Groople Secures $6 mil in Additional Financing
Investment Reflects Groople's Market Leadership Position
DENVER, CA, August 10, 2006. Groople, the leader in online group travel and industry pioneer, announced that it has secured $6 million in its latest round of financing. ArrowPath Venture Partners led the financing along with FA Technology Ventures (FATV). Existing investors Vista Ventures, Fatty Tuna and Flywheel Ventures also participated in the round.
Groople provides online booking capabilities for group travelers and matches the needs of specific groups with appropriate products, prices and support. While facilitating bookings and generating new revenue, Groople allows travel suppliers to retain control of their inventory and rates. Groople provides the tools for non-managed group leaders to request a block of hotel rooms while permitting the individual group members to make changes to reservations and pay individually.
"There has been such strong demand for our product from both consumers and suppliers, as evidenced by our double-digit revenue growth, as well as triple-digit growth in profits," said Groople Chief Executive Officer Mike Stacy. "We are pleased to have partners of the caliber of ArrowPath, Vista and FA Technology Ventures. These firms have tremendous experience in building young technology companies into market leaders. We were very selective in deciding which venture firms to work with and we are delighted by our choice."
"Self-organized, small group travel is a growing, multibillion dollar segment of the travel industry. Group travelers have come to expect the same convenience and control of individual online travel coupled with a service that understands the unique needs of group travel," said Jerry Gramaglia, a Partner with ArrowPath Venture Partners. "Groople, led by top executives from both the travel and technology industries, is filling that consumer need."
This latest investment will be used to further accelerate the company's growth plans including expansion of their website ( www.groople.com) and improving the customer experience. The company will also use a portion of the proceeds to enhance agent and supplier technologies as well as increase its growing network of hotel properties, affiliates, partners and direct sales capabilities.
In addition to providing investment in the company, Jerry Gramaglia of ArrowPath Ventures and Giri Sekhar of FATV have been appointed to the Groople Board of Directors.
Explaining his reasons for backing Groople, FATV's Giri Sekhar commented "Groople fills one of the last big holes in the online travel market. There are numerous online booking solutions for individual travel, but groups still have to do things the old fashioned way - with telephones, faxes, voicemail, agents and snail mail. Groople brings group travel into the Internet age."
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