Recco, a marketplace that connects hospitality buyers and suppliers, has announced the general availability of its solution and $10M in seed investment. The funding round was led by Net Capital Ventures and Joule Ventures, with participation from Eynat Guez, CEO of Papaya Global, and other angel investors.
Reeco streamlines the ordering process for hotels and other hospitality buyers, allowing them to order everything from food and beverage to cleaning supplies; the AI-powered marketplace provides efficient product availability while significantly lowering costs.
The hospitality industry was hard hit by pandemic-related supply chain issues, with 86% of hoteliers reporting that it impacted operations. As the industry recovers and demand grows, hotels continue to face procurement challenges due to inflation and ongoing supply chain shortages. “If a hotel can’t get eggs to serve for breakfast, that negatively impacts a guest’s entire experience,” said Eyal Goldberger, former Area General Manager of AC Marriott and Element Brickell Miami hotels. “Shortages are becoming commonplace and up to 30% of the items on each order can’t be filled by suppliers. Getting items from an alternate supplier isn’t as easy as just walking into another shop — it’s a difficult process which is further complicated by the fact that most procurement is still being managed with pen and paper.“
Reeco provides a one-stop shop for thousands of products in an easy-to-use online store. It goes like this: Buyers select the products they need and their order is automatically matched with the best-suited supplier based on price, availability, and delivery dates from hundreds of top local and national suppliers. Reeco can divide an order among as many as four suppliers to ensure full product availability at the lowest prices while allowing buyers to check out in one location and receive a single unified bill. This results in average order savings of 19% while reducing time spent placing and receiving orders by 80%.
“Reeco was built for the unsung heroes of hospitality,” said Henrik Shimony, Reeco co-founder and CEO. “As a hotelier who has worked in every role, from the front desk to the back office, the purchasing department was always the most neglected. This makes no sense, considering hotels’ largest expenses originate there. Reeco helps mitigate supply chain issues and food waste by using AI-driven insights into purchasing habits.”
“I’ve been in the hospitality business a long time and never seen a product quite like Reeco,” said Nick Murray, VP of Food & Beverage at Shaner Hotels. “Reeco eliminates inefficiencies from the back office, saving substantially on both time and costs across the board. I feel confident saying unequivocally that Reeco is the future of procurement for hotels.”
“Covid has proven that the hospitality industry is far more resilient than many thought,” said Dafna Winocur Biran, Partner at Joule Ventures. “The current challenges the industry is facing require new tools and technologies that help businesses adapt. Henrik and Omri, with their hotel experience and deep technical expertise, are the perfect founders to revolutionize the space. We are excited to be a part of their journey to provide total freedom of choice and complete visibility, benefiting hoteliers and suppliers alike.”
“Reeco has built a disruptive solution that’s generating incredible excitement among veterans in the hospitality space,” said Dan Naftali, Owner of Net Capital Ventures. “They’ve created a totally new way of ordering that’s a game changer for hospitality buyers. In the current market, solutions that provide an immediate ROI are king, and Reeco provides more value, quicker, than anything I’ve seen in recent years.”
The Tel Aviv, Israel-based company will establish its US headquarters in Miami, Florida, in 2022. Reeco’s clients include Playa Largo Resort – Autograph Collection, Hilton Aventura, The Even Hotel, hotel management company Shaner Hotel Group and hotels from top brands such as Marriott and Ramada.