San Francisco-based Whimstay, a vacation rental platform aimed at last-minute travelers, has secured $10 million in pre-Series A equity financing. The startup plans to use the funding toward “key new hires” and the development of new products and features.
Investors were not disclosed, but David Weiss, who was named CEO in January, said Whimstay will disclose investors at a later date when it closes the Series A round.
Closing financing in a challenging market, Weiss said, “is a testament to the caliber of our amazing team, our differentiated product offering, the quality of our partner and customer relationships, the size of our market opportunity and the confidence our investors have in our ability to strengthen our position as the leading vacation rental marketplace focused on booking last-minute stays.”
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Bookings on Whimstay are up sevenfold compared with the same period last year, and March was the highest booking month in the company’s history, according to Weiss.
“Guest traffic and bookings are further accelerating due to our recent integration into Google Vacation Rentals,” he said, “giving us access to millions of potential guests.”
Whimstay, founded in 2018, says it fills nights that would have otherwise gone unrented by “offering travelers the best deals and significant savings on last-minute vacation rentals” in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The platform is aimed at travelers looking to book in the last three weeks before a trip, and offers as much as 60% off regular prices, according to the company.
Some property managers use Whimstay to fill vacancies during shoulder seasons, off-seasons and other booking windows throughout the year that typically experience lower occupancy rates and RevPAR.
Whimstay says it only works with professional property managers to ensure that properties listed on its platform are “clean, consistent with descriptions and managed with expertise and the highest service standards.”
Whimstay announced in October it has raised $1 million.