Domio
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Domio was a New York hospitality startup founded in 2016 that designed, leased, and operated branded apart-hotels: it leased portions of apartment buildings or entire properties, furnished the units, and rented them to group and extended-stay travelers as a bridge between hotels and home-sharing.
02 / Domio FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Domio's master-lease model carried fixed rent obligations that turned lethal when Covid-19 crushed urban travel demand. In August 2020 it was caught renting units under pseudonyms, and all its host accounts were suspended; the co-founders resigned in September. A $10 million emergency raise failed to close, and in November 2020 Domio shut down, selling its assets through an assignment for the benefit of creditors - a rapid unraveling after a $100 million Series B just a year earlier.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Domio is founded in New York to build branded apart-hotels for group travelers.
- Peak funding round
Domio raises a $100 million Series B - half equity led by GGV Capital, half debt from Upper90.
- Operations ended
After an account suspension, founder resignations, and a failed $10 million raise, Domio shuts down in November 2020; assets are sold for the benefit of creditors.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Founded 2016: master-lease apart-hotels for groups
- 02
$100M Series B in Dec 2019 (half equity, half debt)
- 03
2020: caught listing under pseudonyms; accounts suspended; founders resigned
- 04
Failed $10M emergency raise; shut Nov 2020; assets sold for creditors