Backpacker hostel brand GoStops raises $1 million in pre-series A round
1 min read 08 Jul 2021, 09:08 PM ISTThe hospitality startup said that the funds will be utilised to aggressively grow the company’s supply over the next 12 months and invest in marketing and technology
PremiumBackpacker hostel brand GoStops on Thursday announced that it has raised $1 million in pre-series A round led by Indian Angel Network (IAN) and Yuj Ventures, the private investing arm of the family office of Xander Group founder Sid Yog.
The round also saw participation from The Chennai Angels, Chandigarh Angels, Lead Angels, Mumbai Angels Network, LetsVenture as well as GoStops’ existing lead investor 1Crowd. KRS Jamwal, Uday Chatterjee and Mitesh Shah led this round at IAN.
The hospitality startup said that the funds will be utilised to aggressively grow the company’s supply over the next 12 months and invest in marketing and technology. The company had earlier raised funding in a round led by 1Crowd Fund, and from angel investors including Nitish Mittersain, the founder of Nazara Games.
Pallavi Agarwal, CEO, and co-founder of GoStops said, “This pandemic has challenged lives in an unprecedented manner. Despite that, we saw a robust demand recovery from our young travellers post the first wave, and the same is happening today. This has helped us validate strong market-need fundamentals and business model resilience. This is also an opportune time for us to aggressively expand supply across the country to cater to the needs of the ever-increasing number of Gen Z travellers."
GoStops caters primarily to the Gen Z population offering accommodation options at budget of ₹500 per night. Operating across 20 destinations in India, GoStops claims to have hosted over 500, 000 guests in its properties since its inception in 2014.
Padmaja Ruparel, co-founder of Indian Angel Network said, “While work-from-home has evolved into work-from-anywhere for Gen Z, leisure travel also takes on a whole new meaning in the age of restricted travel. We believe GoStops has identified an extremely large and promising segment of youth travellers who deserve better value for their money."
Co-founded by Pallavi Agarwal and Pankaj Parwanda, GoStops is present across tourist spots such as Agra, Alleppey, Amritsar, Bir, Dalhousie among others across its 20 properties. It caters to 18 to 30 years old and comprises of a cross-section of solo travellers, group travellers, backpackers, digital nomads, and individuals seeking interesting stay or work from hostel options. It is a full-stack operator brand that leases and transforms budget hotels and operates them as backpacker hostels.
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