Skift Take

As HomeAway looks to expand into cities, and the Middle East, Istanbul is a prime location to cultivate that growth.

Each week we create a roundup of travel startups that have received or announced funding that week. The total amount raised this week was about $16.8 million.

Here are six companies that announced they raised funding this week, listed in order by the highest amount raised. See previous roundups here.

>>Campanda raised a Series A round of $5.5 million from existing investors Groupe Arnault/LVMH, Atlantic Labs and b-to-v partners AG and four new investors including Accel Partners and Scentan Ventures bringing the Berlin, Germany-based startup’s total funding to $8.5 million.

As a booking site for RVs and other recreational vehicles, Campanda is half in the sharing economy by letting private vehicle owners rent to travelers and half connecting commercial suppliers with consumers. It currently lists 21,000 vehicles available in 32 countries, and has dedicated localized sites for Germany, the U.S., U.K., Austria, Switzerland, and France.

>>TravelersBox raised a $4.5 million Venture round from seven new investors including Global Blue, iAngels and Pitango Venture Capital and this is the Istanbul, Turkey-based startup’s first funding round.

TravelersBox was launched in 2012 and operates kiosks at several European airports allowing international passengers to deposit their leftover currency when leaving a destination. Travelers can deposit the currency into their PayPal accounts or redeem it for various gift cards.

>>Batuta raised a $2.5 million Series A round from new investor Siraj Palestine Fund and this is the Palestine, Arkansas-based startup’s first funding round.

Batatu is an Arabic trip-planning site with more than 1.5 million unique monthly users and claims that 16 million travelers have used its site in the past year. The company will use the additional funds to invest in its core business and develop a new booking platform.

>>Flat4Day raised a $2 million Venture round from new investors HomeAway and 212 Ltd bringing the Istanbul, Turkey-based startup’s total funding to $6 million.

HomeAway led the round and took a minority investment in Flat4Day, a Turkish vacation rentals site, to help with the former’s expansion in the Middle East. Through a pre-existing partnership, HomeAway already lists the majority of Flat4Day’s nearly 30,000 properties on its sites.

The company was founded in 2012 and integrates with Arabic travel agencies in addition to conducting in-person verification for the majority of its properties.

>>hotels.ng raised a $1.2 million Series A round from new investors EchoVC Partners and Omidyar Network bringing the Lagos, Nigeria-based startup’s total funding to $1.5 million.

Hotels.ng is a hotel booking site in Nigeria with more than 7,000 properties on the site.

>>GuestU raised a $1.1 million Seed round from new investor Portugal Ventures.

The London-based startup helps hoteliers and apartment owners engage with their guests using an Android and iOS mobile app offering property information, booking services and GPS guided routes that work without a Wi-Fi connection.

 

 

smartphone

The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: funding, vcroundup

Photo credit: Flat4Day is a vacation rentals site in Turkey and HomeAways vehicle for expanding in the Middle East. Flat4Day

Up Next

Loading next stories