Luxury Retreats announces $11M in series B funding round led by iNovia Capital

MONTREAL, June 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Luxury Retreats, a company offering curated luxury vacation rentals, today announced that it has raised $11M in capital funding to continue its differentiation strategy in the fully serviced luxury segment of the vacation rental industry.

"The sharing economy has exploded in popularity and we see a big opportunity in delivering predictability and consistency to our guests," said Luxury Retreats Founder and CEO Joe Poulin.  "We've zoned in on a unique niche in the industry.  By only offering curated homes and focusing on great guest experiences we're removing uncertainty and we're answering a need.  Having a brand driving standards for an end to end experience is crucial.  Luxury isn't sold, it's delivered."

Poulin added: "We're thrilled that iNovia and their partners share our vision as we expand into new markets and continue to perfect our offer and operations in existing markets."

Luxury Retreats' existing operations include 24/7 concierge support and a team of over 180 luxury travel enthusiasts with the common goal of ensuring every guest vacation comes with surprises – but only the good ones.  "We're breaking down the process to remove as many friction points as possible," says Poulin.  "When it comes to someone's vacation with their family or friends we have to make sure we get it right."

Luxury Retreats offers a closed network of over 2,800 hand-picked private homes in 90 destinations around the world and is focused on refining its collection and operations in existing locations while continuing to develop new markets.

As much as the company is focused on the Guest Experience, Luxury Retreats is also continuously striving to improve the Homeowner Experience.  Homeowners (whose homes are accepted into the LR network) are assigned a Relationship Manager from day one.  The Luxury Retreats approach is opposite to the experience offered by the industry's listing sites.  "Luxury Retreats Homeowners always have someone to speak with and more importantly there is a dedicated person on our team who is looking for ways to improve the performance of their property," said Poulin who owns a couple of properties himself so he knows the importance of one to one attention first hand.

"Under Joe Poulin's direction, Luxury Retreats is positioned to further revolutionize the industry by providing even more added value for guests and homeowners alike," said Chris Arsenault, Managing Partner at iNovia Capital.  "We support his aggressive plan to expand Luxury Retreats' footprint globally and continue to grow their own category."

The $11 million investment is led by iNovia Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in emerging technologies, and partners including: Claridge Inc., led by President and CEO Pierre Boivin and Executive Chairman Stephen Bronfman; financier Peter Kern of InterMedia Partners; and Andrew Lufty, Entrepreneur and CEO of Groupe Dynamite.

About Luxury Retreats
Luxury Retreats is the world's leading luxury vacation rental company, offering over 2,800 homes in 90 destinations.  A global team of passionate travel enthusiasts and partners handpick and personally inspect each property, ensuring that guests are offered only the very best.  Luxury Retreats provides complimentary concierge services and access to its 24seven guest support team, as well as dedicated villa specialists to help guests find the perfect villa – all without charging membership fees.  For more information visit www.LuxuryRetreats.com.

About iNovia Capital
iNovia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build successful technology companies in high-growth sectors.  The team is comprised of founders, builders and engineers that are passionate about building market-leading technology companies.  iNovia has $275M under management across three seed and early-stage funds.  Investments include: AppDirect, Basis Science, Chango, Collective, LightSpeed Retail, Luxury Retreats, and Top Hat.  For more information, visit www.iNovia.vc or tweet @iNovia.

SOURCE Luxury Retreats

Related Links

http://www.LuxuryRetreats.com

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