Lobby raises USD 2.2 million to expand its AI platform

USD 2.2m to scale AI group bookings

Lobby has raised USD 2.2 million from Founderful, in a move the company says will accelerate deployment of its AI platform for automating group bookings beyond hospitality. The investment also brings Pascal Mathis, co-founder of the venture capital firm and of GetYourGuide, onto the start-up’s board. The aim is to speed up commercial rollout and deepen its reach with B2B suppliers.

The platform automates end-to-end handling of group requests arriving by email, a critical sales channel for hotels, MICE organisers, transport providers and activity operators. The engine can understand intent in more than 100 languages, check availability across systems, apply contracts and negotiated terms, select rates, manage allotments and draft tailored quotes. It follows up when there is no response, converts accepted offers into reservations in the PMS and tracks payments and changes through to arrival. The company says a case can be processed in 30 seconds.

“Lobby is tackling one of the most complex and valuable segments in travel: group bookings” – said Pascal Mathis, Co-Founder and Partner of Founderful. “What stood out to us is their ability to move beyond surface-level automation and execute workflows across systems. The travel experience of the founder team helps to build a solution which solves a real problem of the industry.”

Lobby says the funding will help it expand across the B2B travel value chain. “Having Founderful’s trust gives us even greater strength to take Lobby to the next level: beyond the hospitality sector and into new verticals across the travel industry” – explained Romy Abbrederis, CEO and Co-Founder of Lobby. “With our engine, we will help our customers automate processes that were previously considered too complex and unlock new levels of efficiency and revenue for them.”

The solution integrates with Gmail, Outlook and hotel property management systems. Lobby cites an average of four days for new technical integrations and up to two days for onboarding. Customers can choose full automation or a human-in-the-loop model with staff approval before sending. Founded in 2025, the company is now targeting MICE, transport, cruises and experiences.