2nd Address Goes After Business Travelers With $10M Investment

2nd Address, the startup that is aiming to attract business travelers from Airbnb, has raised $10 million in venture funding.

A tech publication, citing the company, reported that the funding round was led by GV, the venture capital arm of Google and Foundation Capital. Other participating investors include Amicus and Pierre Lamond, noted the report.

Proceeds from the round of fundraising are slated to improve the company’s technology and expand its service in more cities. 2nd Address, which is a direct competitor to Airbnb, provides business travelers with access to home rentals that can last more than 30 days, as an alternative to staying in hotels.

According to the report, the $18 billion business travel market is drawing interest from entrepreneurs. To date, the startup has brought in $42 million in venture funding, some of which came in when the company was operating as HomeSuite. That platform was focused on the short-term rental market, with HomeSuite handling the process and paperwork required to place and list short-term rentals. In 2017, HomeSuite changed its name to 2nd Address and shifted its focus to the business travelers market.

Currently, 2nd Address is available in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C., offering business travelers access to properties for what it claims is 40 percent lower than a business or extended stay hotel. The aim is to expand into 17 additional markets during the year.

“We’ve seen a big change in the way people travel for business. They want the same experience they have as consumers,” said 2nd Address CEO Chung-Man Tam in the report. “There have been many platforms built for consumers, but not specifically for business travel.”

2nd Address wants to scale its business beyond the current 650 hosts and 3,200 listings. It has already landed some impressive clients, including Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Google, SAP, Deloitte, KLM and Stanford and Northwestern University, noted the report.

The startup faces a formidable competitor in Airbnb. As the pioneer of the home-sharing market is gearing up for an IPO, it has been expanding into new areas, including business travelers via Airbnb for Work, which now accounts for 15 percent of its business. Airbnb also acquired Gaest, a Denmark startup that enables people to book venues for meetings.