Journey
Setting the Scene
Independent hotels and short-term rentals are losing up to 30% of their revenue to OTAs like Booking.com and Airbnb, cutting into margins and weakening the direct guest relationship.
Meanwhile, major hotel chains (think the Hiltons and Marriotts of the world) are thriving by leveraging loyalty programs to drive repeat, direct bookings — boosting profitability while keeping guests coming back.
Independent properties, despite offering high-touch, memorable experiences, often lack the infrastructure and scale to compete — leading to low retention and a growing dependence on third-party platforms.
This week’s company offers a universal loyalty platform built exclusively for independents — empowering them to join an alliance of properties, boost retention, increase direct bookings, and ultimately take back control of the guest relationship.
In a Sentence
Journey is a loyalty platform for independent hotels and private rental homes, offering the rewards power and guest insights of big chains — without sacrificing the individuality that makes them special.
Loyalty Platform: Independent hotels and short term rentals join the Journey Alliance, gaining access to a SaaS platform that enables automated point issuance and redemptions, while allowing guests to earn and redeem points across a unified network of stays.
Power: Guests earn significantly more points when booking direct, giving them a compelling reason to bypass OTAs and deepen their connection with the brand.
Insights: Operators gain access to data-driven insights that power hyper-targeted marketing, personalized offers, and curated guest experiences—turning one-time visitors into loyal return guests.
Bulleted Version:
- Journey is like a Marriott Bonvoy but for independently owned and operated hotels, villas, ski chalets, landscape resorts and other unique stays.
The Basics
- Headquarters: New York, NY
- Employee Count: 8
- Investors:
Slow Ventures, Brian Kelly, Chris Burch, James McBride, Eric Wu, 1528 Investments, and various other angels.
- Funding amount: $5.25M
- Business model: Point issuance fees, redemption fees, co-branded credit card interchange, and a few other revenue streams.
- Early traction: Click HERE to see all the hotels who have already joined the alliance.
Due Diligence
WHAT WE LIKE
Market Opportunity: The global independent hotel and STR market is worth approximately $350B, yet independent operators—despite being larger in aggregate than top hotel chains—lack the scale to compete individually.
Go-To-Market & Value Proposition: With 2025 expected to be a record year for travel, Journey is well-positioned to serve the ~77% of European hotels and 40% of U.S. properties that operate independently and typically lack loyalty infrastructure.
Network Effects: As more properties join the Journey Alliance, the value of the platform compounds—exposing more travelers to the ecosystem and driving greater adoption, engagement, and direct bookings.
POTENTIAL RISKS
Adoption Risk: Journey’s success partially hinges on consumers consistently claiming their points.
Competition: Although Journey isn’t directly competing with OTAs, they do face competition from the well-established loyalty programs of major hotel chains.
Economic Sensitivity: The travel sector is highly vulnerable to macroeconomic downturns, which can impact demand and spending.p
Founder Profile
John Sutton, CEO: Previously CDO of Red Ventures.
Matt McBride, CFO: Previously CFO of Buildcasa.
Why Journey
By bringing independent properties together through tech, data, and a shared rewards ecosystem, Journey is reimagining the travel space—and all signs point to it becoming the loyalty layer of choice for independent hospitality.
