Airbnb rival HouseTrip gets backing of top three European VC firms in $40 million deal

HouseTrip, the European holiday rental website, has closed a $40 million C round of funding, bringing together for the first time arguably the top three European VC firms, with Accel leading this round and joining existing investors Balderton and Index.

Arnaud Bertrand, co-founder and CEO of London and Lisbon-based HouseTrip, said the idea for the company is “to make it as easy to book an apartment as it is to book a hotel.” Unlike other services such as AirBnb, HouseTrip renters hire the entire property, not a room shared with the host.

“When you look at the [rental] market, 60% of it is European, that is why we have such a strong focus on Europe.”

The company started in Jan 2010 and today lists more than 130,000 properties in over 15,000 destinations globally, although the core market is Europe. It employs 130 people and has previously raised $2.5 million in an A round and $17 million in a B round.