TravelLocal Raises $3 Million in Play on Tailored Trips: Travel Startup Funding This Week

This week, travel startups announced more than $7 million in funding.

>>TravelLocal, a travel startup based in Bristol, UK, merged with Berlin-based Trip.me and raised a $3.4 million (£2.5 million) Series A extension. The two startups have together raised $18 million (£13 million) to date.

Active Partners and Gresham House Ventures led the extension.

The combined company will be an online travel agency focused on “tailor-made” vacation packages. Consumers fill out an online form about their vacation wishes and the combined company’s local experts put together a suggested itinerary personalized to their budget.

>>Una, a travel app from the startup XOKind, has raised more than $3.25 million in investment from angel investors.

Created by Intel alumni Arjun Bansal and Yinyin Liu, the mobile app Una aims to help consumers research and book trips collaboratively.

>>MyBeezBox, a gift voucher and gift box solution for leisure tourism companies, has raised $730,000 (€630,000).

Inter Invest Capital and business angels led the round.

The startup, based in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, provides ancillary revenue for hotels, restaurants, and other leisure tourism businesses. About 1,400 companies, including Bateaux Mouches and Le Chateau de Sable, are clients. They put MyBeezBox’s digital widget on their websites to let customers buy and collect gifts, workshops, or experiences as add-ons.

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.