Short-term rental site travelmob raises US$1M in seed funding

Travelmob, a peer-to-peer home rental site launched back in July, has just announced that they have raised a total of US$1 million in seed funding.

Co-founded by Turochas “T” Fuad and Prashant Kirtane, travelmob allows you to search and book short term rental stays around in Southeast Asia. T most recently served as the Managing Director for Skype Asia, responsible for its business expansion and partnerships across the Asia Pacific region. Prashant Kirtane, meanwhile, was the senior director of engineering at Yahoo!, and left to co-found the travel site.

With the new funding by Jungle Ventures, travelmob is expected to further establish its presence around the region. “Our mission is to lead the social stay market in Asia Pacific and since launch, we’ve been making tremendous progress towards that goal. travelmob intends to use the capital from this seed round of funding to help drive further growth and expansion across the region,” commented T.

Some of the top destinations on travelmob include Bali, Goa, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Jakarta. When asked about the breakdown of its users, travelmob shared that they have travellers from all around the world. “Approximately 50% of these visitors are currently coming from within the Asia Pacific region and the remaining 50% from markets like the US, Europe and even Middle East. However, we are increasingly getting more intra-APAC travellers given the rise of middle income groups in India and China.”

In addition to announcing its seed funding, travelmob introduced a new feature called “Experience Tags,” which allow travellers to pick from a list of keyword tags to see search results based on the type of holiday experience they seek.

The new feature enables guests to now further refine Search results by selecting from a list of keyword tags that filter accommodation options that offer the holiday experience they would like to have. Guests can also take advantage of existing search functions, including the ability to search by location, type of lodging, price range and amenities.

Hosts (property owners and managers) can also benefit from the new Experience Tags. They can now better categorize and highlight their listings to a targeted audience using the new tags.

Read the full press release below.

Press Release

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Singapore, 25 September – travelmob, a leading social stay marketplace where people can find, offer and book unique accommodation in Asia Pacific, announced today that it has raised US$1 million in seed funding.

Leading the funding round for the Singapore-based company, which was launched in July 2012, is Jungle Ventures (www.jungle-ventures.com), with participation from other prominent, private investors in the region.

Turochas Fuad, CEO and co-founder of travelmob said, “In raising this seed round of funding, we sought investors who would not only be a good fit but can also add value to travelmob’s growth. Our mission is to lead the social stay market in Asia Pacific and since launch, we’ve been making tremendous progress towards that goal. travelmob is delighted to have Jungle Ventures lead this round of funding and look forward to working with our investors to drive further growth and expansion across the region.”

Anurag Srivastava, Founder and Managing Partner of Jungle Ventures said, “We are excited to lead in this round of funding. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region for tourism and the region’s online vacation rental market is set to soar over the next few years. travelmob is in the right place, at the right time. Coupled with a solid business plan and a seasoned team with strong regional experience, travelmob has the right ingredients to be successful and is well poised to be a market leader.”

In addition to announcing its seed funding, travelmob introduced a new feature called “Experience Tags”, allowing travellers to pick from a list of “keyword tags” to see search results based on the type of holiday experience they seek.

The new feature enables Guests to now further refine Search results by selecting from a list of keyword tags that filter accommodation options that offer the holiday experience they would like to have. Guests can also take advantage of existing search functions, including the ability to search by location, type of lodging, price range and amenities.

Hosts (property owners and managers) can also benefit from the new Experience Tags. They can now better categorize and highlight their listings to a targeted audience using the new tags.

“When planning for a trip, most travellers have an idea of the type of experience they hope to have. For example, they want to stay near the beach or in the heart of city central,” said Prashant Kirtane, CTO and Co-Founder of travelmob. “Our goal with Experience Tags is to empower Guests to personalise their search and shortlist relevant accommodations that offer the type of travel experience they want.”

A step-by-step Guide on how the new Experience Tags work is available at blog.travelmob.com.

Finally, to celebrate the year-end holidays, travelmob is offering its Guests a 20% discount for all bookings, for a limited time only. Travellers who were considering a holiday can now pursue their dreams at a great price reduction on www.travelmob.com.

About Travelmob

travelmob is a leading online marketplace whose vision is to enable travellers around the world to experience Asia like a local. Launched in 2012, travelmob provides a secure platform for property owners in Asia Pacific to list unique accommodations and experiences, and host global travellers seeking to experience true local hospitality and culture.

You can get news and updates from travelmob on its Blog: blog.travelmob.com, Twitter: twitter.com/travelmobtweets or Facebook: www.facebook.com/travelmob.

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