France-based GuesttoGuest raised 33M€ to acquire US-based HomeExchange (SLP Paris, 2014)

Emmanuel Arnaud's startup GuesttoGuest raised 33M€ to acquire its key US competitor, the international home swapping company, HomeExchange, and for the external growth and product development of both platforms. The funds raised will also be utilised towards reaching their one million users target by 2019.

With 400,000+ home combined, they have successfully reached the number one spot globally for their domain. With this acquisition, both companies will continue to run as separate entities and function within their own targeted spaces and membership base. 

Also, with GuesttoGuest dominating the European market and HomeExchange's strong presence in the US, they form a perfect synergy as far as the coverage of travel market is concerned. 

GuesttoGuest will continue to operate as a free platform for users and target a younger audience while HomeExchange will keep its focus on providing a premium experience, charging an annual membership fee. 

“We are convinced that the practice of home exchange is reaching a turning point and will soon become the next big thing in tourism. The acquisition of HomeExchange will create the largest and most active community of home exchangers in the world. In two years’ time we plan on having more than one million travelers organizing their vacations through home exchange,” said Emmanuel Arnaud and his co-founder, Charles-Edouard Girard. 

GuesttoGuest is a peer-to-peer home exchange company based in France that connects individuals who wish to exchange their home for short or long stays. In a span of just three years the homes on the website increased seven times, from around 38,000 in 2014 to over 280,000 today, in a total of 187 countries. Present across 150+ countries, HomeExchange has been one the biggest company in the US home swapping market for almost three decades.

Covered by Multimedia News Release: http://prn.to/2lDe32e 

Website Link: https://www.guesttoguest.com/en/ 

Image credit: www.multivu.com