After a slow year, funding for travel-related startups increased in the first quarter of 2024, despite a decline in the actual number of rounds.
According to Focus Light's Travel Startup Interactive Database, about $1 billion was invested in new entrants in the first three months of this year, up from about $420 million in the first quarter of 2023. increased to
Mobility companies such as ride-hailing company InDrive received $150 million, while Move, a Nigerian-founded vehicle purchase financing company that received $100 million in Series B funding, received $100 million. Meanwhile, Hart Aerospace received $108 million in development support. The company's hybrid electric airplane and Cosmic Aerospace announced a seed round totaling $4.5 million.
In the micromobility space, Voi won another $25 million for its electric bike and scooter business, while other companies in the space didn't fare as well, including Bird, which entered Chapter 11.
Another area that continues to attract investors is the vacation rental space, with technology-driven apartment rental company Bob W raising a €40 million Series B round and vacation rental startup Overmoon raising $80 million in equity and Announced financing through real estate debt. Blueground, which provides flexible furnished rentals, announced a $45 million Series D round just as the quarter was coming to an end.
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Hotel technology also attracted attention, with Muse raising $110 million at a $1.2 billion valuation and South Korea's Onda announcing $10 million in Series B funding.
The corporate travel space has undergone some interesting changes over the past few years, with new entrants, distribution developments, and significant consolidation. Spain-based TravelPerk announced $104 million in Series D1 funding, and United Arab Emirates-based Tumodo raised $35 million in a pre-seed round. Seeru is also based in the UAE and has raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding.
More notable rounds in Q1 2024 include €100 million to Visit Group from PSQ Equity, which currently holds a majority stake, $10 million to DayTrip, and $8 million to social commerce service Joyned. Contains dollars. There were a sprinkling of smaller rounds throughout the quarter, including Lokalee ($5.6 million), Holdbar ($3.5 million), Nicer ($2 million), and his €1 million Runnr.ai.
Another bright spot in the first quarter was the announcement of a travel technology fund for Europe called TravelTech.vc. In January, the company announced that it was considering investing 50 million euros in 10 companies.
Acquisition trajectory
Consolidation was also a big part of the first quarter, with notable news being American Express Global Business Travel's announcement of plans to acquire rival CWT for $570 million. Some already believe that 2024 could be the biggest year for travel technology mergers and acquisitions on record.
Morgan Lesne, head of travel and partner at Cambon Partners, said: “At the same time that we need to initiate the inevitable wave of restructuring post-COVID-19, high interest rates have stalled startup funding and companies are struggling. We are in a situation where we either have to merge or face closure,” he said recently. “On the other hand, with record tourist numbers in 2023 and very positive prospects for 2024, many players are convinced that now is the right time to acquire competitors.”
The Morgan Stanley and PWC report, while not specific to travel, indicates the potential for increased M&A activity in 2024. PWC said improving financial markets, pent-up demand for trading and “many companies needing to adapt and transform their business models”. ” is driving deal-making.
Regarding hospitality and leisure, “hospitality and leisure transactions showed a decline in both transaction volume and transaction value in 2023 compared to the previous year, but with tourism returning to pre-pandemic levels and spending on experiences We expect the influx of tourists to increase due to the preferences of tourists,” he added. The business is expected to be launched on the market in 2024. ”
Distribution giant Amadeus has had an active quarter on the acquisition front, acquiring biometric authentication specialist Vision-Box for 320 million euros in late January and payment specialist Voxel for 118 million euros in March. Spent.
Further M&A activity in the first quarter included IBS Software's $90 million acquisition of Above Property Services, AirDNA's acquisition of Uplisting, Gray Dawes' acquisition of Dutch travel management company VCK Travel, Lighthouse's acquisition of Stardekk, and Busbud's acquisition of Buson acquisition, and the merger of micromobility company Dot. And Tia.
This quarter's final word on fundraising and M&A activity is dedicated to the companies that didn't make it. Journera, which was founded as Dihedral in mid-2016 and raised about $36 million, announced in early February that it would be shutting down. You can read that story, as told by founder Jeff Katz, here. Meanwhile, camper rental startup Cabana, which had raised more than $10 million, ceased operations in early January. Founder Scott Kubley shares his lessons learned here.
