Whistle

Whistle, founded in 2014 by Christopher Hovanessian and Jonathan Rojas, established itself as a significant player in the hospitality technology sector before its acquisition by Cloudbeds in June 2022. Hovanessian, with a background in entrepreneurship, identified a communication gap in customer service during his time in the corporate relocation business, which became the foundational problem Whistle aimed to solve.

The company developed a cloud-based guest engagement and messaging platform designed specifically for the hospitality industry, serving clients from major hotel chains like Choice Hotels and Accor to independent hotels and vacation rentals. Its business model centered on providing a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that unified guest communications across various channels, including SMS, email, and website live chat, into a single dashboard. This allowed lodging businesses to streamline operations, manage guest interactions more efficiently, and automate routine tasks.

Whistle's platform offered a suite of features to enhance the guest journey from pre-arrival to post-stay. Key functionalities included unified communication tools, digital registration with e-signature capabilities, digitized arrival experiences, and the ability to automate guest requests. By integrating with property management systems (PMS), the software provided a seamless experience for both staff and guests, helping to increase guest satisfaction and operational efficiency. The company's success was marked by several accolades, including being named the top-rated guest messaging software by Hotel Tech Report for five consecutive years. Following a seed funding round of $1.42M in 2020, Whistle was acquired by Cloudbeds to be integrated into a unified platform, aiming to create a more frictionless hospitality experience.

Keywords: guest messaging, hotel communication, hospitality technology, guest engagement, hotel software, contactless check-in, digital registration, guest journey, hotel operations, hospitality SaaS, customer communication management, vacation rental tech, hotel CRM, unified communications, guest experience platform, property management system integration, hotel task management, e-signature for hotels, digitized arrival, guest services software