Tripping.com, the meta-search for vacation rentals which recently closed US$16 million Series B funding, is looking to scale in Asia.
Jen O’Neal: Eye on Asia
Jen O’ Neal, founder & CEO of the company, which has to date closed a total of US$20 million in three funding rounds, said, “Asia is one of Tripping.com’s fastest growing markets. We’re currently seeing the highest demand in South-east Asia, particularly around beach destinations, though we anticipate that China will soon take a lead in the vacation rentals market.
“With the fastest growing middle class in the world and Chinese tourists spending $85 billion annually on foreign trips, there is tremendous potential to tap into travelers within and outside of China’s borders.”
In its latest funding announcement, it claimed a 2,918% traffic growth and five million listings. “The $100 billion vacation rental market is intensely fragmented, making it ripe for metasearch. The top four sites – HomeAway, Priceline, TripAdvisor and Airbnb – have less than 22% market share.”
Tripping.com also claims two million unique visitors, a coverage of 100,000 destinations worldwide and 2,390% growth in revenues.
O’Neal is prepared for challenges entering into Asia. “Moving into new markets always brings interesting challenges for American companies. Beyond translating the site and customising our operations for each market, we’ll need to have a deep understanding of the needs and patterns of travelers across different regions in Asia.
“This will enable us to develop relevant technologies that address their desires and help them book their ideal vacation rentals on Tripping.com.”
As such, it has armed itself with strategic expertise from advisors and investors including Fritz Demopoulos (Qunar founder), Recruit Holdings out of Tokyo, Seven Seas Venture Partners which includes Jeff Xiong of Tencent, Enspire Capital founded by entrepreneurs in Singapore, Richard Chen (active investor in China), and others.
“We’re fortunate to have the support of so many strong investors and we’re already working with them to explore opportunities across Asia.”
It will also be building a team in Asia as part of the expansion.
Note: Jen O’Neal will be speaking at the WIT Conference in Singapore, Oct 19-21.
