Zucchetti, Italy’s IT market leader, is integrating the RateBoard software into its extensive product portfolio
Vienna, January 29, 2020 – For the Austrian technology scene, 2020 is starting with one of the most promising international transactions. It has taken less than five years for RateBoard to go from a start-up to successfully being sold to a strategic investor, Trade Sale. The Innsbruck-based start-up caught the eye of Italian software house, Zucchetti Group, with its hotel revenue management software, and it wasn’t long before it received an attractive take-over bid. Investors aws Gründerfonds, Falkensteiner Ventures, and Nextfloor Ventures, and the founders Simon Falkensteiner and Matthias Trenkwalder are transferring all of their shares to Zucchetti as part of the sale.
RateBoard to remain in Austria
Zucchetti, Italy’s IT market leader, is integrating the RateBoard software into its extensive product portfolio in a bid to further expand its ‘hospitality and retail’ division Founders Simon Falkensteiner and Matthias Trenkwalder and the company’s 20 employees will continue to work at the company’s two sites in Austria, Innsbruck and Vienna.
“RateBoard has developed a very innovative solution, which offers real benefits for managing hotels and hotel chains; that is why we have signed an agreement to distribute its services, which recommends the best rate,” explains Angelo Guaragni, Director of Zucchetti Horeca. “This takeover will allow us to further strengthen and optimize these synergies and to offer our customers an integrated solution alongside the other components we offer in the hospitality world. Zucchetti and RateBoard made their group debut at the Hotel Revenue Forum, which was held on 23 January 2020 in Milan.”
“Zucchetti, a trusted market leader in Italy in the Horeca segment (Hotel/Restaurant/Café), can accelerate its international growth by taking over an internationally renown brand like RateBoard”, believes Enrico Itri, COO of Zucchetti International. “In our strategy for 2020 we want to improve the global Horeca market not only for ERP and HR applications, but also for specific solutions for vertical markets, like the hotel industry.”
Simon Falkensteiner and Matthias Trenkwalder, founders of RateBoard GmbH, agree: “We are extremely grateful for the last five years. During this eventful time, we have been fortunate to have worked with an exceptional team and partners with vision, and have enjoyed the trust and confidence of many customers. It was only through these things that we were able to grow and establish RateBoard as the leading revenue management system in Central Europe. Now, we are delighted to have found the ideal partner in the Zucchetti Group, so that together we can continue to expand and, over the coming years, win over thousands of hotels with our solution.”
Above-target development over the past 12 months
It wasn’t until 2018 that RateBoard received an investment from aws Gründerfonds, Falkensteiner Ventures and Nextfloor Ventures to implement its plans for growth. The investment was used to drive forward the company’s expansion in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (DACH) and Italy and to enhance the platform’s technological development with additional intelligent features. Since that time user figures have grown six-fold, generating monthly double-digit sales growth. Alongside several other awards, RateBoard was most recently recognized by TIC (Travel Industry Club) and VIR (Verband Internet Reisevertrieb) in November 2019 as one of the top 3 most successful travel start-ups in the DACH region.
Ralf Kunzmann, managing director, aws Gründerfonds: “RateBoard has become the sweetspot for international strategists at an amazing speed. It offers a good opportunity for the founders to keep the company on course for growth long term, and to scale it more quickly. As a VC our role is always that of a ‘long-term companion’, and we are proud of the exit success achieved by Simon Falkensteiner and Matthias Trenkwalder in such a short space of time. Active investment management plays an important role for us in this process. Bernhard Ungerböck, the appointed investment manager, together with the founders, has shaped the key cornerstones of this strong and fast-growing start-up and stimulated development within the company. We are certain that the two founders will continue along this steep road to success and we look forward to its future development!”
Erich Falkensteiner, managing director, Falkensteiner Ventures: “For the hotel industry, the issue of revenue management is unbelievably fascinating. This is something that is not only relevant for all hoteliers, but also offers immense potential for the future. That’s why it was immediately clear to me that I needed to support it. And when it came to the sale, I wanted to be sure of finding the right partner for RateBoard. That's why I'm so pleased that RateBoard has teamed up with Zucchetti, a strong and suitable exit partner. I am certain that together with Zucchetti RateBoard has a successful future ahead of it.”
