RedDoorz announces aggressive expansion plans, future IPO

Hotel booking and management platform RedDoorz is aiming to go public around 2022 and has aggressive plans in the pipeline to reach this goal, founder and CEO Amit Saberwal said during a media briefing held in Singapore today.

Photo credit: RedDoorz

The hospitality startup currently operates a network of 1,500 properties in more than 100 cities across Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam. It plans to increase the number of properties to 4,500 by the end of 2020 and 15,000 by 2023. The company said it grew 6x in 2018, 4.5x in 2019, and it expects a targeted growth of 2.5x by 2020.

RedDoorz is considering filing for an initial public offering between 2022 and 2023 after completing the growth target, although Saberwal did not specify where the company intends to file for the listing. He also told KrAsia that while it is an aggressive plan, he is confident of RedDoorz’s ability and ensured that the timeline is practical.

The main business drivers for the company will be Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Saberwal also admitted the potential of Thailand as a new market and said that Singapore is considered a “showcase” for RedDoorz’s model.

RedDoorz is currently the third-largest hotel chain in Singapore and has 18 properties operating on both franchise and lease models. It aims to expand its network to include 29 properties by the end of 2020, making RedDoorz the second-largest hotel chain in the country.

Founded in 2015, the firm has been expanding rapidly over the years, introducing various software-as-a-service solutions and training programs for its hotel and hostel partners. The company says it constantly innovates to improve the consumer experience and adds environmentally friendly solutions into its hospitality network, although the firm did not set out yet the goal of becoming an “environmentally conscious” company per se, said Saberwal.

Aside from the suite of services, RedDoorz also offers competitive rates to its partners. A property owner present at the media briefing revealed to KrAsia that Oyo, one of RedDoorz’s main competitors, charges a commission rate that is close to 10%, which is more than double of RedDoorz’s fee.

The company recently closed the first round of its series C round, pocketing US$70 million. While Saberwal declined to comment on the firm’s current valuation, he said it is on track to become a billion-dollar company in the next few years given the growth track record.

However, he admitted that RedDoorz is not yet profitable, and added that the company is not looking to turn a profit in the short run as this would require a pause on its expansion plan.

This report was first published on KrAsia.