STARTUP STAGE: GeoVero helps hotels gather guest feedback

geoVero

GeoVero's AI-powered technology collects feedback from guests through WhatsApp throughout their stay. 

The U.S.-based startup, which was founded in early 2024 and is currently seeking seed funding, aims to help hotels turn satisfied guests into advocates to boost reputation and increase bookings.

What is your 30-second pitch to investors?

One bad review online can cost a hotel thousands of dollars in lost bookings. Unfortunately, more than half of satisfied guests never share feedback and those that have a bad experience often post their complaints online. This is a costly problem for businesses and exactly what we’re solving at geoVero. Our AI-powered product bridges the gap by collecting feedback from guests in real-time throughout their stay. This allows hotels to fix issues before they become a problem. We also turn positive experiences into positive online reviews, which has a direct impact on new bookings.

With 81% of travelers relying on reviews to make booking decisions and a one-star rating increase capable of driving a two to three percent increase in monthly revenue for hotels, this is a game-changer. We’ve validated our minimum viable product (MVP) with hotel owners and industry experts, and our first customer is scheduled to start this quarter. We’re seeking $8 million in seed funding to scale and go-to-market over the next two years. We look forward to partnering with investors that share our excitement and want to reshape the guest experience for travelers.

Describe both the business and technology aspects of your startup.

GeoVero is revolutionizing the hospitality industry by helping hotels turn guest experiences into actionable insights and positive online reviews. Our AI-powered platform engages guests in real-time via WhatsApp, gathering feedback throughout their stay to address issues before they escalate. By transforming satisfied guests into advocates who post glowing reviews, geoVero enables hotels to protect their reputation and increase bookings.

Give us your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the company.

• Strengths: 
  • Innovative technology: Real-time AI feedback collection and actionable insights differentiate geoVero in the hospitality tech space. 
  • Direct impact on tevenue: Proven correlation between positive reviews and increased bookings, making geoVero a clear value-add for hotels. 
  • Scalable solution: Designed to work across various hotel sizes, from boutique properties to large chains. 
  • Validated MVP: Early validation from hotel owners and industry experts provides credibility and market readiness. 

• Weaknesses 
  • Early-stage development: As an emerging startup, geoVero lacks an established customer base and brand awareness. 
  • Dependence on adoption: Requires buy-in from hotel staff and integration into existing workflows, which could pose challenges for some properties. 

• Opportunities 
  • Market demand: Most travelers rely on reviews for booking decisions, making reputation management solutions essential for businesses. 
  • Expanding technology partnerships: Potential to integrate with existing hotel management systems or booking platforms to enhance functionality and reach. 
  • Global scalability: Opportunity to expand to international markets with high tourism and hospitality activity. 
  • AI growth: Increasing adoption of AI in customer service and hospitality creates a favorable environment for geoVero's solution. 

• Threats 
  • Competitive market: Other reputation management tools and customer feedback platforms exist, requiring differentiation to stand out. 
  • Economic factors: Travel and hospitality are highly sensitive to economic downturns, which could impact hotel budgets for new technology. 
  • Privacy concerns: Handling guest feedback requires robust data privacy and compliance measures to avoid potential legal risks.

What are the travel pain points you are trying to alleviate from both the customer and the industry perspective?

We’re addressing critical pain points for both travelers and the hospitality industry: 

• For travelers 

Unresolved issues during stays: Many travelers encounter problems during their stay but feel uncomfortable voicing them, leading to a poor experience and dissatisfaction. 

Missed opportunities for feedback: Travelers often lack convenient ways to provide feedback and post reviews, which can improve their experience and boost hotel bookings. 

Frustration with post-trip redress: Negative experiences often result in complaints after the trip, when it’s too late to fix the issue, leaving guests with a lingering bad impression. 

• For the hospitality industry

Impact of negative online reviews: A single bad review can cost thousands of dollars in lost bookings, damaging both revenue and reputation. 

Lack of real-time guest insights: Hotels often learn about guest dissatisfaction only after it’s too late, preventing them from addressing issues during the stay. 

Underutilized positive experiences: Satisfied guests frequently leave without sharing positive reviews online, missing out on a valuable marketing opportunity. GeoVero bridges these gaps by enabling real-time communication with guests, helping hotels proactively resolve issues, and transforming positive experiences into online reviews. This not only improves guest satisfaction but also drives revenue and strengthens a hotel's online reputation.

So you've got the product, now how will you get lots of customers?

• Primary audience: Mid-sized hotels and independent properties looking to improve guest satisfaction and boost online reviews. 
• Secondary audience: Larger hotel chains seeking scalable, AI-driven feedback solutions. Focus on regions with high tourism activity and a competitive hospitality landscape, such as urban hubs or vacation destinations. 
• Value proposition highlights the direct impact on revenue: "Increase bookings and protect your reputation with real-time feedback and actionable insights." And emphasize simplicity: GeoVero integrates seamlessly with existing operations via WhatsApp, requiring minimal training. 
• Phased launch plan 
  • Phase 1: Pilot program (first 6 months) Partner with a few select hotels as beta customers to validate use cases, gather testimonials, and refine the product. Offer an introductory discount or free trial in exchange for detailed feedback and case studies. 
  • Phase 2: Regional rollout (6-12 months) Focus on high-priority geographic markets. Leverage early success stories to drive credibility and attract new customers. 
  • Phase 3: National/global expansion (12-24 months) Scale operations with an expanded sales team, integrations with hotel management systems, and partnerships with travel platforms. 

• Develop a multi-channel sales approach 
  • Direct sales: Target decision-makers like hotel GMs and operations managers with personalized outreach and demos. Partnerships: Collaborate with hotel management system providers and travel technology companies to bundle services. 
  • Channel sales: Train resellers or consultants who work with hotels to promote geoVero. 

• Focus on marketing and brand awareness content marketing 
  • Publish case studies, blog posts and whitepapers showcasing ROI from real-time guest feedback. 
  • Social proof: Encourage customers to leave positive reviews and testimonials on your site and LinkedIn. 
  • Conferences: Attend and speak at industry events (e.g., Web Summit Qatar) to position geoVero as a thought leader. 
  • Digital advertising: Use LinkedIn and Google Ads to reach hospitality professionals. 

• Measure success 
  • Adoption metrics: Number of onboarded hotels and usage rate of the product. 
  • Customer feedback: Regularly gather insights from hotel users to improve features and validate the value proposition. 
  • Revenue growth: Track subscription renewals, upsells, and customer acquisition cost (CAC).

Tell us what process you've gone through to establish a genuine need for your company and the size of the addressable market.

• Direct industry validation: We’ve attended several travel and hospitality conferences, engaging directly with industry executives to gather feedback and insights. Conversations with hotel owners and decision-makers confirmed the challenges they face with guest satisfaction, post-stay surveys and negative online reviews. 
• Client interest: These discussions have led to several potential clients expressing strong interest in implementing our product, validating both the demand and the practicality of our solution. 
• Research: There are many research studies that identify the limitations of post-experience surveys and the financial impact of negative online reviews. Travelers rely on reviews for booking decisions, and a single bad review can cost thousands in lost bookings. This underscores the need for real-time feedback tools like geoVero. 
• Addressable market: The global hospitality industry includes over 700,000 hotels worldwide. This gives geoVero a vast addressable market in and of itself, particularly as the demand for reputation management and customer satisfaction tools grows. Our target market includes mid-sized hotels and independent properties, which make up a large portion of the industry and are often underserved by traditional customer experience solutions.

How and when will you make money?

We have a tiered annual subscription model, which we anticipate will average approximately $20,000/year per hotel. We have a verbal commitment from our first customer, which is tentatively expected to onboard in March 2025. Recently, we have also spoken with numerous other hotel and cruise company owners and executives that are also interested in our product. We expect to begin making money within the next six months.

What are the backgrounds and previous achievements of the founding team?

Chris Brown, co-founder and CEO: 3x founder and online customer reviews expert, three successful exits; one acquired by Tripadvisor. More than 24 years in travel tech.

Virginia Lloyd, co-founder and chief operating officer. Human resources leader with scale-up expertise.  More than 12 years in tech. History of working for startups with exits.

Matthew Glidden, chief experience officer. Leader at Sonos. Career in program management and global brand insights.

Debajyoti Datta, technical advisor, AI expert and co-author of Bloom. Co-founder of Hippocratic AI. PhD in machine learning. More than 10 years research and experience in ML/AI. 

Dominic Williams, brand and UX strategy. Digital business owner and successful agency exit. Brand and UI/UX design. Full-stack digital expert.

How have you addressed diversity and inclusion within your business?

Virginia comes from an HR background and has years of experience building inclusive cultures and hiring diverse talent. Within our founding team, we have gender and ethnic diversity, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community. We will continue to prioritize and celebrate our differences and actively engage and connect with candidates from a wide variety of diverse communities.

What's been the most difficult part of founding the business so far?

Operating as a self-funded startup comes with a lot of challenges. We have to be very thoughtful about where we spend money and the value on the return of every dollar. The most difficult part for us now that we have refined and built our MVP is marketing, selling and scaling our efforts. We have been fortunate to have a highly dedicated team, all of which are working for equity and have been completely dedicated to geoVero over the last six to 12 months. This is a true testament to the mission and vision of the company and the value we are bringing to the travel space.

Generally, travel startups face a fairly tough time making an impact - so why are you going to be one of lucky ones?

We are directly addressing the critical gap in guest experience management within the travel industry. While many startups focus on post-experience surveys or generic review management, we’ve created a solution that actively engages with guests in real-time throughout their stay, empowering hotels to resolve issues in the moment, which is when they matter most. What truly differentiates us is the dual impact we have: 

• Proactive guest satisfaction: Our AI-powered tool captures feedback during the stay, allowing hotels to course-correct and ensure a great experience in the moment, rather than after the fact. 
• Positive reputation amplification: We don’t just help hotels fix problems; we actively turn satisfied guests into vocal advocates, driving positive online reviews that have a direct impact on future bookings. This combination of real-time engagement and reputation enhancement gives us a competitive edge in a market where many solutions focus on either issue resolution or review management, but not both.

A year from now, what state do you think your startup will be in?

A year from now, we see geoVero having established a strong customer base of mid-sized hotels and independent properties, while expanding our reach into larger hotel chains. We expect significant revenue growth, with clients seeing tangible results in terms of increased bookings and improved guest satisfaction. This will lead to strong customer retention and upsell opportunities as our product evolves.

Additionally, we believe we will be recognized as a leader in travel tech, with greater brand awareness, thought leadership and industry recognition. Our team will also have expanded to support this growth, ensuring seamless operations and exceptional customer support as we scale.

What is your end-game? (Going public, acquisition, growing and staying private, etc.)

Our end game is to build a sustainable, high-growth business that creates lasting value for both our customers and investors. While we're currently focused on scaling and increasing adoption, we are open to different potential exit strategies. Our most desirable outcome would likely be an acquisition by a larger player in the travel or tech space if the opportunity aligns with our mission and growth. Ultimately, our main priority is creating long-term value, and we're committed to exploring the best path forward when the time is right.