Resthour Technology

About Resthour Technology

Resthour Technology, legally known as Hangzhou Ruiwo Technology Co., Ltd., was established in Hangzhou in August 2017. The company focuses on developing software and hardware solutions to automate hotel front desk operations. The founder and CEO, Wang Qi, brings a unique background to the venture, having previously served as a deputy director in the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau. His experience in the police force, particularly in areas related to hotel security and registration, provided him with firsthand insights into the inefficiencies of traditional hotel check-in procedures, which became the catalyst for his entrepreneurial journey.

The company's core business revolves around providing intelligent hotel check-in solutions, targeting a market that includes business hotels, express hotels, and guesthouses with high customer traffic. Resthour Technology's business model is primarily based on leasing its automated systems to hotels, a strategy that prices the service below the average cost of a front desk employee in major Chinese cities. This model includes continuous updates and upgrades to the leased equipment, ensuring clients have access to the latest technology.

Resthour's main offering is a self-service check-in and check-out platform. This system integrates with hotel Property Management Systems (PMS), door locks, digital payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay, and public security databases. The platform's key feature is its ability to streamline the guest arrival and departure process, reducing check-in time to as little as ten seconds and check-out to three seconds. A significant selling point is the integration with China's Ministry of Public Security's e-ID (or "net-certificate") system, making it the first company in the hotel sector to implement this feature. This allows guests to check-in using facial recognition even if they do not have their physical ID card, as long as they have their smartphone. Beyond the kiosk, the company offers a more holistic intelligent hotel experience, including features like facial recognition for elevator access, room entry, and in-hotel purchases.

Since its inception, Resthour Technology has achieved several milestones. The self-check-in platform was officially launched in January 2018. The company has secured multiple rounds of funding, including a seed round of 1.5 million RMB in February 2018, an angel round of several tens of millions of RMB in late 2018, and a 50 million RMB Series A round in July 2019, followed by a Series A+ round in December 2020. By mid-2019, the company had contracts with over 10,000 hotels across numerous provinces in China.