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- Placemakr
Placemakr Funding, Investors & Competitors
Placemakr has raised $192M across 5 funding rounds, most recently a $65M Series C in March 2023.
Last Placemakr funding round
$65M
Series C · Mar 2023
Cumulative funding Placemakr raised
$192M
across 5 funding rounds
Key investors in Placemakr
Camber Creek
Revolution
Highland Capital Partners
Geolo Capital
MetaProp
Harbert Growth Partners
Suffolk Technologies
Gaw Capital Partners
About Placemakr
Placemakr is a Washington, D.C.-based alternative lodging company launched in 2017. It operates pop-up hotels in luxury apartment buildings, offering fully furnished units with hotel services and building amenities. The model assists multifamily developers in lease-up phases by generating revenue from vacant units.
Founded
2017
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Product sales
Sectors
Placemakr Funding History
Placemakr has raised a total of $192M across 5 funding rounds.
Placemakr's first fundraising round was a $4M seed round in June 2018. The most recent completed round was a $65M Series C in March 2023.
Placemakr funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2023 | Series C | Camber Creek; Highland Capital Partners; Gaw Capital Partners; Harbert Growth Partners; Bernstein Management Corporation; GOS Capital | $65M | Placemakr, a flexible-use multifamily and hospitality operator formerly known as WhyHotel, raised $65 million in new funding on March 21, 2023, from investors including Highland Capital Partners, Harbert Growth Partners, Bernstein Management Corporation, Camber Creek, Gaw Capital USA, and GOS Capital. This round brought the company's total capital raised to over $350 million, following a prior $90-95 million raise a year earlier. The funding supports property acquisitions, developer partnerships across the U.S., team expansion to over 500 employees, and enhancements to its tech-enabled operating platform that blends hospitality and residential uses in multifamily buildings. Placemakr manages over $1 billion in real estate assets, has operated more than 1 million room nights, and processed over $100 million in bookings since the start of COVID-19. The company recently launched new properties like Placemakr Wedgewood Houston, Whyhotel by Placemakr in Columbia, Maryland, and others in Nashville, Tennessee, capitalizing on demand for apartment-style hotels, short-term rentals, and flexible living amid remote work trends and office conversions. Leadership changes included appointing Timothy G. Franzen, former president of Graduate Hotels, as Chief Development Officer to drive inventory growth through partnerships with real estate owners and developers. CEO Jason Fudin highlighted the shift in commercial real estate toward mixed-use properties, positioning Placemakr to lead in this evolving asset class. |
| Mar 2022 | Undisclosed stage | Suffolk Technologies; Wormhole Capital; JBG SMITH Properties; Gaw Capital Partners; Davidson Kempner; Geolo Capital | $90M | Placemakr (formerly WhyHotel) closed a $90 million Series B+ equity investment round led by a consortium of investors including Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Gaw Capital, Suffolk Technologies, Geolo Capital, and JBG Smith. The company is a tech-enabled flexible-use multifamily and hospitality operator that combines apartment-style living with short-term rental capabilities, allowing property owners to convert residential buildings into mixed-use spaces. The investment was used to fund property acquisitions and operating expansion, with the company securing committed programmatic equity to acquire $750 million in real estate over the next 18 to 24 months. Prior to this round, WhyHotel had raised approximately $37 million, with a $20 million Series B in late 2019. By the time of the March 2023 announcement of a subsequent $65 million funding round, Placemakr had surpassed $350 million in total capital raised and was managing over $1 billion of real estate assets, had operated 1 million-plus room nights, and had processed over $100 million in bookings since the start of COVID, indicating strong market traction in the emerging flexible-living asset class. |
| Dec 2019 | Series B | Harbert Growth Partners (lead); Suffolk Technologies; Mark Donnelly; Camber Creek; Highland Capital Partners; Revolution; Working Lab Capital; Geolo Capital | $22M | Placemakr (formerly Whyhotel) is a flexible-use multifamily and hospitality operator founded in 2017 in Washington, D.C. by Jason Fudin. The company operates pop-up hotels within newly constructed luxury apartment buildings, offering fully furnished apartments that blend home comforts with hotel services and amenities. Its tech-enabled platform allows users to book these short-term accommodations, helping multifamily developers generate revenue from vacant units during lease-up phases while enhancing property appeal for residents. The specified 2019 funding round matches a Series B with participation from Harbert Growth Partners (lead), Camber Creek, Geolo Capital, Harbert Growth Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Suffolk Technologies, Working Lab Capital, and Mark Donnelly, dated around December 10, 2019. Placemakr has raised a total of approximately $190.4M across 9 rounds as of 2023, including a prior Seed VC, Series A in 2018, the 2019 Series B, a Loan, Series C, and a Series D of $65M on March 21, 2023, with repeat investors like Harbert Growth Partners, Highland Capital Partners, and Camber Creek, plus new ones like Bernstein Management Corporation and Gaw Capital Partners. Later developments include property launches like Placemakr Wedgewood Houston and Whyhotel by Placemakr in Columbia, with expansion driven by partnerships and a new Chief Development Officer in 2023. |
| Dec 2018 | Series A | Highland Capital Partners (lead); Camber Creek; Mendacre; Revolution; MetaProp; Geolo Capital | $11M | - |
| Jun 2018 | Seed | Camber Creek (lead); Mendacre; Vornado Realty Trust; Revolution; MetaProp; Working Lab Capital; Mitchell Schear | $4M | - |
Who has invested in Placemakr?
18 investors have backed Placemakr across its funding rounds, including Camber Creek, Revolution, Highland Capital Partners, Geolo Capital, MetaProp and Harbert Growth Partners.
Lead investors include Harbert Growth Partners, Highland Capital Partners and Camber Creek.
Placemakr Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Lead | Jun 2018 | ||
| 3 | Lead | Dec 2018 | ||
| 3 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 3 | Participant | Dec 2018 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Dec 2019 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Mar 2022 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Dec 2019 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Dec 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Jun 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2022 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 18 Placemakr investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialPlacemakr Competitors
Placemakr competitors include listed companies like Booking Holdings and Airbnb, and private ones like Fabhotels, Gubei Watertown, Butler Hospitality and ResortPass.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | $44M | - | $141M | 3.2x | ||
| Private | - | - | $123M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $85M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $78M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $27B | $8.3B | $128B | 4.6x | ||
| Publicly listed | $12B | $2.4B | $98B | 6.5x |
Placemakr Public Comps
Placemakr is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Booking Holdings, Airbnb, Marriott, Hilton, Expedia, Oriental Land, Las Vegas Sands, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Galaxy Enter Group and Hyatt.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $27B | $8.3B | 4.9x | 4.6x | 15.9x | 12.4x | |||
| $12B | $2.4B | 7.2x | 6.5x | 36.3x | 18.2x | |||
| $26B | $4.6B | 4.0x | 3.8x | 22.6x | 17.9x | |||
| $12B | $2.9B | 6.7x | 6.4x | 28.3x | 20.4x | |||
| $15B | $2.5B | 2.3x | 2.2x | 13.5x | 8.6x | |||
| $4.5B | $1.5B | 6.8x | 6.7x | 20.3x | 20.1x | |||
| $13B | $4.3B | 3.0x | 2.8x | 8.9x | 7.4x | |||
| $5.2B | $1.4B | 5.0x | 4.8x | 19.2x | 18.4x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Placemakr competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Placemakr
| When was Placemakr founded? | Placemakr was founded in 2017. |
| Where is Placemakr headquartered? | Placemakr is headquartered in Washington, DC, United States. |
| Is Placemakr publicly listed? | No, Placemakr is a private, VC-backed company. |
| How much funding has Placemakr raised? | Placemakr has raised $192M across 5 funding rounds. |
| What was Placemakr's last funding round? | Placemakr's last funding round was a $65M Series C in March 2023. |
| Who are Placemakr's investors? | Placemakr's investors include Camber Creek, Highland Capital Partners, Revolution, Geolo Capital, Suffolk Technologies, Mendacre, Gaw Capital Partners, Harbert Growth Partners, MetaProp, Working Lab Capital and 8 others. |
| Which companies are comparable to Placemakr? | Companies comparable to Placemakr include Fabhotels, Gubei Watertown, Butler Hospitality, ResortPass, Booking Holdings and Airbnb. |
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