Go2Joy Raises $6.1 Million for Hotel Booking in Vietnam: Travel Startup Funding This Week

This week, travel startups announced more than $52 million in funding.

>>Holidu, a startup serving the vacation rental market, has closed a Series D financing round of $45 million.

83North led the round. Prime Ventures, EQT ventures, Coparion, Senovo, and other investors also took part.

The Munich-based startup has now raised more than $120 million since its founding in 2014.

Holidu got its start with its flagship product of a consumer price-comparison engine for finding vacation rentals. It recently added a subsidiary called Bookiply, which is both a property management system and a channel manager for holiday homes — catering to managers handling between 1 and 10 homes.

See Skift’s CEO interview: Holidu Raises $45 Million for Vacation Rental Search and Services.

Join Us at the Skift Short-Term Rental and Outdoor Summit on May 19

>>Go2Joy, a travel tech startup in Vietnam, said it had raised about $6.1 million in a so-called Series A-plus round of investment over the past year.

Skift reported in February on the first stage of this round. Investor interest has continued since then, with SV Investment participating recently. HB Investment and Platform Partners Asset Management have also taken part.

The company, founded in 2016, makes a mobile app that helps with booking hotels in non-standard increments like a few hours. It has attracted more than 200,000 users and more than 1,000 hotel partners.

>>Live the World, which makes recommendations for “slow travel” in Belgium and eventually elsewhere, has closed an early-stage about $362,000 (€300,000) round of funding from angel investors. EU Startups first reported the news.

The Antwerp-based startup has gotten their travel planning platform up and running in a free test form, offering about 300 local recommendations in Belgium. Entrepreneurs Joris Vanherp and Zoë Vets, who founded the company last year, hope to charge users for the recommendations on the theory paying users will want unbiased results.

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Skift Cheat Sheet:
We define a startup as a company formed to test and build a repeatable and scalable business model. Few companies meet that definition. The rare ones that do often attract venture capital. Their funding rounds come in waves.

Seed capital is money used to start a business, often led by angel investors and friends or family.

Series A financing is typically drawn from venture capitalists. The round aims to help a startup’s founders make sure that their product is something that customers truly want to buy.

Series B financing is mainly about venture capitalist firms helping a company grow faster. These fundraising rounds can assist in recruiting skilled workers and developing cost-effective marketing.

Series C financing is ordinarily about helping a company expand, such as through acquisitions. In addition to VCs, hedge funds, investment banks, and private equity firms often participate.

Series D, E and beyond These mainly mature businesses and the funding round may help a company prepare to go public or be acquired. A variety of types of private investors might participate.