Luxury Travel Tech Start-Up Le Collectionist Seals €60 Million Funding

Le Collectionist, a vacation rental start-up for luxury properties, has raised €60 million in a funding round led by Highland Europe.

The French start-up targets the luxury holiday market by partnering with property owners to list their apartments and houses on the platform with concierge services and on-the-ground support like guides.

A slew of other investors participated in the funding round including luxury investors OLMA, Famille C, the venture office of the Courtin and Clarins families, Pictet and Lombard Odier alongside several angel investors.

According to the company, it has 1,800 properties listed in exclusive locations like the French Riviera, Tuscany and the Swiss Alps.

The company plans to recruit for more than 120 positions at its Paris head office and several locations around Europe to support these operations, as well as opening new offices in London and New York.

Chief executive Max Aniort said he was unfazed by the recent economic downturn’s impact on tourism. He said that bookings for ski resorts this winter have been strong while bookings for next summer are coming in.

“The main impact we believe we’ll see will be a small increase in next year’s pricing from owners to cover the increase in energy costs that property owners are experiencing globally,” Aniort said.

“Le Collectionist has achieved growth during the last three years of unbelievable turmoil and disruption in the travel and tourism sector,” Aniort said in reference to the pandemic. “For that reason we are confident that it can continue to grow through the next few months.”

Le Collectionist was founded in 2014 and was previously backed by Partech and Red River West.

Irena Goldenberg, partner at Highland Europe, this latest round’s lead investor, said Le Collectionist has established a unique approach to the luxury travel market.

“The team is as selective about the owners they partner with and the experiences they offer as their customers, and we’re thrilled to be joining them,” she said.