TrustYou has bought back full ownership of its shares from Recruit Holdings, five years after the Japanese travel/media company acquired the German guest feedback platform.
Ben Jost, a significant investor in the management buyout: “We see TrustYou’s future in helping hospitality and travel to make guests happy.”
The management buyout was backed and led by technology investor Ventech. TrustYou founder and CEO Ben Jost is also a significant investor, and rounding out the remaining capital contribution is Ullrich Kastner, founder and CEO of MyHotelShop.
With the new ownership comes new vision, with Jost saying, “We see TrustYou’s future in helping hospitality and travel to make guests happy. Today’s core focus is to provide a best-in-class platform for hoteliers, DMO’s and travel partners to measure and act on guest happiness via surveys, reviews, and guest communication.
“We will also be very active in acquiring and building more best-of-breed technology and tools to further increase guest happiness and revenue while decreasing operational cost.”
The acquisition of TrustYou by Recruit, announced on June 14, 2017, was described as “a major milestone for TrustYou and results in increased opportunities for growth across the globe”. It was also seen as the right fit at the right time for Recruit which had declared its goal to discover “Opportunities for Life” around the world.
To the industry at large, it was seen as an exciting partnership between a German-based travel startup, founded in 2008, and a leading Japanese technology group, founded in 1960. That was also the year when user review players in Asia found their exits. Earlier in 2017, ReviewPro was acquired China’s Shiji at a US$35m valuation. The year before, TrustYou had acquired the Asia-based Brand Karma’s user review tool and the rest of Brand Karma’s business was then absorbed into a joint venture with the Singapore-based Silver Needle Hospitality Group.
At that time, Jost said, “We meticulously searched for a partner who would help support and execute TrustYou’s vision to build the world’s largest guest feedback platform while allowing us to run the company as independently as before. With Recruit, we found a partner that is eager to support us with its financial resources and knowledge which will give us the necessary boost to accelerate future growth, be it organically or via further acquisitions.”
Aya Yamato (left), then heading investments at Recruit Holdings, speaking about the acquisition of TrustYou at WiT Japan 2017.
On Recruit Holdings’ side, Yoshihiro Kitamura, who was then head of media and solution strategic business, said, “TrustYou sparked our interest three years ago with its unique technology and product portfolio, as well as its highly successful, entrepreneurial team. Its remarkable growth from a small start up to a globally operating company is very impressive to us and we see a high potential for further growth and expansion. We are very committed to providing TrustYou with the necessary resources it needs to spearhead our big ambitions in the hospitality and travel market.”
Following the management buyout, Kitamura, who is now president and representative director of Recruit Co Ltd, said, “The opportunity to include TrustYou in our overall strategy for the last five years was a positive experience for us to lean into the hospitality sector and understand the importance of technology in travel. TrustYou has a strong foundation, and we have no doubt the company will continue to seek innovative solutions to enhance the guest experience.”
The TrustYou media release noted, “Recruit was very pleased with TrustYou’s development and sees a strong future as they continue to innovate and focus on the customer journey. Since Recruit’s portfolio strategy no longer aligns with the further growth of TrustYou, the team was very supportive of the management buyout.”
Ventech’s managing partner Christian Claussen said, “When the opportunity presented itself to invest in Ben and the team, it was an easy decision. We see a clear path to a significant return on our investment and have complete confidence in the team, and product, to deliver outstanding results.”
Jan Webering, former CEO of one of Europe’s largest engineering IT Service companies, Avenga, and the new chairman of TrustYou’s board, said of the acquisition, “The new holding will focus on creating value by developing technologies that support hospitality providers in delivering an exceptional guest experience. The speed by which consumer expectations change will require dynamic and scalable technology solutions to ensure that travel and hospitality companies can consistently deliver a great experience. In the end, we are here to help make guests happy.”
