Growth equity fund co-founded by restaurateur Danny Meyer invests in technology platform to bring ‘anticipatory hospitality’ to the world
NEW YORK, March 2, 2023 — SevenRooms, a leading global guest experience and retention platform for the hospitality industry, today announced an investment from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (“EHI”), a strategic growth equity firm affiliated with Union Square Hospitality Group (“USHG”), and acclaimed restaurateur and entrepreneur, Danny Meyer. EHI joins SevenRooms’ prominent roster of hospitality investors including José Andrés, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Thomas Keller and Jeremy King, and will serve as an industry advisor to the company as it continues to scale.
SevenRooms brings a unique approach to the industry, focused 100% on the operator to help them create more sustainable, profitable businesses, investing in them in the same way they invest in their guests. This approach puts restaurant and hotel F&B brands front and center, enabling their teams to own their guest relationships and data. It also gives hospitality businesses their own marketing engine that ensures a direct connection to guests to enable longevity for the business. By utilizing SevenRooms operators not only build direct relationships with guests to personalize future experiences, but can utilize marketing automation to bring them back to the restaurant directly and more often.
“At EHI, we always pay close attention to transformative tech that advances high touch,” said Danny Meyer, Founder and Executive Chairman of USHG and Co-Founder and Managing Partner at EHI. “Far more than a reservations platform, SevenRooms provides abundant tools to create highly customized guest experiences and equips both restaurant and hotel teams to do what they do best – deliver truly memorable hospitality.”
SevenRooms has redefined hospitality technology as the only end-to-end, data-driven guest experience platform purpose-built to help operators reach diners across all the channels their guests are searching for them. Consumers today no longer rely on a single source or aggregator to find their next favorite restaurant or hotel F&B outlet. It is critical that today’s operators take advantage and have control over all demand channels (first-party, free and paid third-party) that consumers are using to discover and book experiences. This includes channels like Google, Instagram, Facebook, global discovery sites like TripAdvisor, TheFork, Zomato, ReserveOut, OpenRice and Chope, and a restaurant’s own website — all channels SevenRooms integrates into today. By creating a direct pathway from discovery to booking directly on their own channels, operators not only build brand loyalty and drive revenue, but also create a more personalized guest experience.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Danny and EHI, combining their industry-leading expertise with our all-in-one platform as we continue to innovate with them at our table,” said Joel Montaniel, CEO & Founder of SevenRooms. “No matter how the industry has evolved, SevenRooms has always been dedicated and focused on empowering operators with tools for success. Our omnichannel approach, enabling hospitality businesses to meet guests wherever they are, whether through global discovery and booking channels or the operators’ own websites, is the future of this industry.”
SevenRooms operates in more than 75 countries worldwide and has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients including: MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Jumeirah Group, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Bloomin’ Brands, LDV Hospitality, Zuma, Australian Venue Company, Altamarea Group, The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Live Nation and Topgolf. Over the last three years, SevenRooms’ revenue has grown over 300%, with nearly 1 billion people around the world seated through the platform since 2011.
EHI focuses on investing in high-growth, category-leading companies, with an emphasis on technology that fuels hospitality and guest experiences. The investment will allow SevenRooms’ global technology platform to enable more operators to own their guest data and relationships, deliver exceptional experiences, and boost profitability and repeat business.
For more information on SevenRooms and its platform offering, please visit www.sevenrooms.com.
About SevenRooms
SevenRooms is a guest experience and retention platform that helps hospitality operators create exceptional experiences that drive revenue and repeat business. Trusted by thousands of hospitality operators around the world, SevenRooms powers tens of millions of guest experiences each month across both on- and off-premises. From neighborhood restaurants and bars to international, multi-concept hospitality groups, SevenRooms is transforming the industry by empowering operators to take back control of their businesses to build direct guest relationships, deliver exceptional experiences and drive more visits and orders, more often. The full suite of products includes reservation, waitlist and table management, online ordering, mobile order & pay, review aggregation and marketing automation. Founded in 2011 and venture-backed by Amazon, Comcast Ventures, PSG and Highgate Ventures, SevenRooms has dining, hotel F&B, nightlife and entertainment clients globally, including: MGM Resorts International, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Wynn Resorts, Jumeirah Group, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, Bloomin’ Brands, Giordano’s, LDV Hospitality, Zuma, Australian Venue Company, Altamarea Group, AELTC, The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Dishoom, Live Nation and Topgolf. www.sevenrooms.com
About Enlightened Hospitality Investments
Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI) is a value-added strategic investor formed to leverage the brands, businesses, and team of Union Square Hospitality Group to identify growth potential and investment opportunities in both internal and outside ventures. EHI partners with portfolio companies to provide strategic direction, operational experience, increased visibility, and access to relationships, resulting in significant value creation for all stakeholders. For additional information on Enlightened Hospitality Investments, please visit www.ehi.fund.
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SOURCE SevenRooms
