Tencent Bets Big on Ctrip-Backed LvYue Hotel Group: Travel Startup Funding This Week

This week, travel startups announced hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. Earlier this week, we reported that Traxo, a travel startup, has raised nearly $10 million in funding in a round not yet closed. Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) led that stake. Traxo helps track and manage itineraries in corporate travel and provides other data services. >>LvYue, a Beijing-based hotel operator and software developer, has secured a Series A round of financing of an undisclosed amount equal to "several hundred million U.S. dollars." The travel information technology group has built a hotel reservation platform, and it manages some hotels under seven soft brands including the premium brands Floral and Arula. Tencent led the round. Sequoia China, Baidu Capital, Goldman Sachs, Ocean Link (Trip.com Group's investment arm), Caissa Travel, and others also participated. "LvYue is a direct incubator investment of Ctrip and an important component of Ctrip's internation