Brazilian startup Anfitriiões de Aluguel gets first external funding
Brazil: Nexpon, an investment fund of Brazilian media company and regional television network NSC, has announced that it has invested BRL 1.48 million [Brazilian reales] / over US$303,000 in Anfitriiões de Aluguel, a collaborative network of professional hosts who list their homes on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com.
The investment, involving contributions in both media and non-financial resources, was announced at last week’s Startup Summit 2023 in Florianópolis in southern Brazil, which was attended by more than 10,000 people from startups to large global industry players.
After less than a year in operation, Nexpon now has seven companies in its portfolio, and it wants to add a further five startups to its fund by the end of the year, particularly B2C businesses.
For Anfitriiões de Aluguel, it represents the business’ first external investment, having operated on a bootstrapped model up until this point.
Founded in 2018, the startup has built up a collaborative network of 18 local co-hosts in 11 municipalities on the coast of Santa Catarina. In less than five years, the company has sold more than 74,000 room nights, serviced 570 properties, and brought in over BRL 28 million / approximately $5.7 million in booking volume.
Executive director and founder, Marcos Schmidt, said Anfitriiões de Aluguel wants to expand into other states across Brazil beyond Santa Catarina in the next three years: “Nexpon’s investment has a direct positive impact, given the challenge of expanding brand recognition to capture new properties. It is a unique opportunity to be in the state’s main media showcase.”
The startup, which positions itself as an online travel agency [OTA], hopes that the partnership with Nexpon will help to create a viable commercial and operational training programme for the network of co-hosts, and therefore raise the standards of service for guests and owners. Schmidt also wants to at least triple the volume of lead capture and new contracts for hosts listing properties on Airbnb, Booking.com and the Anfitriiões de Aluguel platforms combined.
Meanwhile, Nexpon is a spin-off of media company NSC, which is affiliated with Globo in Santa Catarina and is a member of one of the largest business conglomerates in the country, the NC Group. Through Nexpon, the organisation has adopted a Media for Equity investment model, which involves investing in and improving communication and marketing strategics to develop and strengthen brands.
The Media for Equity investment model is currently rarely used in Brazil, although the model is much more consolidated in Europe, in particular in Germany, the UK and Sweden.
Nexpon’s executive director, Bruno Watté, said that the investment in Anfitriiões de Aluguel was a strategic one to take place over the next 24 months, given the popularity and success of Brazil’s evolving tourism sector.
