Proptech startups Casai and Nomah announced their merger agreement that includes a capital increase from their current investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Loft and Monashees. The amount of funding was not disclosed due to a confidentiality agreement, but it will be used to enable the integration of the business and expand both businesses to other geographies in Latin America, as both companies commented in an interview with Forbes Mexico.
Casai and Nomah are dedicated to short-term luxury apartment rentals. They partner with property owners to remodel, refurbish and rent out their properties, combining the flexibility of digitally managed accommodation with the hospitality standards of traditional hotels. This model allows owners of idle properties to divest themselves of the leasing process and hand over that task to Casai/Nomah.
According to both companies, the short-term rental market in Latin America is $60 billion, with growing demand for the ‘work-from-anywhere’ lifestyle-detented by the pandemic-resulting in more foreigners seeking short- to medium-term accommodations. With the merger, the new company will manage 3,000 apartments in Brazil and Mexico “to serve a wide range of corporate and leisure guests.”
“We have the widest range of units in the short-term rental industry in Latin America, ranging from urban studios to large apartments in leisure destinations […] Our average stay is 6 days, but varies from 1 night to several months. Our goal is to become the best hospitality solution for all guests in the cities in which we operate, regardless of their needs or the reason for their trip.”
said Casai and Nomah in conversation with Forbes Mexico.
Both brands (Casai and Nomah) will coexist in the market while the integration process is consolidated. In the new combined company, Nico Barawid will lead the operation as CEO and Thomaz Guz will be responsible for the integration between the two companies, and will serve as president of the combined company.
The new merged company has a clear path: to become the strongest short-term rental player in Latin America, and they believe that joining forces will allow them to scale their operations, including landing in new geographies.
In the short term, the new company will focus on integrating its operations, portfolios and teams to build a strong internal culture.