Hostel booking app PGO raises funds

Hyderabad: City-based startup PGO, a hostel and paying guest booking platform, on Thursday announced that it raised $2 million (nearly Rs 14.1 crore) from new investors.

It will use these funds to strengthen its operations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune, and to foray into other cities.

"The new investments will help PGO consolidate its service offerings and lay more emphasis on enriching our technology platform," Hari Krishna, founder & CEO, PGO, told the media here.

He further said that PGO would expand its field operations to 10 cities by next year.

Launched in July 2018 by Thinkwide Hospitality Private Limited, PGO raised $40,000 seed fund from angel investors Sai Korrapati, SS Karthikeya, Sanjay Reddy (of SillyMonks) and Anil Kumar.

It received the latest round of funding from Sreeni Musani of Ektha and Narsi Reddy Posham of IRA Reality. This investment values the app at Rs 40 crore, with investors and promoters having 50 per cent stake each.

"We are upbeat about the potential of PGO which will easily be valued at $100 million soon.

Hostel, pay guest and co-living segments are an exciting marketplace to be in, given the cross migration of people, and difficulties in finding a suitable accommodation by students and working millennials," said Narsi Reddy.

PGO showcases verified properties and empower users through factual data such as guest reviews, stay tariffs to find suitable and pocket-friendly stay options.

It offers 10 per cent discount on all bookings under PGO Prime membership launched on Thursday.