RedDoorz bags $70m to fend off rising competition from Oyo

Southeast Asian online budget hotel startup RedDoorz raised US$70 million in the first close of its series C round led by Asia Partners, a VC firm co-founded by former CEO of Naspers’ B2C ecommerce division Oliver Rippel.

Rakuten Capital and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund also participated in the round, alongside existing investors Qiming Venture Partners and International Finance Corporation.

Photo credit: RedDoorz

Since its launch in 2015, RedDoorz claims to operate more than 1,200 budget hotels and properties in cities across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. It plans to use the recent funding to launch in new markets and scale technology, customer experience projects, and investments in people and marketing.

The startup said that a “significant” portion of the fresh funds will be used to build a second engineering hub in Vietnam to stand side by side with its current regional hub in India. It also has plans to hire more hotel staff and ramp up training programs.

The cash infusion may also help RedDoorz take on Indian hospitality chain Oyo Hotels and Homes, which looks to invest US$100 million to grow in Indonesia – one of the largest markets for RedDoorz.

Prior to the round, the Singapore-based startup raised US$45 million in a series B round led by China’s Qiming Venture Partners to “aggressively” pursue growth strategies.