HouseTrip, which has offices in Switzerland, Portugal and the UK, launched in January last year, and the funding will enable the company to further develop its online products and recruitment, says a statement from Index Ventures.

The company was co-founded in 2009 by Arnaud and Junjun Bertrand. The service enables holidaymakers to book short-term apartments both through major providers and individual landlords in more than 350 cities worldwide.

David Norris, the former chief operating officer at Livebookings and previously website and e-commerce operations director at Expedia, has joined the business as chief operating officer.

Arnaud Bertrand comments, ‘In a nutshell, we have a superb opportunity in front of us: capturing it will take money, dedication and talent. We have Europe’s best investors behind us and are currently gathering online travel’s best minds.’