Berlin-based Tourlane has secured $8.5 million to expand its service that combines the customized offerings of a traditional travel agent with the ease of online booking.
The Series A financing round came from Spark Capital, Holtzbrinck Ventures and DN Capital.
The company was founded in 2016 by Julian Weselek, formerly of Rocket Internet, and Julian Stiefel, whose first company, Accoleo, was acquired in 2011 by Airbnb, where he then worked.
Tourlane's initial funding – about $1.5 million - came from angel investors that included Nathan Blecharczyk from Airbnb, Johannes Reck from GetYourGuide, Wolfgang Heigl and Patrick Andr? from HomeToGo, and Qunar founder Fritz Demopoulos.
The company currently has more than 100 partners in its system who are experts on destinations and experiences in Africa, Asia, North and South America and Australia.
Users complete a brief online questionnaire regarding their interests, and the system then shares that information with as many as three partners who contact the traveler to complete the planning and booking. The company also has in-house experts who assist travelers.
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