Airbnb spearheads a $58 million Series C funding round for WeRoad and appoints its CEO to oversee hotel operations.

      The Milan-based group travel platform WeRoad has secured a $58 million Series C funding round, alongside a 10% stake from Airbnb, which also includes a board position. Andrea D’Amico, who has been the CEO since 2022, is leaving WeRoad to head Airbnb's hotels division.

      Airbnb's investment in WeRoad, reported by TechCrunch and Skift on Wednesday, is notable given the platform's previous strategy of expanding its Experiences and tours business organically instead of through equity investments in specialized companies. By backing WeRoad and simultaneously hiring its CEO, Airbnb establishes a closer integration that provides them with a minority share in the group-tour sector and access to a senior leader with extensive hotel management experience, specifically from Booking.com.

      Prior to joining WeRoad, D’Amico had spent 18 years at Booking.com managing a significant portion of its hotel operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

      For WeRoad, this funding round marks a significant achievement within the European travel tech industry. The company organizes multi-day tours led by curated guides, targeting millennials and younger travelers, a demographic that traditional tour operators have found challenging to reach. WeRoad had previously raised €18 million in a Series B round in late 2023, and with this new $58 million investment, its total funding amounts to approximately $85-90 million, specifically aimed at expanding into the US market.

      The US market poses a significant challenge for WeRoad's expansion efforts. While the European group-adventure-travel sector has seen growth due to millennials' inclination to invest in organized social travel, the US market is highly competitive, with established players such as Intrepid and G Adventures, as well as white-label tour options within Expedia and Airbnb Experiences.

      WeRoad asserts that its proprietary tour-guide platform and well-recognized brand on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are advantageous. However, navigating the reality of the US market, notably customer acquisition costs, will be a crucial test.

      From Airbnb's perspective, the investment carries strategic implications. The company has been attempting to diversify beyond short-term rentals for several years, with varying success in the Experiences market and facing notable challenges in the longer-term hotel space. Hiring a seasoned professional from Booking.com and coupling that with a minority investment in a rapidly growing group-travel platform indicates that Airbnb is willing to commit significant financial resources to accelerate its expansion, rather than solely relying on product development initiatives.

      The valuation suggested by Airbnb's 10% stake at $58 million implies a post-money valuation of approximately $580 million, reflecting a 4-5x increase from WeRoad's Series B valuation of around $120-150 million at the end of 2023. This represented a strong, though not extraordinary, valuation increase for a profitable and growing European travel tech company in the current funding landscape.

      As for WeRoad's new CEO, the individual has not yet been publicly named. A board search is underway, and an internal candidate is expected to temporarily fill the position. The Series C funding is anticipated to support operations for the US launch over the next 18 months.