological development of their own software solution are secured in the long term.
In this seed investment round, the founding team was largely supported and advised by the BayStartUP team, led by their managing director Dr. Carsten Rudolph. As the central institution for startup financing in Bavaria, BayStartUP supports innovative founders in their search for start-up and growth capital.