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Outdoorsy, a sharing economy startup connecting owners of recreational vehicles with interested renters, has raised USD 25 million in Series B funding. Aviva Ventures and Altos Ventures led the round, with participation from existing investors Tandem Capital and Autotech Ventures. Founded in 2015, Outdoorsy has created a platform that it says offers the largest bookable inventory of RVs worldwide, creating what it calls a “third lodging category” of mobile rooms as an alternative to hotels and home-sharing. "More than 12% of American households own a recreational vehicle, yet rarely use it," says Jeff Cavins, co-founder and CEO of Outdoorsy. "At the same time, more than 35 million consumers try to rent a recreational vehicle in America each year with no luck. With Outdoorsy, we leveraged this global, cross-cultural phenomenon of RV travel, especially among millennials, and brought this multibillion-dollar RV industry online and into the sharing economy." Outdoorsy says 40% of its user base is under the age of 40, driven by millennials’ interest in unique, experiential travel.
"RVs are the perfect gateway experiences for consumers, and the rising demand for campervan and RV travel was a growing trend in which we wanted to invest. Moving this market to an on-demand, online sharing economy was a logical way for us to participate in this new travel market," says Anthony Lee, managing director at Altos Ventures. To date, Outdoorsy has tracked more than 263,000 days of bookings, generating nearly USD 100 million through the platform. The new funding will be used to add staff to the company’s engineering and product teams, expand its sales and marketing efforts and add inventory in new markets. Outdoorsy currently offers vehicles from both private owners and professional agencies and dealerships across the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It estimates there are more than 17 million idle RVs around the world. In addition to the booking marketplace, Outdoorsy offers on-demand roadside assistance, commercial insurance and other services to simplify the search and booking process. Read Original Article |
