Focus leads to fortune for RedDoorz in 2024

Back to basics.

That was the mantra for Singapore-based hotel booking and management platform RedDoorz, which in 2024 logged its first-ever year of positive adjusted earnings..

Co-founder and CEO Amit Saberwal tells Tech in Asia that this was a result of the company’s decision to focus on its core markets and segments.

RedDoorz founder and CEO Amit Saberwal / Photo credit: RedDoorz

It’s been a roller-coaster ride for startups operating in the travel and hospitality sectors. While overall startup funding boomed in the low interest rate era of the pandemic, these industries dealt with movement restrictions that stifled tourism and business activity.

When the world opened up and “revenge travel” made its way into the vernacular, higher interest rates meant that investors weren’t keen on funding startups that were not profitable.

With these circumstances, it’s no wonder that RedDoorz did not raise any funding between August 2019 and April 2024.

But now, the company is setting aggressive growth targets with the aim of going public within the next few years.

30 to 40 in 25

In 2024, RedDoorz grew its revenue by 12.5% year on year.

However, Saberwal says this is not an apples to apples comparison, as the company was operating in more markets in 2023.

In 2024, RedDoorz withdrew from Singapore and Vietnam – although the company maintains its headquarters in the city-state – to focus on its operations in Indonesia and the Philippines. The two latter markets accounted for 95% of its 2023 revenue.

Taking just Indonesia and the Philippines into account, Saberwal estimates that RedDoorz’s 2024 revenue increased by around 20% year on year. It is targeting revenue growth of 30% to 40% in 2025, which means that revenue for this year could be as high as US$38 million.

With its sharper focus, RedDoorz divested some of its businesses such as KoolKost, which handled long-term accommodations. The unit was acquired by Malaysia-based LiveIn earlier this month.

Saberwal says that while KoolKost was a successful business, the extended stay market was not a significant part of RedDoorz’s overall operations. He shares that the company didn’t expect KoolKost to contribute a substantial chunk to its total revenue any time soon.

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