Articles tagged “vcroundup”

This week's travel startups, including YouTrip, GetYourGuide, Away, and Anyplace, announced more than $611 million in funding.

Planning and booking complex international trips remains a pain point, and Tourlane, Skylark, and TravelLocal are part of a growing wave of companies attempting to provide savvier solutions for travelers. Plus: funding news for authentic souvenir aggregator Rare Planet, serviced apartments provider Mint House, and sustainable mobility tech provider TransitScreen.

Masabi enables cities, such as Denver and Sydney, to sell tickets on public transit via the mobile apps of travel companies like Uber. Meanwhile, Elenium disrupts airport self check-in, Pana pivots into corporate travel, and Sweetguest surfs the growth in management services for vacation rentals.

This week’s startup funding announcements reveal broader industry investment themes, such as the need for marketing tools for the owners of short-term rentals and for talent recruitment technology to help fill labor gaps in the tourism industry.

Two event tech startups, Bizzabo and Gather, have raised millions in funding to help businesses and restaurants manage and grow events. The companies are benefiting from a 2019 Megatrend that Skift summarized as "real-world experiences gain value in an era of tech burnout."

Aditi Balbir, founder and CEO of V Resorts, has impressed investors with her take on asset-light hospitality management in India, like an Oyo for resorts. In a distinctive touch, the company uses and markets goods and furnishings made by local crafts workers.

It's eye-catching that Fyle, a Bengaluru-based expense management software company, has received funding from Tiger Global, a venture firm that was an early backer of Flipkart, Spotify, LinkedIn, and Despegar.

This week corporate travel tech startup Lola, attractions software builder Bookingkit, and hospitality job marketplace Jitjatjo collectively raised more than $53 million in funding.

This week travel startups Guesty, The Plum Guide, Zeus, Zuzu, Welcome Pickups, Vntrip, and Hostfully revealed more than $76 million in funding collectively.

This week travel startups BookingPal, Instawork, Withlocals, Ayenda Rooms, and Questo together announced more than $30 million in funding. Of note, famous venture investor Bill Gurley took a stake in Instawork's hiring marketplace, and mammoth investor Softbank is betting on Ayenda Rooms as Colombia's version of budget hotel franchisor Oyo.