AUSTIN, TX—HotSchedules, provider of workforce and inventory management solutions for the restaurant industry, and Fourth, provider of an integrated hospitality workforce management and cost-control operations platform, have merged business operations in an agreement backed by Marlin Equity Partners and Insight Partners.
Together, the merged company now represents the world’s largest and only provider of end-to-end restaurant and hospitality management solutions for customers across the globe and of all sizes—from a single location or franchisee restaurant to a global restaurant or hotel chain. The combined company’s complete software-as-service (SaaS) solution suite including: scheduling, time & attendance, applicant tracking, training, inventory management/procurement, HR/benefits and payroll services, now serves customers in 120,000 locations worldwide and is supported by a unified team across offices in the U.S., U.K., Bulgaria, China, Australia and U.A.E.
“The merger of Fourth and HotSchedules presents a huge opportunity for growth and innovation,” said Ben Hood, co-founder/CEO of Fourth and CEO of the newly merged company. “We are excited to join forces with a company that aligns so closely to our mission, values, history, culture and overall commitment to customer success. After overseeing Fourth’s journey to date, it is a dream partnership.”
David Cantu, co-founder/chief customer officer at HotSchedules, added, “Merging with Fourth will enable us to accelerate innovation. As the two largest players in the restaurant and hospitality vertical, our combined strengths and industry expertise will ensure our customers have the solutions they need to solve complex business problems and remain competitive. We look forward to what the future holds and serving the industry together.”
“We are excited to team up with Insight Partners in order to bring together two industry leaders,” said Doug Bayerd, a principal at Marlin Equity Partners. “Our combined investment underscores our commitment to the hospitality management solutions market and the value these companies provide for their customers.”
HotSchedules’ core workforce management, employee engagement and back-of-house solutions combined with Fourth’s workforce management and cost-control operations platform offers customers the industry’s only complete back-of-house hospitality management solution, according to the companies.