Acclaimed sustainability software startup Weeva – forced to shut its doors in July – has been given a new lease on life after an acquisition of the platform by leading global travel sustainability coalition Travalyst.
“Travalyst has acquired the Weeva platform,” the coalition announced on LinkedIn. “As an organisation that shares our vision for democratising access to sustainability information in travel, the Weeva team built a highly regarded platform that we are aiming to integrate into our next phase of work.”
Weeva Co-Founder and CEO Julie Cheetham has also been appointed as Travalyst’s Chief Operations Officer.
After Weeva’s establishment in 2021, Cheetham helped grow the startup into a multi-award-winning platform used in 86 countries.
The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform enables tourism businesses to adopt measurable and holistic sustainability practices that improve operational efficiency and build resilience. Focused on 18 parameters across conservation, culture, community and commerce, Weeva enables accommodation providers to monitor, manage, improve and report on their sustainability initiatives using digital tools, educational guides, analytics and reports.
Weeva stopped operating as a commercial entity earlier this year as, according to Cheetham, the hospitality market was not ready for the platform.
“We have concluded that the Weeva product is forging a path well ahead of the market, impacting the scalability and overall sustainability of the business model.
“The addressable market is well below our initial expectations with market insight and analysis demonstrating that many in the industry are not yet ready to adopt a more rigorous approach to sustainability.”
The platform’s coding complexity, fragmentation of the sustainability tech market and risk of unlisted hotel groups deferring compliance with sustainability regulations were additional factors impacting the company’s commercial viability.
