ROH, a hospitality industry payments management platform, today announced the successful completion of a $9.2 million financing round, led by Highgate Technology Ventures, a venture and growth equity firm focused on the hospitality and travel industries, and Acrew Capital. As part of the transaction, Raja Goel and Kurien Jacob of HTV, and John Gardner of Acrew Capital, join the ROH board.
Of the $4 trillion in payments processed annually by hotels, more than 80% require manual intervention, including revenue associated with meetings and events, online travel agencies, corporate and flight crew bookings, and more. With ROH, properties can now automate the flow of payments, eliminating room for error and inefficiencies while increasing employee productivity.
The system streamlines payment processes, reducing friction and boosting conversion rates. It offers more flexible payment options, increasing customer satisfaction and repeat business. Manual workflows are automated for payment processing, receipt sending, and refund management, lowering the risk of human errors that can lead to lost revenue.
Compliance tools include card network rules and safe harbor protections. Chargeback and dispute management are addressed. Payment processes and collections are also consolidated.
“To have HTV, the leading hospitality technology investor with an established track record, as well as a forward-thinking hotel owner-operator like Highgate, whose portfolio extends across over 400 properties, clearly see the overnight value ROH provides to decrease costs while increasing profits is incredibly motivating,” said Jess Conroy, CEO and founder of ROH. “The number one priority for hotels today is managing costs while driving revenue. The most effective way to do this is to leverage technology that delivers on both. With ROH, hotels see increased revenue overnight; we can’t wait to expand our reach with HTV alongside us.”
“At HTV, we seek to invest in innovative companies with technologies that have the potential to change long-engrained hospitality industry behaviors, customer traction that signals clarity around a large and hyper-scalable revenue opportunity supported by unique, expertise-led moats, and founders with the determination to win. ROH delivers on all those attributes, and Jess impressed us with her expansive vision for the platform and the customer demand to back it up,” said Goel. “This investment enables ROH to expand its customer footprint, drive innovation, and ensure that ROH will become synonymous with profitability, efficiency, and ease amongst its hospitality partners.”
“We began testing ROH as soon as it hit the market in some of our properties with strong groups and events businesses – think room blocks, corporate accounts, meetings and events, social gatherings, and more. We rapidly realized that ROH unlocks margin across all our contract-based transaction volume,” said Ankur Randev, principal and chief commercial officer at Highgate. “The value was immediate and obvious from both the automation and profitability perspective. We’re benefiting from greater operational efficiencies, reducing fraud, and freeing up our team members’ time to perform more meaningful work.”