SOUTH AFRICA – TurnStay, a South African travel-focused fintech, has secured US$300,000 in funding from Silicon Valley and New York-based investors DFS Lab and DCG.
The company plans to use the funding to expand the business into Africa and build on the significant traction already achieved.
Founded by entrepreneurs Alon Stern, co-founder of Slide Financial, and James Hedley, co-founder of Quicket, TurnStay radically reduces the cost of getting paid for African merchants and platforms in travel and tourism by harnessing the same ‘tricks’ used by the world’s biggest booking companies.
Direct bookings reduce commissions paid to online travel agencies, which benefits travel and tourism businesses.
It says this is done through innovative technologies, which harness the same API integration used by the world’s biggest booking companies.
“Securing funding from these US investors is a vote of confidence in our business model, which has already processed more than R50 million (US$300,000) in transactions,” said Alon Stern, TurnStay CEO.
‘’TurnStay localized payment experience, charging clients in their home currency using familiar payment methods when booking accommodation.
“TurnStay’s solution has reduced costs for some clients by 70% and halved the number of unnecessary failed transactions. With a better checkout experience, sales conversion rates soar.”
Utilizing a global network of compliant companies, TurnStay says it dramatically reduces the cost of international hotel payments without compromising safety or efficiency. It also solves the problem that African hotels can pay fees up to 20 times higher than those paid by online travel agencies such as Booking.com.
Merchants’ benefits include lower card fees, a better checkout experience, and more direct bookings, which allows properties to compete with online travel agencies with improved conversion rates.
TurnStay’s payment option is embedded and integrates with leading booking engine providers such as Benson Software.
Stephen Deng, general partner at DFS Lab, explains: “TurnStay is building a much-needed offering for the African travel and tourism industry, one that unlocks substantial cost savings for hospitality businesses across the continent.
“We believe the founders are the perfect team to tackle this opportunity, combining deep industry experience with a proven history of shipping market-leading products.”
Liked this article? Subscribe to DealStreet Africa News, our regular email newsletter with the latest news, deals and insights from Africa’s business, economy, and more. SUBSCRIBE HERE