CityStasher (t/a Stasher) secures £1.9 million Seed investment led by VentureFriends

STASHER SET TO STRENGTHEN ITS POSITION IN THE US AND AUSTRALIA, WITH $2.5M FUNDING ROUND

  • Stasher, the world’s first sharing economy solution for luggage storage announces a $2.5 million funding round as it looks to expand global service and consolidate position as the market leader 
  • The round was led by VentureFriends, and includes follow-on from several previous angels including Johan Svanstrom, the former president of Hotels.com 
  • The luggage storage platform aims to use the funding to continue partnering with international hotel chains and ensure a frictionless city break for customers worldwide 

21st January, London: Stasher, the world’s first sharing economy network for luggage storage, has today announced a $2.5 million funding round led by Venture Friends, along with various angels including Johan Svanstrom, former president of Expedia owned OTA giant, Hotels.com who rejoins the illustrious team of backers supporting Stasher.

The funding comes after a phenomenal year for Stasher, which saw the luggage storage startup scale worldwide and more than triple their revenues year on year. The company is now set to consolidate its position as the market leader by focusing its attention on strengthening its offering in key global markets and gaining ground in the travel industry. 

Anthony Collias, CCO and Co-founder adds:

“We’re bridging the gap between VR and Hotels. In fact, our model is so scalable that we could launch in any urban area that you could reasonably stay in an Airbnb. This means there’s an opportunity to launch more than 10,000 new cities in the near future”.  

2019 saw Stasher partner with the likes of Klook, Sonder, Marriott, and Hotels.com. Jacob Wedderburn- Day, Stasher’s CEO and Co-founder, believes the key for 2020 is to continue building partnerships with trusted companies and to continue working with quality brands such as Premier Inn, Expedia, Holiday Express, OYO and Accor to expand their network of locations globally. 

Commenting on Stasher’s strategy for 2020, Jacob said:

“Exclusive integration with top quality brands have helped solidify our position as the most trusted brand in the market, and they hold the key to our expansion strategy for 2020. We don’t just want to be present in every city in the world, we want to be present in the most trusted and secure locations in every city in the world. This will set us apart from our competitors”. 

The platform has gone on to launch over 250 cities, a pretty impressive leap from the 20 since the first investment round in early 2018, and a testament to the demand for the service. Most notably, the luggage storage app has expanded to the US and Australia since 2018 – staying ahead of competitors in those markets and making the modern travel experience more seamless is going to be the focus of Stasher’s investment round.

Looking forward, Jacob said:

“As a travel platform with an obvious global network effect, we always aimed to build a global platform, and we’re extremely proud to have reached that goal. Being already present across Europe, the US and Asia proves there is a  demand for our services worldwide. However, we are far from finished. Advancing our relationships with hosts and improving customer service will enable us to ensure a frictionless city break for customers worldwide”.

Stasher no doubt has a lot of opportunities and is one to watch as the company continues to grow at a three-times year on year. 

Apostolos from VentureFriends added “We have been impressed by the demand for the service as well as the ability of the team to expand the offering in so many cities within just 2 years. However, what really impressed us with the team at Stasher was their uncompromising focus on the consumer experience and safety from day one. This is what sets them apart and will allow them to remain the leading service provider globally”

– ENDS – 

Notes to Editors 

  • More information and FAQs can be found at https://stasher.com
  • Each item left at a StashPoint is insured against damage, loss and theft up to the value of £1000. Stasher’s insurance is provided by GUARDHOG, underwritten by Hiscox Limited, a global insurer with an A+ rating by Fitch. GUARDHOG, in conjunction with Stasher, have specifically designed the insurance to cover your bags when left at StashPoints against theft, loss or damage.
  • To date, over 450,000 bags have been stashed through the network with no insurance claims processed in conjunction with any of the bookings. 

About Stasher 

Stasher, launched in 2015, is the world’s first sharing economy solution to luggage storage. The platform works as an online marketplace connecting travellers, event-attendees and vacation rental guests with local shops and hotels who can store their luggage on a short-to-medium term basis. The platform provides insurance and customer support to users.in exchange, the startup offers hosts roughly 50% commission on all transactions and helps support brick and mortar. 

The luggage storage app has seen phenomenal growth with close to half-a-million bags being stored to date in 1200+ locations across 6 continents.  
For more information  or pictures please get in touch with Joel Sanders at [email protected]

Manoj Ranaweera

Manoj has founded, failed and successfully exited from a number of technology product companies as well as support organisations since 2004. Among them, Northern Tech Awards and edocr.com were acquired by GP Bullhound and Accusoft, Inc respectively. Today, Manoj is building a trusted support network for technology companies. He is working with founding teams to help them accelerate including raising investment and M&A.

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