Hospitality tech startup Ambl has closed a £1m seed funding round as it launches its platform that matches diners and drinkers with available venues in real-time.
Founded in London in 2021, Ambl has now launched its app for hospitality businesses to fill available spaces last minute in the UK.
The app matches users geographically to restaurants and bars that have capacity within a 30-minute time window.
“Ambl’s USP is in its ability to connect spontaneous moments of dining and drinking out with brilliant venues that have real-time availability. In just one click, venues can turn off or turn on the platform to show seats are currently available: combatting last-minute cancellations, detrimental no-shows or unexpected lulls in bookings,” said Ambl co-founder and CEO, Aaron Solomon.
“As we move into a crucial and busy Christmas season, where high-value group bookings are more commonplace, we hope Ambl can be the necessary gift to alleviate some of the venues’ costly pain points surrounding bookings, and also provide customers with a tool to find somewhere to eat or drink at a moment’s notice.”
The new funding for Ambl has brought the total amount raised by the company to £2.3m. The latest investment came from a number of business leaders in the hospitality sector.
“As the sector moves into an incredibly busy, and financially important, final quarter of the year, any tool we can use to help time-poor venues is essential,” said Ambl investor Jon Spiteri.
“That’s where I see the value of Ambl – as a way to tackle two birds with one stone: the first being empty tables that plague almost all venues for a host of reasons; and two, the customer needing a trusted table in a moment’s notice.”