Campsited launches €2.9m fundraising round to drive growth in 2021

Campsited, the online booking platform for campsites based at The Digital Hub in Dublin’s Liberties, is launching a fundraising round to raise €2.9m to support its plan to further scale the growth of the business and to look at potential acquisitions.

Campsited allows its customers to book from a choice of over 2,000 campsites in 18 different countries and experienced a surge in bookings last year, as holidaymakers looked for staycations in their own country and a preference for outdoor living due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The business was founded in 2015 by Finán O’Donoghue following his poor experiences trying to book camping holidays for his family. Campsited now employs 14 people, having hired 6 additional staff across finance, marketing and customer service to cope with the surge in demand experienced in 2020.

France is the company’s strongest market with over 1,100 campsites. The size of the French market is estimated at around 128 million nights annually, and rapid growth there last year help support a 5-fold increase in Campsited’s revenue despite a truncated booking season due to Covid-19.

Campsited will shortly launch RV and campervan rental options to their platform as well as German, Italian and Spanish versions of their website to sustain international growth.

Finán O’Donoghue, founder and CEO of Campsited, said:

“We know that camping holidays will prove even more popular than ever after the various lockdowns, given the outdoor nature of campsites. The measures taken by campsites to ensure the health and safety of customers are crucial to allowing domestic visitors the opportunity to enjoy their holidays. We expect strong growth again in the summer of 2021 due to pent up demand to get away and enjoy time with family and friends in a secure, safe and open environment.”

Fiach Mac Conghail, Chief Executive of the Digital Hub said:

“Campsited is a company we are proud to host here at The Digital Hub. They have pivoted to seize the opportunity for their business that pandemic has presented. By offering holidaymakers an easy way to book holidays in the outdoors and near home, especially at this time when we all need a break, their business is thriving. In the face of a hospitality sector beset by so many challenges it is great to see a company that is hiring staff and investing in growth.”

Campsited has partnered with the Lonely Planet to provide camping content to the publishers millions of readers. It is also Revolut’s selected camping provider on their Perks programme. The European camping market is estimated to be worth up to €12.5bn with over 25,000 campsites around the region.