BidToTrip, a start-up auctioning luxury hotel stays, has raised more than double its target on crowdfunding platform Seedrs.
The site, which tags itself as "the Ebay of luxury travel" was looking to raise £75,000 in exchange for a 5% stake in the business. It achieved this in 24 hours, and the total raised so far is more than £150,000.
This values the business at more than £1 million.
Seedrs is based in the UK but is open to investors and businesses from Europe.
BidToTrip was founded by Sara Brunelli and Chiara Fusaroli from Cesena in Italy. Brunelli said: "In the UK, people are much more open to invest in start-ups and still understand the value of Italian ventures in the luxury industry".
Hotels are sourced by team and the site earns a commission on the auction sale. Unsuccessful bidders are also offered a discount at the hotel.
The business is now a UK limited company with an office in London. iStarter, a London-based accelerator for Italian start-ups, has supported its move to London.
Bid ToTrip was also the only Italian firm - and the only travel start-up - selected to take part in this summer's Blackbox Connect, a two-week mentoring event in Silicon Valley run by Blackbox and which has Google For Entrepreneurs as one of its partners.