Athens, Greece · Startup Blueground is an Athens-founded proptech company launched in 2013 by Alexandros Chatzieleftheriou that leases, furnishes, and rents apartments for mid-to-long-term stays of one month or more. The company operates in over 30 cities worldwide including New York, London, Paris, Dubai, and Athens, targeting business travelers, relocating professionals, and remote workers who want hotel-like convenience with the space of an apartment. Blueground has raised over $310 million from investors including WestCap, Eurazeo, and VentureFriends. It is Greece's most prominent venture-backed startup and a leading European alternative to traditional corporate housing.
Prague, Czech Republic · Startup Daytrip provides door-to-door private car transfers between cities, pairing long-distance travel with local driver-guides. The model serves tourists who want flexible, comfortable intercity travel without the hassle of trains or buses. The company is profitable and has expanded globally, including the US and Asia. By 2026, Daytrip is a recognized Czech travel-tech export.
Berlin, Germany · Startup GetYourGuide is a Berlin-based travel experiences marketplace founded in 2009 by Johannes Reck and Tao Tao. The platform connects travelers with curated tours, activities, and attraction tickets in destinations worldwide, offering everything from skip-the-line museum passes to multi-day excursions. GetYourGuide has raised over $900 million from investors including KKR, SoftBank, and Temasek, reaching a valuation above $2 billion. The company serves tens of millions of travelers annually and has expanded into branded 'Originals' experiences operated under its own quality standards, positioning it as the leading European alternative to Viator in the tours and activities category.
Cologne, Germany · Startup HRS Group is a Cologne-based corporate hotel solutions provider founded in 1972 that has transformed from a traditional hotel booking service into a technology-driven platform for corporate travel management. The company provides enterprise hotel programs, meeting and event booking, payment solutions, and rate auditing tools to large corporations. HRS manages hotel programs for many Fortune 500 companies and processes billions of euros in hotel spending annually. While not a startup in the traditional sense, HRS has reinvented itself through technology, building an enterprise platform that competes globally in the corporate lodging space.
Prague, Czech Republic · Startup Mews is a cloud-native property management system built to replace legacy hotel software with an API-first platform. It powers hotel operations from booking and pricing to payments and guest communications, enabling chains to modernize at speed. By 2026, Mews is aggressively acquiring smaller travel-tech vendors and expanding global enterprise contracts, positioning itself as the default operating system for modern hospitality. The company is a Czech-born unicorn with a strong international footprint and deep Prague engineering roots.
Berlin, Germany · Venture Capital Target Global is a Berlin-headquartered international venture capital firm founded in 2012 by Alexander Frolov, Mikhail Lobanov, Shmuel Chafets, and Yaron Valler, investing across all stages from seed to late stage in European and Israeli technology companies. With over USD 3 billion in assets under management across early-stage, growth, and fintech-focused funds, Target Global has become one of the most active cross-border European venture investors, running parallel investment themes across fintech, mobility, logistics, travel, PropTech, and enterprise software. The firm has backed category-defining businesses including Auto1 Group, Delivery Hero, Revolut, Rapyd, TravelPerk, WeFox, and Omnipresent, and operates offices in Berlin, London, Tel Aviv, and Barcelona. Target Global is a useful reference point for founders looking for a European-headquartered fund that can write initial checks at seed and follow them all the way into late-stage growth rounds from a single partnership.