Hostel Hunting raises US$500K seed funding

• Round led by KK Fund, with Incubate Fund and Cradle Fund also taking part
• Aims to be easiest and safest way to find and book student accommodations

 
MALAYSIAN startup Hostel Hunting Sdn Bhd said it has raised US$500,000 in a seed round led by KK Fund, for its student accommodation marketplace.
 
Also participating in this round were Incubate Fund and Cradle Fund, the latter a Ministry of Finance agency.
 
Launched in January with 600 accommodations in a single student area, Hostel Hunting said it now has more than 21,000 accommodations in its inventory in most of the ‘student towns’ in Malaysia. It has also launched its Singapore presence this month.
 
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The funds will enable Hostel Hunting to scale even faster, the company said in a statement.
 
“The funds will allow us to build an even stronger team, enhance our product and really kick-start our regional expansion,” said cofounder and chief executive officer Wen Khai.
 
Hostel Hunting aims to be the easiest and safest way to find and book student accommodations. Students can search for their choice of accommodations by area or institution. Detailed photos and descriptions are provided for each listing, the company said.
 
To facilitate the booking process, the platform also enables students and landlords to connect with each other. Students are assured as the accommodations are verified by Hostel Hunting, and all bookings come with a 100% refund guarantee.
 
is a Japanese-based seed-stage investment group backed by Tencent, Yahoo Japan, Innovation Network Corporation of Japan and other investors.
 
KK Fund is a Singapore-based venture capital fund investing in seed stage Internet and mobile startups in South-East Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
 
“Hostel Hunting is a first mover in this untapped student market here in South-East Asia,” said KK Fund general partner Koichi Saito (pic).
 
“The founders have deep understanding … of the student accommodation market from their background. Also, the number of students and intakes are growing by close to 10 % every year in South-East Asia and I see massive market potential in this space,” he added.
 
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