Turneo, an emerging travel digital start-up specialising in experience hospitality, has announced a successful completion of a €2 million seed funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Romanian Underline Ventures. The funding will help Turneo accelerate its mission to change hospitality by allowing the world's finest hotels to provide excellent in-destination activities to its customers. 

About Turneo

  • Founded in 2022 by Croatians Fran Kauzlaric and Matija Marijan, Turneo develops a platform that enables hotels to manage their entire activities offering in one place.

  • The solution allows guests to browse and book in-destination activities and transfers on the hotel website or app, and provides a single platform for managing in-house and partner activities. 

  • Turneo also reviews activities data, insights, and guest reviews. During the 2024 Europe summer season, for instance, guests who booked activities gave hotels an average 8% higher rating on reviews sites. The experiences and hotel activities market is projected to reach $463bn by 2030, with Turneo predicting $172bn will flow through hotels.

Investment details

  • Bessemer Venture Partners, a global leader in early-stage venture capital, has led the round, having previously invested in Shopify, Toast, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Skype. 

  • The fund's expertise will guide Turneo towards becoming the industry leader, as traveller preferences have changed significantly, and hotels need to create, manage, and monetise rich experiences for guests. 

  • The Bucharest-based VC firm Underline Ventures has also joined the financing round. The $20 million fund recently also invested in Romanian startup Mixrift.

“We are thrilled to have the support of such incredible investors as Bessemer Venture Partners and Underline Ventures,” said Matija Marijan, CEO and co-founder of Turneo. “This funding validates the huge opportunity as well as our vision, and it enables us to scale our operations, enhance our technology, and form critical partnerships so that we can empower more hotels to deliver amazing activities to their guests.”

Turneo will use the funding to expand its product offerings, build its global user base, and form strategic partnerships with global hoteliers. The company, recognized as one of the Hot 25 Travel Start-Ups for 2024, is also investing in developing its AI-driven platform for personalised and efficient travel experiences.