Uber, Amazon, Netflix, Siemens, Dior…
RR | Mexico City | August 7, 2023
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RELATED TOPICS: Amazon, Casai, Netflix, Nico Barawid, Siemens, Uber
The bankruptcy of Casai, a Mexican accommodation rental startup, is a very hard blow for its more than 250 accounts with clients such as Uber, Amazon, Netflix, Siemens and Dior, publishes Phocuswire.
Founder and CEO Nico Barawid made the announcement on LinkedIn and a note was posted on the website of the company, which had raised $50 million since its founding in 2019.
Until about a year ago, Casai seemed poised for continued growth. The Mexico City-based company was moving quickly to expand its luxury lodging model fused with smart technology.
In a detailed reflection shared on LinkedIn, Barawid wrote: “…at our peak, we had nearly $30 million in annual revenue. … At the operational level, we had margins of around 25% and were on track to be profitable for the entire company in January/February of this year. … We had a very strong corporate travel ledger with 250 accounts, including Uber, Amazon, Netflix, Siemens, Dior and more.”
But by last summer, the problems were apparent. In July 2022, Casai laid off about 60 people in Brazil, according to Bloomberg Línea, and later merged with Brazilian company Nomah, which the article characterized as “an emergency operation to save Casai.”
More moves occurred in January when Casai closed its operations in Brazil. Barawid said: “We were operating under the assumption that we just needed one last round of financing that would then drive us to profitability…the plain truth was that we were facing an investment drought with a model that was no longer favored by investors. of venture capital. to produce risky returns.
Within the landscape of accommodation applications, Airbnb integrates a new function that allows solo travelers to stay safe, giving relevance to this segment since 26% of all nights booked on the platform during 2021 were for single people, likewise , nights booked for extended stays during the first quarter of 2022 reached 50%.
The feature is rolling out to English-speaking guests and will be available for more countries and languages next year. Likewise, it will expand to include complete listings of houses. Although this function is new for Airbnb, it is not for the industry, since it has been implemented by Golightly, a private travel club for women designed to offer a safer space to advertise and book vacation rentals (Airbnb integrates a new function to have insurance for solo travelers).
