Berlin-based booking platform Tourlane Raises $24 Million Series B

Tourlane, the Berlin-based booking platform and online travel specialist, today announced it has raised $24 million in Series B funding led by Sequoia Capital with participation from existing investors Spark Capital, Holtzbrinck Ventures and DN Capital. This funding brings Tourlane’s total capital raised to $34 million.

Over the past 12 months, Tourlane has seen its revenue increase by 800% year-over-year. The company intends to use this new funding to expand internationally and continue investing in innovations to further enhance the booking and customer experience.

Founded in 2016, Tourlane allows individuals and groups to affordably plan and book personalized, multi-day tours online – cutting out the time and frustration of coordinating multiple bookings from various vendors or going through an offline travel agent. Tourlane’s proprietary software includes real time pricing, availability, instant trip visualization, and drag-and-drop adjustments to make multi-day trip planning easy. The company works directly with service providers in the destination countries sourcing high-quality flights, accommodations, tours, activities, and transfer options for travelers.

“On the one hand, travelers don’t want to offer up their individual experiences on the altar of mass tourism. But on the other hand, they are also overwhelmed by the myriad of offers available online,” explains Julian Stiefel, co-founder of Tourlane. “This can, unfortunately, turn the excitement and anticipation of a relaxing holiday into a stressful and anxiety-inducing affair.”

“Specialty travel is one of the few segments in travel that remains primarily booked offline and as a result trips tend to be overly rigid. Tourlane’s product simplifies the booking process, cuts out fees and delivers unique and delightful trips for consumers,” said Andrew Reed, partner at Sequoia. “We’re thrilled to partner with Tourlane on its journey to becoming a leading specialty travel company in Germany and beyond.”

Tourlane currently has more than 120 employees at its Berlin headquarters and plans to add 100 new jobs with the current funding, including roles in engineering and travel consulting.

“Sequoia is the ideal partner as we continue to grow the company in size and reach. Our mission is to help travelers create tailored trips they will remember for a lifetime. With the new financial and strategic support from Sequoia, we will continue to invest and improve in the platform and enable more travelers around the world to plan their next adventure,” says Julian Weselek, co-founder of Tourlane.

Tourlane’s investors include Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk, GetYourGuide founder Johannes Reck, the founders of HomeToGo, Qunar founder Fritz Demopoulos, as well as Trivago founders Malte Siewert and Rolf Schrömgens.