The Ghent-based technology firm Lighthouse is receiving a 351-million-euro capital injection from the US. As a result, the company sees its value rise above the billion-euro mark. This makes it 1 of only 5 companies to reach this mark in Belgium. Lighthouse operates in the hotel sector, offering a platform that allows hotels to set room prices accurately to the market.
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Ghent-based tech company Lighthouse is worth more than 1 billion euros after US mega-investment
Colin Clapson
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More than 70,000 hotels and short-stay providers worldwide use Lighthouse's platform. To support the company's further growth, it is now receiving a capital injection from US investment firm KKR.
The additional funds will mainly be used to innovate the platform further, for acquisitions and expansion into new international markets.
The company’s founders are particularly proud of their achievement. ‘Raising money is not an end in itself, but this is a moment of joy for our entire team. We are now reflecting on what we have achieved over the past 12 years,’ says Matthias Geeroms, one of the company's founders and CFO.
‘It was by chance that we came up with the idea of setting up a hotel pricing company. In 2012, we were in London for the Olympics. Hotel room prices were so low that we wondered: ‘How come the big hotel chains have made such poor price forecasts?’’
Not necessarily high, but mostly correct prices
The solution that Mr Geeroms and his co-founders came up with proved to work: ‘It wasn't that easy to develop a tool that does price predictions for the market well. But in the meantime, we are the industry’s market leader, so we have succeeded.’
So, does Lighthouse's tool help hotels make a big profit on hotel rooms? ‘Mainly we make sure that hotel guests pay a correct price. Sometimes we have to tell hotels that their price is way too high, or just way too low,’ Mr Geeroms says.
Ready for the bright lights at last
According to the CFO, Lighthouse truly is a Belgian company. ‘Not everyone knows that, but we work from Ghent with 270 employees. Although we now operate in every country in the world, our management is still based in Ghent.’
‘As founders, we have never really wanted to attract undue attention. We have always remained somewhat in the shadows. But now we are ready to step into the bright light a little more,’ Mr Geeroms concludes.