Hotel marketing service Triptease has raised $2 million in seed funding from Episode 1 Ventures and Notion Capital.
The support from outside investors is the first in the company's history since it was launched in 2013 (TLabs here).
Originally created using co-founder Charlie Osmond's private funds, Triptease now counts the likes of boutique hotel brand Citizen M on its client roster.
The idea behind the company is to offer properties tools which "improve the relationship between hotels and guests" - in other words, attempt to sideline the intermediaries.
Triptease has developed services such as widgets which are housed on a hotel's website to display prices from around the web in real time, as well as content-led products such as digital magazines, postcards and social media referral tools.
Osmond claims:
"What many people don’t realise is that booking direct with hotels cuts angst and is beneficial for both sides. Travellers get better guarantees and better service.
"Some hoteliers we spoke to actively upgrade direct bookers to thank them for not using a third party – hardly surprising given the millions of dollars they now have to spend on commissions for other bookers. It’s a total win-win."
Episode 1 has previously invested in high profile web brands such as Betfair, LoveFilm, Shazam and Zoopla.