MetroResidences is a platform that enables business travelers to find quality rental apartments at best available prices. In a recent announcement, it has revealed a series A round of $2.8 million led by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Ventures.
Incorporated in mid-2014, the Singapore-headquartered company plans to utilize the freshly raised capital to step into two new markets – Japan and Hong Kong. Akin to Airbnb, it does not own any of the apartments but partners with large asset management firms or private property owners who have spare properties up for lease.
With its smartphone app, it wants to make the procedure of booking easier. One of its features lets people interested to book virtually view the space, thereby giving them a better sensing of the place.
The curated online platform helps asset owners manage stylish apartments and rent to corporate clients without the serviced apartment mark-up, hence making business stays more affordable. It has also created a dashboard for the asset owners allowing a higher transparency in terms of the bookings, the duration of the guest stays, payment amounts and the dates.
For the guests, they have an app to check in and use it for communication with the front desk team, which has enhanced the response time, and feedback received.
In addition, each apartment goes through a stringent audit process, which assures the optimal condition of the furniture, amenities, neighborhood, building’s condition, and location. The startup claims to have booked over 115,000 room nights for 800 corporate clients through its platform. James Chua, Founding Partner and Singapore Head of MetroResidences, in an official press release, mentioned,
There is a lot of growth potential for business travel in Asia Pacific as the region alone comprises of 38% of the global business travel. MetroResidences aims to offer the right balance between price-quality ratio in corporate accommodation and offering a consistent MetroResidences experience in every apartment our guests stay in.
Prior to this, MetroResidences had secured a seed funding of $1 million from 500 Startups and a few other investors. Within a year of receiving the funding, the company’s rental revenue has grown over 400 per cent.
