TVtrip.com Raises $9 Million

TVtrip.com, a site where travelers can view possible hotels via video, has raised $9 million in Series B funding. AGF Private Equity was joined by return backers Balderton Capital and Partech International. The company previously raised $4.8 million.

 

PRESS RELEASE

TVtrip.com, the travel website where travelers get to check out their hotel on video before they book it, announced today it has received $9 million in Series B financing from its original VC investors Balderton Capital, Partech International and new investor AGF Private Equity. The company has the largest database of professionally filmed and unbiased hotel videos in the world, currently covering more than 3,000 hotels in over 160 destinations. The website attracted 850,000 unique visitors in January alone.

 

“This new round of financing will help us film more hotels and continue expanding in the US and Asia, as well as strengthening the various revenue- generating components of our business model,” said Marc Ruff, founder and CEO of TVtrip.com. “We already have 2,000 additional hotels lined up to film this year that will allow us to maintain and increase our lead in this market.”

 

TVtrip’s primary revenue comes from affiliation, generating income from qualified leads sent to travel partner sites. Secondary revenue sources are advertising and the licensing of its video catalogue.

 

The company recently added an embeddable player allowing partner sites — particularly travel guides and media portals — to access its unique video inventory free of charge. This new service not only provides value-added content but also enables travel partner sites to share TVtrip revenues from generated leads paid by the hotels and travel sites. The video player also includes hotel descriptions, amenities, images, reviews and integrated maps to help users when selecting and booking their hotels worldwide.

 

At a year and a half old, TVtrip.com employs a staff of 30 with offices in Paris, Singapore, Bucharest and Brussels. TVtrip.com is available in 15 countries with 100 percent localized sites. The company recently launched sites in Japan (http://www.tvtrip.jp), Korea (http://www.tvtrip.co.kr) and China (http://www.triptv.cn) and plans to reach 25 countries by the end of February. Profitability is expected by the end of the year.

 

About TVtrip.com

 

Launched in May 2007, TVtrip.com is the largest website to enable hotel searches using online videos. The site offers more than 10,000 videos showing rooms and services of over 3,000 hotels in 160 worldwide destinations. TVtrip.com is an impartial service offering the possibility to book hotels through partnerships with online travel agencies or directly on the hotel’s websites. For more information, please visit http://www.tvtrip.com.