Donta' Haynes makes a curbside delivery outside a Carrabba's Italtian Grill restaurant Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in Houston.
SevenRooms, which works with hospitality venues like hotels and restaurants, has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by Providence Strategic Growth.
Joel Montaniel, CEO & co-Founder at SevenRooms, announced the fresh injection of capital first on Cheddar Thursday morning, a feat particularly in the current economic climate.
"It's never easy to raise money," he told Cheddar. "I think what COVID really did was accelerate the need for a platform like SevenRooms that has a unique value proposition, unique platform capability set, which is really all about helping operators create profitability and amazing guest experiences."
Montaniel says SevenRooms will use the fresh capital to develop its platform and to expand globally.
While SevenRooms may not be a household name for consumers, the end-to-end guest management platform is used by hospitality giants like MGM Resorts International and Bloomin' Brands, which operates restaurant chains Carrabba's, Outback Steakhouse, and Bonefish Grill.
SevenRooms uses customer data to help its customers better understand the needs and wants of its customers.
Montaniel says it's this focus on the guest experience that sets SevenRooms apart from rival OpenTable, which is owned by Booking Holdings.
"Our goal, really, is to help operators understand their guests through data and build direct and personalized relationships with them, which ultimately increases profitability and revenue," he said.
The company had been locking horns with OpenTable over whether restaurants can use data discovered through OpenTable to enhance their other systems, like SevenRooms.
OpenTable decided to charge restaurants a $250 a month data-sharing fee the company says is justified.
"It's been an interesting partnership with them and relationship," Montaniel said, adding the two companies have found a way to work together. "We think that the restaurant should be able to control channels and shouldn't have to pay for every guest, in some cases."
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
