The founders have collected 100 million euros from investors for the expansion of their holiday home portal.
(Photo: Renate Forster)
Berlin For Johannes Siebers, Holidu is a family affair. He founded the European holiday home portal eight and a half years ago with his brother Michael, today they have more than 500 employees. “We work closely together. As managing director, my brother takes care of all product and technology issues and I take care of the commercial part,” says Johannes Siebers.
Things are currently going well despite the difficult economic environment. So far in the current year, Holidu has “grown as a group in the high double-digit range,” says Siebers. Fresh money should now enable further growth: Holidu has raised 100 million euros from investors.
The Series E financing is led by venture capitalist 83North, with around a quarter of the sum being a risk loan from Claret Capital and Silicon Valley Bank.
83North partner Laurel Bowden justifies her commitment to Holidu: “The team is facing a really great opportunity for further expansion.” For Siebers, the successful round of financing is a nice confirmation even in view of the “economically not so easy environment”.
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Because many start-ups have recently had problems getting investors on board. According to the start-up barometer of the auditing and consulting company EY (Ernst & Young), venture capital investments in young German companies fell by a fifth in the first six months.
Holidu: Valuation higher than last round of financing
Since its inception, Holidu has received a total of more than 200 million euros in investor funds. Although Siebers does not want to disclose the current rating, it is higher than in the last round. Many start-ups have recently experienced significant devaluations, the Swedish fintech Klarna lost 85 percent.
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However, Siebers warns against too much euphoria and refers to the difficult times for the entire travel industry: “First came Corona, then the war, now there is inflation and there are also fears of recession.” He is aware that times are not getting any easier.
The latest survey by the German Travel Association (DRV) reflects this assessment. Accordingly, a minus of ten percent compared to 2019 is expected for this holiday year.
Nevertheless, the industry does not want to complain yet. “I am sure that if there is money, there will also be travel and the Germans will also realize their vacation plans in 2023,” says DRV President Norbert Fiebig. Siebers agrees with this attitude: “We expect that 2023 will be a good year. Simply because everyone would like to get out.”
> >Read more about this: Tour operators register fewer holidaymakers at higher prices
In order to set themselves apart from competitors such as the industry leader Airbnb or Hometogo from Berlin, the two founders have set up the software Bookiply in addition to the Holidu portal, which brokers holiday homes and holiday apartments. She helps landlords to offer their properties on all available platforms – including Airbnb, Booking.com, Holidu and their own websites.
The Bookiply range is growing: Holidu recently took over the two smaller companies Lohospo and Tomas, which previously offered their own holiday homes and apartments.
There is a big focus on Bookiply, which now manages 20,000 properties, says Siebers. He now wants to put the new funds into the business: “We have so many plans for products that we still want to build and rental companies that we still serve and trips that we broker and markets that we still want to enter . We can now implement all of that.” Holidu is already profitable in the core markets, but not overall, he says. This is also related to the high investments.
Despite the many plans, Johannes and Michael Siebers still take time for vacations. Because Holidu was created from the customer’s perspective: the founders were planning a surf trip to Portugal and noticed that the same houses appeared on umpteen portals with different information, some had already been booked, others not. Now the brothers can book their accommodation via their own portal: “Holidu is now also represented in Portugal and has great accommodation in the Algarve, where you can also surf well,” says Siebers.
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