A Big Bet On ‘Mystery Vacations: Travel Startup Funding This Week

One of the London companies is betting that travelers will spend a mysterious vacation at the airport, learning the road. The Czech travel agency is raising $ 100 million for the expansion. And more news on venture capital this week.

Tim Mulan

Mega Chaturvedi has been married for nine years. She ordered a vacation and her husband didn’t even know where they were going. Now he has turned the idea into a business.

According to Chaturvedi, both partners raised $ 751.75 million ($ 2.1 million) in fixed assets to claim that London tour operator Journee was the husband of the others.

Works a bit like Netflix. Express the travel algorithm you are looking for - a scene, a date or local food - it plans a route that fits the client’s budget. The company chooses accommodation, flights, events and even restaurants for four days or more. (All trips from London). Journee then offers to tell the client where he went without mentioning the city. Then the customer decides whether to buy it or not.

"We never sent anyone to Paris," Chaturvedi said. "We can take them on a journey they may love but never think about."

So far the most popular destination is Romania. It’s a failure, it’s beautiful, it has a lot of medieval history, he says.

The co-founders of Chaturvedi և Ed Tribe և James Gillard worked together on the Depop fashion website. Depop founder Simon Beckerman and CEO Maria Raga have invested in Journee, which is run by Fuel Ventures. The company opened Journeetrips.com in 2019, but the Covid epidemic stopped them, Chaturvedi says. According to him, more than 1,500 customers have already applied.

The customer receives a written travel package a week before departure, which has the name of the destination, but most open it at the airport. He told Chaturvedi that when he found out where they were going, no one refused to go. The company has a rating of 4.9 on the Trustpilot consumer website with 179 Journee reviews.

“People work because they have a good time,” Chaturvedi said.

In funding for other travel technologies this week.

Kashish, based in New York, came out of secret mode and announced $ 5.5 million in funding led by Tribe Capital, Anthemis and Courtside Ventures. Other investors have called him an NFL buyer for Odel Beckham Jr., including actor Robin Wright. The product is a browser extension that allows customers to distinguish travel payments from other purchases using a variety of debit and credit cards. The idea is that Kasheesh allows consumers to distribute debt between existing cards to increase their income from bonus points. Kashish makes a profit from payments made by credit card companies. According to Scythia, loyalty innovations helped resume travel after the Covid epidemic.

British EasyGuide, a business and consumer website that sells tickets to its destination, has raised the most unusual funding for the week. € 1 million from UKTV Ventures, a subsidiary of British Broadcasting Corp. pulsation. Investments in the form of advertising. Blake CEO Anthony Red said in an email that the company is expected to start next month or next year.

The Czech online travel agency Kiwi.com has announced that it has raised 100 million euros thanks to a deal led by an unknown investor. Shift covers are here.

Omio, which sells ground transportation services such as bus and train tickets in Berlin, has raised $ 80 million, mostly to support its expansion in the United States. Matt Parsons of Shift explains here.

Distribution, another land transport platform, raised 30 million euros during a phase led by Lighthead. The Berlin-based company, which focuses on Latin America, says it will serve 100 million people a year by the end of 2024.

Replace the crib

Fixed capital is money used to start a business, often managed by angel investors, friends or family.

Serie A funding is usually raised from venture capitalists. The round aims to help startup founders make sure their products are what customers really want to buy.

Group B funding is intended primarily for venture capitalists, who help businesses grow faster. These fundraising steps can help you hire skilled workers and develop profitable marketing.

Series C financing typically helps businesses grow, for example, through purchases. In addition to venture capital, hedge funds, investment banks and private investment companies are often involved.

Series D, E can help companies prepare for acquisitions or acquisitions after the financing phase of these mostly mature companies. Different types of private investors can participate.

Milli Majlis of the Republic, 1 p.m.