Black Diamond Group and LodgeLink Announces $3 Million of Funding from the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund

CALGARY, Alberta, Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LodgeLink, a wholly owned subsidiary of Black Diamond Group Limited (TSX:BDI) is pleased to announce up to $3 million of funding through the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (“OCIF”).

LodgeLink’s digital B2B workplace travel platform links hotels, remote camps and lodges, ground transportation and airlines, duty of care, and other service providers with businesses seeking crew travel solutions. The platform facilitates workforce logistics management, provides better visibility and cost control, and creates digital efficiencies for accounts payable technologies and consolidating payments for an organization’s crew travel. The platform is undergoing continued development to include mobile apps, GPS mapping, automated reporting and predictive analytics, integration of key supplier software (such as duty of care), and direct links to air and ground transportation.

LodgeLink recognized an opportunity in the market for providing a platform to efficiently connect the supply and demand of room and accommodation bookings for companies employing field crews. There was strong early traction on the platform with remote workforce camps in Canada with a number of industrial customers. LodgeLink has since scaled rapidly and now lists more than 2,000 hotels and lodge properties on its platform, representing over 200,000 rooms, and serves more than 500 companies in Canada and the United States.

“LodgeLink is applying innovative technology to transform workforce travel,” said Trevor Haynes, CEO LodgeLink and Chairman & CEO Black Diamond Group. “In partnership with OCIF, we’re recruiting and relocating strong tech-based talent while also developing local expertise in Calgary to further build the capabilities of the LodgeLink platform, which is key to our rapid growth and continued success.”

“The support of LodgeLink by OCIF is an investment in expanding and broadening our tech ecosystem and working with an established industry player to apply technology in solving an industrywide challenge. We have been extremely impressed with Trevor and the entire team at LodgeLink and are excited to support our collective vision of helping to digitize and transform industries in Calgary,” said Mark Blackwell, Chair of the OCIF Board of Directors and Partner at Builders VC.