Category: tourism

Holidu books $45M after growing its vacation rentals business ~50% YoY during COVID-19

Vacation rental startup Holidu has tucked $45 million in Series D funding into its suitcase — bringing its total raised since being founded back in 2014 to more than $120M. The latest funding round is led by 83North with participation from existing investors Prime Ventures, EQT ventures, Coparion, Senovo, Kees…

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Airbnb ups its debt by $1BN amid the coronavirus travel crunch

Airbnb has secured commitments of $1 billion for a syndicated term loan from institutional investors, it said. The emergency cash injection comes as the coronavirus travel freeze continues to hammer vacation rentals, with holidaymakers locked down at home and global travel banned or heavily discouraged for public health reasons. Neither…

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Airbnb extends no-charge cancellation policy due to coronavirus

Because of the current state of the global coronavirus pandemic, Airbnb has announced updates to its policies that provide reservation cancellations without charge for stays booked in specific areas. Guests who booked reservations through Airbnb in Mainland China, South Korea, Italy and the United States are now eligible to cancel…

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Airbnb and three other p2p rental platforms agree to share limited pan-EU data

The European Commission announced yesterday it’s reached a data-sharing agreement with vacation rental platforms Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia Group and Tripadvisor — trumpeting the arrangement as a “landmark agreement” which will allow the EU’s statistical office to publish data on short-stay accommodations offered via these platforms across the bloc. It said…

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Oyo layoffs, Airbnb’s delayed IPO and the long-term quandary of investing in travel startups

It’s the best and worst of times for travel startups. Massive growth over the past few decades has made tourism one of the big global industries, covering everything from recreation to business conferences to shopping sprees. But doubts about the future of the industry are growing — and not just…

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Japanese vacation rental management startup H2O raises $7 million Series B from investors including Samsung Ventures

Japan’s tourism industry is booming, but it faces a hotel room shortage, especially in Tokyo as it prepares for the Summer Olympics. H2O addresses the market opportunity with a platform that helps vacation rental owners manage their properties. The startup announced today it has raised $7 million in Series B…

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