The travel and hospitality industries took a major hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. While it may still take months for companies in this sector to fully recover, many are positioning themselves to be in a good spot for when the rebound arrives.
Chicago startup Journera has created a real-time data platform for travel-related companies to provide travelers with more wholistic experiences. On Wednesday, the company announced that it raised an $11.6 million Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz and B Capital.
Journera partners with companies like Marriott, Hilton, United Airlines and American Airlines to give them more data about travelers’ behavior, and help travelers take informed actions. For example, it can automatically rebook a rental car if a flight is canceled, prepare a hotel room early if a flight is landing early, send a rideshare to pick up a traveler and so on.
This new funding will help the company build features to cater toward the travel sector’s recovery. Journera has built a new Recovery Analytics tool, which can help these travel companies make smart decisions about where to allocate their resources as the industry outlook improves.
Journera was cofounded by former Orbitz CEO and President Jeffrey Katz, who now holds the position of CEO at Journera.
“As the industry faces once-in-a-generation challenges, data will be a central tenet of recovery,” Katz said in a statement. “We’re pleased to have the confidence of our investors in our vision as we help the travel industry create the very best experiences for their most valuable, most frequent travelers — the people who will be first to get back on the road and in the air in the coming weeks and months. When those core customers have great experiences it will inspire their loyalty over the long term.”
Built In previously spoke to Katz about Journera in 2018, when the company announced its $9 million Series A.
