Tujia, a vacation rental platform with a minority stake owned by HomeAway and with short-term listings that are like Airbnb's, has closed a $300 million round. The investment round valued the startup at more than $1 billion.
NB: Reporting by China Travel News
The round was led by All-Stars Investment along with The Ascott Limited (Ascott) and TUJIA’s existing investors. China Renaissance Partners acted as the sole financial advisor.
The importance of tourism and new business models as exemplified by Tujia has been affirmed by Premier Li Keqiang, who declared his support for the vacation rental industry at an executive meeting of the State Council on July 29.
It was broadcast nationwide by China Central Television’s nightly newscast.
There were three other announcements:
First, Tujia’s C2C business will be officially launched in response to market demand, to further expand the sources of house inventories and different product lines.
Second, the “Tujia Alliance” will be officially launched.
Tujia will carry out in-depth cooperation with other non-traditional hospitality companies and partners to create upstream and downstream ecological chains, thus leveraging richer sources of housing to diversify operation and enhance profitability.
Third, overseas businesses will be further expanded. In the next half year, Tujia will selectively set up branches abroad to meet the demands of domestic users for overseas travel.
READ THE FULL STORY at China Travel News
WALL STREET JOURNAL's COVERAGE: "‘China’s Airbnb’ Tujia.com Raises $300 Million in Funding Round"
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