Apartum

Established in 2013, Apartum emerged as a metasearch engine focused on the vacation rental market. The Barcelona-based company was co-founded by Sergi Villaubí, who served as CEO, and Lorenzo Ritella, who took on the role of marketing director. Villaubí's background in programming, web design, and online marketing complemented the team's combined experience in the holiday rental sector, which highlighted the need for a unified comparison tool.

Apartum operates as a comparison portal for holiday apartments, aggregating listings from various online travel agencies and property managers. The platform's core function is to allow users to compare prices for the same rental property listed across different booking websites, potentially saving users up to 40%. The business model is rooted in a pay-per-click system, generating revenue by charging partner agencies for each user redirected to their site to complete a booking. This approach targets consumers looking for vacation rentals who are overwhelmed by the fragmented nature of the market, where a single property can be listed at multiple price points.

The service scans millions of holiday homes from partners like Booking.com, HouseTrip, and Roomorama, presenting them in a single, searchable interface. By February 2014, less than a year after its launch, the platform boasted half a million properties and was available in eight languages. The company secured several rounds of funding to fuel its growth and international expansion. Key funding milestones include an undisclosed amount from Lanta Digital Ventures in October 2014, a €500,000 seed round in September 2015, and a significant $2.12 million round on February 14, 2017, led by Kibo Ventures and Smartech Capital.

Keywords: vacation rental, metasearch, travel technology, price comparison, online travel agency, holiday apartments, accommodation booking, pay-per-click, property aggregation, Barcelona