All-Stars, Ctrip lead $300m round for China’s Tujia

Other commitments came from Huaxing Growth Capital (also known as the New Economy Fund) - the PE arm of financial advisor China Renaissance - Glade Brook Capital, and G Street Capital. Glade Brook is also an investor in Tujia rival Airbnb.

Tujia raised $300 million in 2015 from All-Stars and other investors at a valuation of $1 billion. The company's other backers in previous rounds include Lightspeed China Partners, HomeAway and CDH Investments. 

Jun Luo, Tujia's CEO, said the fresh capital would go towards “optimizing the user experience by standardizing aspects of our alternative travel accommodations – such as linen washing, cleanliness, and smart capabilities – and to further invest in the domestic high-end real estate market and in foreign markets.”

Since launching in 2011, Tujia has grown to cover 345 destinations in China, and 1,037 overseas, with more than 650,000 apartments listed on its platform. As of August, Tujia’s app had been downloaded by over 180 million users.

Over the last two years, the company has sought to consolidate its market-leading position through M&A. It acquired industry peer Mayi.com, which focused on short-term rentals, and bought the homestay assets of Ctrip and Qunar. Tujia has also worked with eLong, Tongcheng, Tencent’s WeChat, Baidu, and other Chinese industry players to build a distribution network.

“We see significant growth in China’s online short-term rental market and expect it to reach similar penetration levels of accommodations bookings as in the US and Europe. We believe Tujia will continue to lead this rapidly growing market, and we look forward to cooperating with the team to create value,” Paul Hudson, Glade Brook’s founder and CIO, said in a statement.

While Tujia has focused on international expansion - particularly in Asia - Airbnb set up a dedicated China unit in March. Known as Aibiying, which means “welcome each other with love,” it competes directly with Tujia.  

China Renaissance served as financial advisor to Tujia for the latest funding round. 

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Expansion
• Technology
• China
• TMT
• All-Star Investments
• Growth capital
• China Renaissance