Journey, a recently launched loyalty platform for independent hotels, luxury resorts and private rentals, has raised $7.7 million in seed funding to support the expansion of its guest rewards program and growing network of properties.
This round was co-led by capital firms Lerer Hippeau and Slow Ventures, with participation from Brian Kelly, founder of travel blog The Points Guy; Chris Burch, co-founder of Tory Burch; Kim Perell, entrepreneur and author; and investment group Bulletpitch.
John Sutton, founder and CEO of Journey, said the company was born from both his personal frustration in traveling and professional insight. “At its core, we saw an opportunity to rethink and reimagine what loyalty means for the modern traveler,” he said during an introduciton of the brand earlier this year.
“Our vision is to disrupt hospitality loyalty by leveraging modern technology,” he said. “We have created a platform where guests are rewarded for choosing character-rich, independent stays and hotel and short-term rental operators can finally access technology to deliver exceptional experiences. am excited to have found investors and advisors who believe that loyalty can be reimagined in an age of AI with a focus on the consumer first.”
Sutton said Journey is solving one of the biggest gaps in hospitality: loyalty for independent properties and guests who desire exceptional experiences. “As an avid traveler who has spent most of my life fixated on travel upgrades, loyalty and points, I am happy that I will finally be able to branch out from my reliance on the mega hotel brands and start taking advantage of the many wonderful independent properties in Journey’s portfolio,” said Kevin Colleran, managing director of Slow Ventures. “This will help so many hotels that were previously overlooked by travelers like me who were always forced to stay at the big chains in order to take advantage of our loyalty status and rewards.”
Built for Indies
In today’s hospitality space, independent properties face a disadvantage compared to big lodging companies not just through scale, but through deeply integrated loyalty programs. While companies like Marriott and Hilton may pay 10% to 15% to online travel agencies (OTAs), they only depend on those platforms for about 20% of bookings. Independents, by contrast, often rely heavily on OTAs and pay steeper fees.
As a result, the whole idea of Journey revolves around arming independent operators with technological tools to compete with these big companies, meeting the modern traveler’s demand for meaningful, real-world experiences.
Inside the Machinery
Unlike traditional point-based systems, Journey’s approach focuses on rewarding travelers not just for transactions but for preferences, engagement and direct booking. While travelers enjoy seamless rewards and status across a curated network, brands gain engagement, data and margin growth without sacrificing personalization.
Journey’s standout feature is its Hospitality Experience Platform (HXP), a dashboard that integrates with property management and CRM systems to provide hoteliers with deep, actionable guest insights. Powered by AI, it enables independent hotels to deliver a great level of personalization like major hotel brands.
One of the key tools operators can use is the Guest Insights Tool to view a traveler’s preferences, social media activity and professional background, creating highly tailored experiences before they arrive.
The platform also features a smart campaign builder, allowing properties to promote point-based offers during slow periods or peak demand and supports real-time, on-property redemptions using pending points.
1400 Properties… and Counting
As of launch, The Journey Alliance has signed more than 1,400 properties into its network, spanning hotels, resorts and private rentals, such as Nihi Sumba in Indonesia, Onera in Texas, Castle Hill Inn in Rhode Island and Dunton in Colorado.
The Journey platform is available for both iOS and Android users and is designed to evolve with each interaction while learning guest behaviors and refining preferences. In addition, members earn 5x points per dollar for direct bookings on partner sites, compared to 1x for third-party bookings.
“Over several decades on the Starwood and Marriott boards, and as an investor, I have witnessed major changes in the hospitality and loyalty landscapes. Journey has impressed me with their vision to bring about a sea change in hospitality loyalty and leverage AI technology to help hoteliers deliver on the promise of an exceptional stay. Guests and hoteliers alike will benefit immensely from Journey,” said Eric Hippeau, managing partner of Lerer Hippeau.
With this new round of funding, Journey plans to expand its team, further develop its AI infrastructure and accelerate onboarding for new Alliance partners globally.
“Loyalty is not a retention marketing scheme; it’s about creating a deep connection. Our goal is to partner with brands and alliance partners who recognize that guest experience is what gives them power over time to deliver an amazing experience. And so, we’ve tried to enable them to do that on a scale by using a technology-first approach,” added Sutton.