Residential hotel operator InnJoy recently announced that it has closed a 10-million-yuan (around USD 1.5 million) angel round financing. Xi'an Youpu Investment and a real estate investor were the lead investors. The proceeds will be used for brand promotion and product research and development.
Xi'an-based InnJoy was founded in 2015 to smartly combine hospitality and technology into a accommodation space. In the apartment of InnJoy, guests can control door locks, curtains, air conditioners and lighting, etc. with voice and mobile phones.
InnJoy is testing new retailing in its properties similar to the ‘buy what you see’ model of Yanxuan Hotel launched by NetEase and Atour in August 2017.
There are dozens of products available in its hotel rooms, including smart toilet seats, Xiaomi rice cookers, Xiaomi mattresses, smart water purifiers, projectors and others. Users can physically try the products during their stay and place orders by scanning the QR code. InnJoy, on the other hand, takes a commission in this process.
At present, the revenues from selling smart products comprise the bulk of the company’s earnings.
InnJoy has a total of 500 rooms in 10 hotels, and two of them are now operational. Down the line, it plans to add 2,000 rooms in Chengdu, Chongqing, Zhengzhou, Wuhan and other cities by the end of the year.
InnJoy focuses on the millennials who go on family travel and business trips of more than three days.
The average rate of its rooms is more than 200 yuan and the repurchase rate is about 25-30%. In 2017, InnJoy netted approximately RMB 5 million in total revenue, RMB 3 million of which was from the hotel business, and RMB 2 million from the smart home appliance business.
InnJoy’s products are now available on booking platforms like Ctrip, Meituan, Airbnb, Tujia and Xiaozhu. It has served nearly 20,000 guests. On Ctrip, 1,000 users rated 4.9 out of five points when reviewing InnJoy’s listings.
