Hospitality brand Vista Rooms, which focuses on holiday home rentals, has raised Rs 10 crore (about $1.37 million) in a funding round led by Singapore and India-based DSG Consumer Partners.
Other participants in this round include CA Holdings, Artha India Ventures and angel investor Anand Ladsariya, who is also the managing director of crystals and oils manufacturer Everest Flavours Ltd.
Vista Rooms, operated by Stay Vista Pvt. Ltd, was set up in 2015 by Pranav Maheshwari, Ankita Sheth and Amit Damani.
The startup operates as a full-stack brand that provides services to supply-side home and villa owners as well as demand-side travellers. For the former, it takes over property maintenance and guest service, while marketing locations to the latter.
“We have seen an exciting secular shift in traveller behaviour; homestays are becoming the vacation of choice, encouraged by WFH (work from home) and online schooling,” Sheth said.
Vista Rooms will use the capital raised in this round for launching new locations under its management, building out its team, enhancing its technological infrastructure and increasing awareness about its brand.
“The vacation rental segment addresses a clear pain point for both travellers and homeowners. This segment is poised for massive growth and Vista is well-positioned to capitalize on this with its market leadership,” said Deepak Shahdadpuri, managing director, DSG Consumer Partners.
In 2017, VCCircle exclusively reported that Stay Vista Pvt. Ltd had raised a little over Rs 5 crore (about $776,000 then) from investors including Artha India, Singularity Holdings, Sequoia India’s Rajan Anandan and Freshworks CEO Girish Mathrubootham.
Set up in 2013, DSG is an investment firm that focuses exclusively on consumer brands and businesses in India and Southeast Asia. Currently, it has $200 million (about Rs 1,450 crore) in committed capital under management and has members of its team based in Singapore, Mumbai and Mauritius.
DSG is currently investing out of its third fund, which marked its final close at $65 million (about Rs 470 crore) in 2019.
Some of its recent bets include superfoods and fitness consultation startup The Healthy Company, chewable dietary supplements brand Power Gummies, premium personal care brand Arata, babycare products startup The Moms Co and ready-to-drink coffee brand Sleepy Owl.