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Hipcamp campers at a  site in Maryland last year. Photo: AP

Hipcamp, ‘Airbnb of the Outdoors,’ Raises $57 Million

Photo: Hipcamp campers at a site in Maryland last year. Photo: AP

Hipcamp, a VC-backed startup that offers people places to stay or pitch a tent in rural areas, closed a $57 million funding round that values it at more than $300 million, according to financial filings, more than double the valuation of its last major financing in 2019. New investors in the round include Index Ventures and Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital, people familiar with the matter said.

The Series C round represents a turnaround at Hipcamp after Covid-19 brought a halt to most travel last spring. Bookings plunged 80% as the pandemic hit the U.S., but business rebounded sharply in summer as people began making travel plans focused on the outdoors. The number of transactions on the site more than quadrupled between June and August compared with the same period last year, according to a sample of data by Second Measure, an analytics site.

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