Startups

It's a slow start to the year, but travel startup funding is sure to pick up.

There were several fundraises in 2024 that topped anything the travel industry has seen in years. Travel startups raised billions more than in 2023 despite the number of deals being roughly the same.

Remote Year was a small but pioneering company, innovating on the edges over the years. Sad to see it come to an end.

Fairly founder and CEO Eric Breon is getting a do-over of sorts when it comes to what he helped build earlier as the founder and CEO of Vacasa. The test will be whether he can scale Fairly's business and make it more responsive to the needs of homeowners and guests.

Archer Aviation has raised $660 million this year alone, while competitor Lilium is going through bankruptcy proceedings after burning through $1 billion. It takes a lot of money to get new planes into the sky.

2025 is expected to be a banner year for travel tech M&A. Add-on acquisitions, particularly of companies with $5M-$50M ARR, are poised to set new records as platforms scale up and prepare for IPOs or acquisition by mega-cap firms.

Marriott's tuck-in deal for Postcard Cabins is a nice payout for the startup's early investors, including Certares and Starwood Capital. The deal gives the hotel giant access to 1,200 cabins near parks that are drivable from urban hubs.

The nearly $1 billion in fundraises in November has been driven by startups for hotel tech and flying taxis.

Waymo wants road trippers to take driverless cars across the U.S. It's already operating a ride-hailing service, and it has tech and money from Google, so chances are good.

There are several startups worldwide developing flyings taxis, but it's a capital-intensive venture. Lilium isn't the first to face empty coffers.