WeTravel raises $27m. to expand platform’s travel-specific Fintech Suite
WeTravel, the leading all-in-one business management and payments platform built for multi-day travel businesses, announced it raised $27 million USD in a Series B funding round led by Left Lane Capital, with participation from existing investors, Base10 Partners and Swift Ventures, and several high-profile angel investors, to accelerate the business’s travel-specific fintech product development. The investment brings WeTravel’s total capital raised to $34 million USD.
In 2022, WeTravel’s platform will transact payments from half-a-million travelers for thousands of travel companies and tour organizers. To support the demand for monetary transactions through its platform, the latest funding round will hasten multiple travel-specific fintech solutions - on the front-end for travelers and back-end for business owners to control cash flow and payout suppliers and stakeholders - to add to its mature software-as-a-service (SaaS) booking management suite and existing payment options.
“Over the past six years, we’ve developed an intuitive and accessible booking management software built for multi-day travel businesses,” said Johannes Koeppel, co-founder, and CEO. “From creating stand-alone or integrated trip pages - with travel features and functionality - to collecting and handling traveler information to transacting with travelers and suppliers across the globe, in an instant, WeTravel’s platform has made it possible for any travel business to not only operate a business, but to be a successful travel business owner.”
Traditionally, the travel industry, primarily because of its global scale in local communities, has been restricted in adapting many fintech solutions; technology-enhanced payment solutions are harder to scale globally, especially across borders and in local communities, without multiple intermediaries.
In 2017, the business began integrating payment solutions - from installment payments to instant payouts and a peer-to-peer payment network - into its booking system, allowing travel businesses to control money movement, refunds and disputes, and traveler transactions. Now used by over 3,000 global travel companies - in multiple travel segments from student groups to adventure travel - WeTravel’s platform disrupts legacy booking and payment systems with its travel-specific functionality and intuitive support features for any-sized business’s group trips – at a 1 percent transaction fee, all managed through one platform.
“To extend our platform’s capabilities for users, we’ll be investing in multi-day travel businesses to engage, transact and retain their stakeholders and increase revenue,” said Koeppel. “What this platform extension means is opportunity for travel businesses to have access to the necessary booking and payment options that will help grow their travel business.”
With an extensive existing suite of travel-specific features, WeTravel will continue to adapt its agile fintech solutions, build-out innovative fintech features and functions, and prioritize growing its diverse team to handle its product’s evolution.
"Despite unprecedented headwinds in the peak of Covid, WeTravel's team has stayed focused for years on solving an extremely complex problems for multi-day travel operators. The result is best-in-class booking and payments technology for this underserved group. We couldn't be more honored to partner with such humble and dedicated founders," said Vinny Pujji, Left Lane Capital’s managing partner.
“Since leading the Series A, we’ve been so impressed by WeTravel’s continued growth and resiliency in a difficult travel market environment. The future is bright for this team, and we’re excited to double down and support their vision to revolutionize the day-to-day workflow of a multi-day tour operator," said Rexhi Dollaku, Base10’s partner.
