Renthome.ru, a HomeAway.com clone offering short-term vacation rentals across Russia and the CIS, closed earlier this month an angel investment round of approximately $1 million.
Participants in this round of investment include Russian and foreign entrepreneurs, as well as investors from the real estate market and finance sector, announced Fast Lane Ventures, which invested in the company earlier this year.
The better part of the investment will be allocated to developing a regional network and to marketing. Already operating in Moscow, Renthome.ru will expand its physical presence into ten more Russian cities and one city in Ukraine, with at least one regional representative in each city.
For the last eight months, the company has managed to compile the largest online database of real estate listings, Fast Lane Ventures claims. Renthome.ru has nearly 17,000 active properties which are located in over 700 Russian, CIS and European cities and towns. Renthome.ru aims to reach as many as 25,000 properties on offer by the end of the year.
Last month, Airbnb copycat TravelRent, another portfolio company of Fast Lane Ventures, secured $2 million from Frontier Ventures, a Russian venture fund established earlier this year.
Another service, Apartator.ru, differentiates itself by focusing on professional management companies. Defining itself as “a booking solution rather than a platform for travelers and landlords,” the site claims to offer “instantly bookable apartments in a mere 2 hours.”
Launched in early 2011, Apartator is in the process of securing its first round of funding by external investors, co-founder Anton Malkov told East-West Digital News. “We are actively hiring to develop marketing with the objective to cover 90 Russian cities or resorts within a year as well as pilots in 10 locations globally,” he added.
Another site, Tvil.ru, also operates in the alternative accommodation segment, but did not respond to our requests for information.
