Best Travel and Hospitality Companies in Chicago, United States
The 118 best Travel and Hospitality companies in Chicago, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Great Wolf.
Ranked: Best Travel and Hospitality companies in Chicago
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Wolf Provider of Amusement Parks | $170M | 86 mo ago | Acquired | — | 1997 | Adobe Experience ManagerJavaSalesforce+25 | — |
| 2 | Great Wolf Resorts Operator of indoor water parks | $127M | 44 mo ago | Acquired | — | 1997 | SentryAnimate.cssVue.js+18 | 2 internships |
| 3 | AELF Provider of aircraft and engine leasing and trading services 21Funding top 24%Talent bottom 49%Tech bottom 40%Global bottom 36% All 5 signals ▾Fundingtop 24% Talentbottom 49% Techbottom 40% Globalbottom 36% Marketbottom 16% Funding: Raised $126M across 3 rounds · 3 rounds over 2 yrs (1.5/yr) Talent: 1 named leader on record · 1 C-suite/founder profile curated rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 21/100 | $126M | 11 mo ago | Funding Raised | Haobo Ma Founder & CEO | 2015 | WebflowGSAPMicrosoft 365+7 | — |
| 4 | Residco Provider of leasing and financial solutions for aviation and rail assets 50Innovation top 20%Funding top 24%Product top 32%Talent top 38% All 7 signals ▾Innovationtop 20% Fundingtop 24% Producttop 32% Talenttop 38% Techbottom 49% Globalbottom 33% Marketbottom 14% Innovation: 4 product lines Funding: Raised $100M across 1 rounds · 1 rounds over 1 yrs (1.0/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 50/100 | $100M | 0 mo ago | Funding Raised | Vincent Kolber Founder&Owner | 1982 | WordPressMySQLPHP+22 | 1 expansion |
| 5 | Vertiport Chicago Operator of charted flights | $13M | 154 mo ago | Seed | Anthony Pontarelli CEO | 2012 | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+14 | — |
| 6 | Chicago Yacht Works Premier Chicago boating facility offering comprehensive services, sales, storage, and education | $4M | 105 mo ago | Funding Raised | Rob Hannah CEO | 2001 | WordPressDreamWeaverMySQL+21 | — |
| 7 | Zencity Operator of guest homes | $2M | 80 mo ago | Acquired | Gary Filipp Co-Founder | 2017 | — | — |
| 8 | Dineamic Provider of hospitality and management services | $2M | 141 mo ago | Seed | Lucas Stoioff Founder & President | 2006 | SentryApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+24 | 4 job openings · 1 expansion · 2 awards |
| 9 | National Museum Celebrates Mexican art and culture through exhibitions, education, and community engagement | $379K | 134 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | 1987 | Tailwind CSSNginxCloudflare+10 | — |
Top 12 Travel and Hospitality companies in Chicago
#1
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 1982 · 21 employees$100Mraised▾
Provider of leasing and financial solutions for aviation and rail assets. The company invests in commercial and corporate aircraft, engines, freight cars, and locomotives. Structuring expertise combined with an extensive network of relationships with financial institutions allows new entrants to benefit from experience in joint ventures and structured debt. The company also manages large pools of freight cars, locomotives, and aircraft for other lessors and joint venture partners. Additionally, residual support and derivative structures are provided for the benefit of other investors.
- Jan 2026Conventional Debt$100M
#2
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015$126Mraised▾
Provider of aircraft and engine leasing and trading services. This company specializes in mid-to-end-of-life assets, offering customized leasing solutions to meet diverse client needs. These solutions include operating leases, stub leases, power-by-the-hour agreements, sale and leasebacks, and finance leases. The company leverages extensive experience and creative approaches to build long-term relationships with its clients. They also facilitate the sale of surplus aircraft and engine parts.
- Jul 2025Conventional Debt$31M
- Jun 2025Conventional Debt$55M
- May 2024Conventional Debt$40M
#3
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 1997$127Mraised▾
Operator of indoor water parks
- Sep 2022Conventional Debt$127M
#4
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 1997 · 6000 employees$170Mraised▾
Provider of Amusement Parks. It is is the indoor water park resort. It provides water plays for families to enjoy under one roof
- Apr 2019Conventional Debt$170M
#5
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2012$13Mraised▾
Operator of charted flights
- Jul 2013Seed$13M
#6
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2001$4.1Mraised▾
Premier Chicago boating facility offering comprehensive services, sales, storage, and education. They are a one-stop shop for all boating needs, serving both new and experienced boaters. They provide indoor and outdoor storage options, certified service technicians for vessel maintenance, and an accredited academy for boating education and certifications. They facilitate boat buying and selling as one of the Midwest's largest brokers, featuring a showroom. Services include boat maintenance, winterization, captain delivery, and on-the-water assistance. They aim to enhance the boating experience through quality service and comprehensive support. They offer sales, financing, boat trade-ins, storage requests, and a blog.
- Sep 2017Conventional Debt$4.1M
#7
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2017 · 12 employees$2Mraised▾
Operator of an online property rental marketplace intended to rent places or book them for travel stays. The company offers apartment-style suites maintained to hotel standards, located in buildings with a host of amenities both convenient and luxurious, providing guests with convenient stays on their vacations.
- Oct 2019Seed$2M
#8
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2006 · 422 employees$1.8Mraised▾
Provider of hospitality and management services
- Sep 2014Seed$1.8M
#9
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 1987 · 78 employees$379Kraised▾
Celebrates Mexican art and culture through exhibitions, education, and community engagement. It showcases a wide range of Mexican cultural expressions and art forms, from ancient to modern, representing the Mexican community's voice. The museum offers free access to art, exhibitions, and resources for educators, families, teens, and the community. It provides tours, events, and programs like Día de Muertos celebrations and art workshops. The museum fosters cultural understanding and appreciation through its permanent collection and special exhibitions, highlighting Mexican identity and artistic talent. It also provides opportunities for donations, memberships, volunteering, and venue rentals, supporting its mission to keep Mexican art accessible to all.
- Apr 2015Grant (prize money)$125K
- Mar 2011Grant (prize money)$20K
- Sep 2010Grant (prize money)$30K
- Mar 2010Grant (prize money)$60K
#10
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2018$20Kraised▾
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- May 2020Seed$20K
#11
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 1989 · 217 employees—raised▾
Provider of aircraft leasing, supply chain management, and financial advisory services
- Nov 2022PE—
#12
Public · Chicago, Illinois · founded 1957 · 206000 employees—raised▾
Hyatt is a global hotel chain. Headquartered in Illinois. They manage, franchise, own and develop Hyatt branded hotels, resorts and residential and vacation ownership properties around the world. As of June 30, 2012, the company’s worldwide portfolio consisted of 492 properties. In 2022, the company recorded annual revenues of $6.29B and a net profit of $0.59B.
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Travel and Hospitality coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
Common questions
Riya reads income statements for fun. She covers the real money in a sector — revenue, growth, who actually earns — and never met a vague claim she didn't want a number for.