Homestay startup raises $4.5 million from South Korean investors
Luxstay has raised $4.5 million from South Korean retailer GS Shop and venture capitalist Bon Angels in its bridge round.
Luxstay says it sees "a huge opportunity" in Vietnam's home-sharing market. Photo by VnExpress.
|
GS Shop is a South Korean multimedia retailer as well as a global leader in TV home shopping. It also established a retail chain called GS25 in Vietnam in 2018.
Bon Angels Venture Partners is a South Korean venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups. It has invested in well known South Korean startups like Woowa Brothers, Daily Hotels, and My Real Trip.
Luxstay has targeted an annual turnover of over $300 million and 30 percent of Vietnam’s home-rental market share by 2023, the representative said.
It is also working with financial investors and strategic partners for the next funding round, a Series A round, which is expected to close in 2019, aiming to raise $15-20 million.
Prior to this investment, Luxstay had raised a total of around $6 million from CyberAgent Ventures (Japan), Genesia Ventures (Japan), ESP Capital (Vietnam), Founders Capital (Vietnam) and Nextrans (South Korea).
Launched in late 2016, Luxstay has a network of nearly 10,000 properties across the country. This is a short-term rental booking platform for apartments, villas and other homestay accommodations positioned in the mid and high-end segments of Vietnam’s real estate market.
It also offers property management and maintenance solutions to assist and save time for homeowners who want to participate in the home-sharing market through its system.
"In developed countries, home-sharing accounts for 10-20 percent of the home-rental market. This shows a huge opportunity for this industry in Vietnam, which is expected to reach $2-4 billion in 2025," Luxstay said.