Demeure, a platform for people to list and trade properties, has raised $4 million in funding from new investors and existing shareholders.
Such "properties" on the Canada-based system include private villas, rooms in boutique hotels and resorts, as well as places on yachts, cruises and excursions.
The company curates properties across the globe in its marketplace and allows owners to trade their empty nights or book rooms in other rentals at a discount price. The company also has subscription fee-based pricing model for its services.
Demeure says the funding will be used to grow and expand the reach of its online travel marketplace through sales and marketing efforts, and continued investment in the Marketplace Management System.
The company's Marketplace Management System (MMS) acts as an all-in-one tool for property owners to do various tasks like - managing their property details, promoting their property across the internet and specifically in sites like HomeAway, executing an ad campaign on Google.
Chairman and CEO Peter Schwartz says:
"The growth momentum we’ve experienced puts the multi-sided Demeure marketplace at an advantage as the sharing economy begins to adopt this emerging model.
"We have rewired the cluttered online travel agent, vacation rental, home exchange and travel club markets to create unique value added services and authentic experiences for all participants.
"The investment announced today will help Demeure provide vacation property owners market-based value for their property, and travellers the confidence they will get exceptional value, and have amazing, unique experiences in more locations worldwide.”
One differentiating point in the Demeure model is that it has local agents at various locations to inspect a property in detail before approving it into the marketplace. Currently, a total of about 2,400 properties are listed on the service.
Demeure can be compared to various vacation rental portals like Airbnb, HomeAway and other nice services like Roomize [TLabs here] that has a marketplace for hoteliers to exchange rooms for free.