INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
More than 50% of residential apartments and other real estate properties in Jakarta are currently vacant, according to official estimates
A startup that is attempting to make it easier for tenants to rent these properties in Jakarta and other places in Indonesia said on
Thursday that it has closed a new financing round.Travelio has raised $18 million in its Series B financing round led by Singapore-based
Pavilion Capital and Gobi Partners, the four-year-old startup said
Some existing investors also participated in the round.The startup works with individual apartment owners and property dealers to allow
tenants to find and rent apartments
People can book an apartment for a day to months, Christina Suriadjaja, cofounder and chief strategy officer of Travelio, told TechCrunch in
an interview.Travelio has over 4,000 properties exclusively signed up with the platform, she said
The startup takes between 20% to 35% of the revenue cut from its property owner partners, she explained.Typically, it would cost a little
In Indonesia, currently those looking for an apartment from property dealers and individual owners have to make a down payment of 20% and
pay an advanced security deposit for more than a year
Through its pricing structure, Travelio is attempting to address this issue as well.A number of startups including RedDoorz, Oyo, and Airbnb
operate in Indonesia, but because they are focused on providing rooms for a day or two like hotels, this differentiates them from Travelio
Suriadjaja said Airbnb, which lists properties of Travelio, is more of a partner than a competitor
of house cleaning and maintenance of these properties
Some of the services it is exploring include interior design, daily necessities, financing, payments and other logistic-related
offerings.The startup aims to have 20,000 apartments on its platform in one year
