Skift Take
Investors are betting that the trend in renting RVs won't run out of gas after the pandemic wanes. They've funded Outdoorsy, an Airbnb-type service for recreational vehicles. Investors think the startup's new private vehicle insurance product will help accelerate the RV trend.
Investors adored Airbnb in its early days because it broadened the market for home-sharing. The startup encouraged more people to rent out their spare rooms to travelers, putting excess housing capacity to work. Now some investors are backing a new travel startup called Outdoorsy on the hope it will perform a similar trick for recreational vehicles (RVs) as Airbnb did for short-term rentals.
Outdoorsy, an on-demand marketplace for recreational vehicles (RVs), said on Thursday that it had raised $120 million in equity and debt financing. The startup, which had raised about $75 million before this, is now the best-funded of several new RV travel startups, including RVShare, Indie Campers, and ShareACamper.
The Austin-based company raised $90 million in equity in a mezzanine round led by Moore Strategic Ventures, ADAR1 Partners, Monashee Capital, SiriusPoint, and Convivialite Ventures. It has also gained access to a $30 million debt facility from Pacific Western Bank.
If things go according to plan, Outdoorsy may be on a path to eit
