A Montreal-based marketplace for individuals to find and list plush homes for short-term rental has just raised $11 million in a Series B round headed by iNovia Capital, a Canadian-based firm.
Luxury Retreats, which operates similar to AirBnB for luxury homes, is a full service rental company that offers more than 2,000 villas in more than 50 destinations. To rent a three to five bedroom home for a night, prices typically range between $1,500-$2,500. With a team of 180 people working remotely, Luxury Retreats provide its guests with the most lavish accommodations. If you would like dinner catered by a world-renowned celebrity chef, concierge can and will make it happen. If you are looking to charter a yacht, specific wines and more, the staff will ensure it meets all your needs.
In an interview with Tech Crunch, founder and CEO Joe Poulin, stated he has plans to expand with local agents in key markets to add a more personal and local touch for prospective guests.
While Poulin did not disclose the company’s valuation, it is known Luxury Retreats offer properties from the coveted one percent like Richard Branson’s Necker Island and Francis Ford Coppola’s evocative palazzo in Puglia, Italy. The marketplace has also had high-end clientele as guests.
With a strict selection process, all Luxury Retreats properties are handpicked and personally vetted by its staff, including Poulin. The staff accepts less than 10 percent of homes evaluated.
Since the company was founded in 1999, it has never charged an annual subscription fee or pay-per-leads. However, there is a 20 percent, sometimes more, commission.
Poulin has no interest in appealing to a less tier of guests or adding less expensive homes.
In 2012, Luxury Retreat raised $5 million in funding, headed by the same Canadian firm, to further build its business.
(Photo via Luxury Retreats)Â
