Airbnb’s new rival from Finland touts one advantage: It’s ‘ridiculously cleaner,’ snaps €4M funding

Bob W announces a €4 million seed funding round led by Founders VC (Copenhagen, Denmark, and Silicon Valley, CA) with participation from leading Nordic and Baltic real estate investors like NREP and Kaamos. Additional investors include the Baltic VCs Superangel and United Angels as well as prominent angel investors from Germany and the Nordics.

Locally curated, high-quality suites

Bob W is an alternative to hotels and hosted homes – locally curated, high-quality suites featuring the livability and affordability of short-stay homes, embedded in the local community. Coupled with a strong branded consistency, quality standards, focus on sustainability, integrated local services, and 100% digital and touchless. 

 “Thanks to our unique combination of touchless hospitality features, like online check-ins, 24/7 keyless entry & chat-based customer service, zero required face-to-face interaction, absence of shared spaces such as front desks, and the recently launched ‘Ridiculously Clean Standard’, Bob W is the smartest, safest, and cleanest hospitality choice in the new normal,” says Niko Karstikko, CEO & Co-Founder.

Exceptionally clean for post-COVID era travelling

The Ridiculously Clean Standard is a meticulous 63-step program designed to clean, sanitise, disinfect, and, finally, seal every suite. Exceeding industry standards, the program features highlights such as the use of specialised equipment, including electrostatic disinfectant sprayers and management inspection of every suite prior to its sealing. 

However, Bob’s vision is not merely to provide a safer, reinvented travel experience. Rather, it is to craft a future where tech, hospitality, and real estate come together to maximise efficiency and create value.

The brand also has plans to expand beyond 1,000 units across the Nordics, Baltics, and the UK over the next 24 months. Bob W is developing a full-stack hospitality tech platform, which will serve as the foundation for an asset-light growth strategy going forward.

“Bob W is grabbing hospitality by the horns and reinventing it for the modern traveller,” adds Niko Karstikko, Co-founder & CEO.

“Since the first meeting, we’ve been impressed with Bob W’s team and what they have accomplished with limited resources. Considering the current situation that’s hitting the hospitality industry harder than most, our esteem has not waned. While being lean and nimble has been a clear advantage, their super scalable, tech-enabled model lends itself well to market fluctuations,” says Tommy Andersen, Co-founder & Managing Partner, by Founders.

“We believe the founders’ strong complementing profiles and experience make them perfectly positioned to target the intersection between tech, hospitality, and real estate. We look forward to supporting the team on their journey onwards,” he adds. 

Main image credits: Bob W