Capital One Travel, a new travel portal powered by Hopper, will launch in the second half of 2021.

Hopper, the app-based travel marketplace, announced Wednesday its raise of $ 170 million via a Series F round led by Capital One (NYSE: COF) and including participation by new and existing investors such as GS Growth, Inovia Capital, WestCap Group, and Citi Ventures.

The start-up also announced a partnership with Capital One for the launch of Capital One Travel, a new and improved portal offering an innovative customer booking experience for Capital One cardholders.

Hopper says last year was the most challenging year the travel industry had ever faced yet it emerged stronger, “quietly” raising $ 70 million in spring. Notably, despite the ravages of the pandemic, the start-up managed to clock triple-digit revenue growth in 2020.

Customer-centric product innovation

Hopper lays credit for the performance squarely at the door of product innovation, as well as investing heavily in customer support.

It incorporated more fully automated features in its app, empowering customers to directly manage travel imperatives such as cancellations, changes, the redemption of future travel credit, and insurance.

The travel app also introduced new categories for travelers such as car rentals and alternate accommodations. Furthermore, it deployed data and AI-driven fintech products that enabled its users to travel with peace of mind.

Use of funds

The company said it will use the new money primarily for the launch of Hopper Cloud, a new B2B initiative.

Hopper expects travel to rebound in the second half of 2021. That’s when it expects to launch Capital One Travel, a portal that will marry Hopper’s equal expertise with Capital One’s digitally oriented customer base.

Primarily, the new portal will reinvent the process of booking travel, and provide benefits to cardholders as they seek to satisfy their pent-up vacation needs.

Customers will benefit from sophisticated price prediction and alert technology that will ensure great value for travel bookings. Also, customers would be able to more easily change or cancel their reservations.  By integrating with the Capital One rewards ecosystem the users would earn and redeem rewards through the platform itself.

“As travel begins to return, Capital One and Hopper are both focused on finding new ways to create best-in-class, intuitive solutions that make all parts of the travel journey seamless for their customers,” Hopper said in a statement.

Related Story:    Travel and Experiences Operator Klook Notches $200M