Le Collectionist Raises $63 Million for Luxury Vacation Rentals

Travel Startup Funding This Week

Each week we round up travel startups that have recently received or announced funding. Please email Travel Tech Reporter Justin Dawes at [email protected] if you have funding news.

Three travel tech startups raised $87.2 million this week. 

>>Le Collectionist, a “luxury” short-term rental platform for full houses, has raised $63 million (€60 million) of growth funding.

It was led by Highland Europe, with participation from OLMA, XAnge, Famille C, Swiss banks Pictet and Lombard Odier, Kostogri, and Red River West, as well as angel investors Fabrice Grinda, Nathalie Le Roy, and Xavier Romatet.

The Paris-based company’s portfolio includes 1,800 properties in 30 destinations, including the French Riviera, the Balearic Islands, Portugal, Italy, the Alps, the Caribbean, Morocco, South Africa, Costa Rica, and more.

Only 3 percent of homeowners that apply each year are allowed to list their homes on the platform, the company said. 

Le Collectionist has made several company acquisitions to expand its property portfolio and local activity offerings. The latest funding will help the company make more acquisitions to consolidate the fragmented market.

As part of booking through the platform, local teams create custom activity itineraries for guests through partnerships with guides, chefs, artisans, and other locals. 

Since 2020, Le Collectionist said it has increased revenue by 5.5 times. Demand has quadrupled since then, and the number of active properties has multiplied by 3.5, the company said.

>>Evaneos has raised $21 million (€20 million) in equity financing from existing investors Partech, Level Equity, Quadrille Capital, XAnge, Serena Capital, and Bpifrance. 

The online platform connects travelers directly with local travel agents who are based at their destinations. 

Founded in 2009, the Paris-based company said it has experienced strong growth post-pandemic, completing four times as much business in 2022 as in 2021. More than half a million travelers in total have booked trips through Evaneos. 

Evaneos plans to strengthen its presence in all its existing markets: France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The company also plans to enhance the tech product, particularly customer experience and agency network tools. 

Evaneos said it operates with a spotlight on sustainability, having become a certified B Corp company in June 2022. The company said 87 percent of the cost of each trip goes to the local businesses. 

The company also donates a portion of the revenue from each trip to its Better Trips fund, created to drive positive change in the tourism industry through initiatives such as offsetting carbon emissions through certified projects, supporting local agencies to obtain sustainability tourism certifications, and supporting female entrepreneurship.

>>SION, a software platform that tracks and manages commissions for travel agencies, has raised $3.2 million in seed funding. It was led by TIA Ventures with participation from SmartFlyer and Virtuoso.

SION, based in New Jersey, will use the funding to accelerate product development including adding a new payment processing system. 

Once a travel booking is made, SION said its platform tracks payment status and automates tasks like supplier invoicing, meant to help travel agents grow their businesses, improve organization and payment processing, and increase profitability. 

The startup said it is managing about $2.2 billion in booking revenue for more than 1,500 agents subscribed to the platform. 

Skift Cheat Sheet

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.