Riverside Acceleration Capital (RAC) is thrilled to announce our recent investment in Smart Host, a Berlin-based leader in customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation software for independent, boutique hotels and small hotel chains.
Hotel operators can often face a persistent structural challenge: Online Travel Agents (OTAs) sit between hotels and their guests, capturing the guest relationship and extracting meaningful commissions in the process. At the same time, legacy technology within the hospitality space, particularly traditional Property Management Systems (PMS), is largely designed for reservation and occupancy management; not guest engagement. Marketing teams are often stretched thin, guest data lives in disconnected systems, and the tools needed to build lasting, direct guest relationships have historically been out of reach for independent operators and smaller hotel groups without significant IT resources.
Smart Host was founded to help reshape this dynamic. Their platform connects directly to a hotel's PMS via API to help centralize all available guest data, including individual preferences, booking history, and communication records, into a single, unified system of record. This guest intelligence layer powers four core modules: Guest Profiles, CRM, Offers, and Analytics. Hotels use Smart Host to run automated, personalized guest communications through various channels before, during, and after every stay, helping teams deliver more relevant, timely experiences without significant manual effort. Smart Host's Offer Management module can help hotels identify periods of low demand and create targeted promotional offers in minutes, supporting direct booking generation and reduced reliance on third-party distribution channels. Built-in analytics and campaign reporting can provide real-time visibility into marketing performance and per-guest ROI, enabling even teams with limited technology experience to track what's working and optimize their outreach continuously.
We believe Smart Host's combination of deep PMS integrations, purpose-built automation, and guest-centric design positions them well within the hospitality CRM category. Their mission of helping hotels own and deepen their direct guest relationships, rather than ceding them to third-party channels, aligns well with RAC's focus on backing companies that help drive measurable impact for their customers. We are excited to partner with the Smart Host team as they continue to deepen their platform capabilities and extend their reach across the DACH market and beyond.
To learn more about Smart Host, visit www.smart-host.com.
