Airbnb has led a $58 million Series C funding round for WeRoad, backing the Milan-based group travel startup as it prepares for its first major expansion outside Europe. The investment brings WeRoad’s total capital raised to about $100 million and gives the company fresh resources to enter the U.S. market, starting with Austin.
Founded in 2017, WeRoad has built its business around small-group trips for younger travelers, with itineraries designed around shared interests, age groups and travel styles. The company says more than 300,000 travelers have used its platform since launch, including more than 100,000 in 2025 alone. It reported €130 million in revenue last year, up 30% year over year.
The funding round comes at a time when travel companies are increasingly focused on experiences, community and social connection rather than only bookings. WeRoad’s model is aimed at travelers who want to visit new places but are also looking for people to share the trip with. Its groups typically include eight to 15 travelers, with members connected through WhatsApp before departure so they can begin interacting before the trip starts.
The company does not use traditional tour guides in the conventional sense. Instead, it works with more than 4,000 group leaders globally, who act more like coordinators and travel companions than destination lecturers. WeRoad says those leaders are chosen for travel experience and soft skills, including the ability to manage group dynamics, adapt to changes and help strangers connect.
Airbnb Bets on Social Travel and Real-World Connection
The deal gives Airbnb exposure to one of the fastest-growing parts of the travel market: experience-led, community-driven group travel. Airbnb has been trying to expand beyond accommodation and build a wider travel platform, including services, experiences and more social features inside its app. Investing in WeRoad gives the company a way to learn from a business that has already developed a repeatable model around group experiences.
The move also comes as Airbnb hires WeRoad CEO Andrea D’Amico as its vice president of hotels. D’Amico, who previously spent nearly two decades at Booking.com in senior hotel roles in EMEA, will remain on WeRoad’s board. That overlap suggests Airbnb is not only interested in WeRoad’s travel product, but also in the operating experience behind its growth.
WeRoad’s U.S. strategy will rely partly on WeMeet, its local events platform launched in 2025. The initiative focuses on curated in-person gatherings such as dinners, hikes, yoga classes, running groups, after-work drinks and board game nights. WeRoad says WeMeet has already attracted 50,000 attendees across 35 cities and reached 150,000 app downloads.
The company plans to use those events to build community before scaling its travel product in the U.S. Austin will be the first major launch market, chosen for its active community scene and energy around social experiences. Rather than expanding nationwide immediately, WeRoad plans to build city by city, recruiting group leaders, running local events and creating partnerships that can support future trips.
The broader opportunity is tied to what some investors call the “IRL economy,” a category focused on monetizing offline interaction in a world shaped by social media, remote work and AI. Travel is a natural fit for that trend because it already combines planning, identity, emotion and shared experience.
For Airbnb, the investment could help strengthen its long-running ambition to become more than a place to book stays. For WeRoad, it provides capital, credibility and a powerful strategic backer as it moves beyond Europe. The question now is whether its model of curated group travel can translate to the U.S. at scale.
