If you’ve been tempted to try out this flawed but fascinating 20-game console, it now has an impulse-buy price.
Source: CNET
Today’s major tech headlines include Android devices taking the place of two-factor authentication, Google’s Voice Assistant now working in G Suite and YouTube TV’s price hike.
Source: CNET
The upcoming flagship might have a pop-up camera and triple-rear cameras.
Source: CNET
UK law enforcement officers were invited into the embassy to take the WikiLeaks founder into custody.
Source: CNET
GuestReady, a service that helps shared economy hosts manage their business on Airbnb and other rental sites, is getting into expansion mode again after it completed its fourth acquisition.
The company, which has raised $3.7 million from investors to date, just announced that it has acquired France-based rival BnbLord, a startup that it claims is the largest Airbnb host platform in France and Portugal, through an undisclosed deal.
The deal represents a doubling down on those two markets and it follows the acquisition of Portugal-based Oporto City Flats last December, while GuestReady also took over We Stay In Paris, a French competitor. GuestReady’s first acquisition saw it capture U.K/France service Easy Rental in 2017.
GuestReady CEO and co-founder Alexander Limpert told TechCrunch that latest deal is its largest to date. The acquisition will double GuestReady’s presence to over 2,000 properties in Europe, where it covers the UK, France and Portugal. The company is also present in the UAE, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Beyond Airbnb, it supports hosts on Booking.com and HomeAway.
“We are extremely excited about this acquisition because it allows GuestReady to propel forward and become the largest service provider in the vacation rental industry,” Limpert said in a statement. “Since we started, we have been very focused on operational excellence and building a property technology system that allows us to automate non-core processes.”
The deal will see the 14-person team behind BnbLord transition in full to GuestReady, and BnbLord will retain its branding. Limpert revealed that BnbLord helped generate over €10 million for its hosts last year with over 30,000 bookings managed, but he didn’t disclose if the business was profitable.
Launched in 2016, GuestReady — as the name suggests — provide all manner of services that an Airbnb host could need for managing that property, from cleaning and laundry, to check-in and out services. It also includes listing generation, price management and other b2b services. It has over 100 staff.
We last wrote about the startup in late 2017, when it raised $3 million led by Impulse VC, the Russian fund that is backed by billionaire Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. Limpert, who previously led country businesses in Asia for Rocket Internet’s Foodpanda, told TechCrunch that GuestReady plans to tap the private markets for more capital again soon.
“We are looking to raise a larger round later this year,” he said, indicating that the deal may happen in Q3. Limpert declined to state how much the company is aiming to raise, however.
GuestReady’s other investors include Swiss Founders Fund, Senn and Partner, Australia’s Xponova and Boost Heroes, a VC led by Lastminute founder Fabio Cannavale, and Airbnb executive Georg Bauser.
Source: TechCrunch
RIP Boomerang. Gmail’s new scheduling feature is here.
Source: CNET
As the mayor of a small Indiana city, Buttigieg applied his low-key technocratic style to economic and social dysfunction. Now he wants a chance to fix the country.
Source: Wired
No matter who wins the game, their victory will signify something.
Source: Wired
The course is mostly downhill and has few dramatic turns, yet it ranks among the slowest marathons in the world. Here’s why.
Source: Wired
The book by former Google communications head Jessica Powell is fiction, but many of its tropes are drawn from real life.
Source: Wired