EU: Startups merge to take on Airbnb

A group of four short-term stay startups in Europe have teamed up to create a new company and take on leader Airbnb.

Earlier on Wednesday, May 15, BNBbuddy, The London Residents Club, Hintown, and Rent Experience announced they have joined forces to launch a new company called Altido. On its website, the new company stated the combination of BNBbuddy and The London Residents Club in the UK, Hintown in Italy, and Rent Experience in Portugal is the first for the industry. The company stated it is aiming to reinvent the industry and take on rivals, including Airbnb. Altido is actively looking for more brands to join it.

“Altido was born and founded on three key principles: We are stronger together; there is strength in diversity; there is no substitute for local expertise,” the company stated on its website.

According to a report, all four of the startups were profitable ahead of the merger. The combined company will use its scale and outside funding to continue to grow, noted Michael Allen, the managing director of BNBbuddy.

Altido is on the hunt for Series A funding in the tens of millions of dollars range, Allen said. Combined, the company has around 1,700 properties located in 21 European locations, with plans to expand aggressively in existing markets and into other areas of Europe.

The company provides a complete service, as well as a business that manages apartments and guesthouses. In the future, Altido plans to offer direct listings and more technology to help hosts and management companies handle pricing and property details. The company currently uses algorithms to determine property risk factors and to make onboarding more efficient.

“We see tech as a big enabler,” Goncalo Ribeiro, the founder of Rent Experience, said in an interview the news outlet.