- Travel management start-up TravelPerk announced it has raised $160 million in a funding round led by Greyhound Capital.
- California-based rival TripActions raised a similar sum earlier this year.
- Investors are betting on a rebound in international travel as vaccine rollouts get underway and Covid restrictions unwind.
TravelPerk CEO and co-founder Avi Meir.TravelPerk
LONDON — Venture capitalists are pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into corporate travel start-ups in the belief that business trips will rebound in 2021.
On Thursday, Barcelona-based TravelPerk announced it had raised $160 million in a new funding round. The investment comprised of both fresh equity and debt financing, and was led by Greyhound Capital. TravelPerk helps small and medium-sized enterprises book flights and manage their expenses through its online platform.
And it's not the only business travel platform picking up large sums of cash. In January, California-based TripActions raised $155 million at a $5 billion valuation, up from $4 billion in mid-2019. TravelPerk declined to disclose its valuation but CEO and co-founder Avi Meir said the deal was agreed on favorable terms for the start-up and its investors.
"The reality is travel is coming back," Meir told CNBC in an interview on Thursday. "It's not a belief anymore, it's actually visible in the numbers."
In the U.S., for example, TravelPerk has seen a 70-75% recovery in domestic flights compared to pre-pandemic levels, Meir said. "Most flights are not 100% full yet but we're talking about an industry that was 10-15% exactly one year ago," he added. "Going from 10-15% of baseline to 75% shows the trend is definitely up."
The travel industry as a whole was hammered by the coronavirus pandemic last year, as governments took measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 across borders. But some investors are betting on a resurgence in international travel as vaccine rollouts get underway and public health restrictions are gradually being lifted.