Casai, a Mexican vacation hosting startup, announced on Monday the purchase of LoopKey, an access control systems company. This is Casai’s third acquisition in Brazil, a market where the company arrived in May of last year. “By acquiring LoopKey, we will continue to ensure that our check-in process is the most agile on the market,” commented Nico Barawid, co-founder and CEO of Casai, in a statement. He did not disclose the value of the deal.
Casai’s interest in LoopKey is mainly due to the company’s proprietary entrance management system integrated with electronic locks. Casai wants to combine this system with other features and create the world’s first hospitality operating system. For this, it will invest $2 million in LoopKey.
The two companies will continue to operate independently, but their technology teams will collaborate to create the system. LoopKey already has an R&D center at the University of Brasília.
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Through the acquisition, LoopKey will begin selling its products in Mexico and eventually expand to other Latin American markets.
Since its launch in Brazil in May 2021, Casai says it has grown more than four times. This growth occurred not only organically, but through M&A. In August 2021, Casai purchased the Brazilian operation of Q Apartments, a global platform for rental apartments. Sao Paulo. And in December, it acquired Roomin, a company that manages rental properties in Florianópolis (capital of the state of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil). Casai did not disclose the values of the acquisitions but, at the time of its second acquisition, said it would invest BRL 30 million in its expansion in Florianópolis.
Currently, Casai is present in six cities in Mexico and Brazil, with more than 1,400 rental units. Only in March, the startup welcomed more than 30,000 guests, maintaining, according to the company, a satisfaction index of 98%.
Casai’s business model is based on the smart-home concept. For short or extended stays, the startup offers apartments equipped with electronic devices and services, such as wi-fi and audio and video streaming. The startup‘s entire service is done through “Butler,” an internal system that connects to guest apps and handles their requests remotely.
