Our investment in HomeExchange

Verlinvest’s investment supports HomeExchange as it turns trust-based travel into a global movement.

Paris & New York, September 15th —HomeExchange, the world’s largest home swapping platform, has secured a major investment from Verlinvest to accelerate its plan to make home exchanging a mainstream travel solution. The company has built the leading position in a category it pioneered over three decades ago, connecting members in 155 countries through a trust-based, non-monetary exchange model

With its investment in HomeExchange, Verlinvest, a global, family-backed, consumer-focused evergreen investment firm, makes a meaningful addition to its portfolio of global, fast-growing companies. Verlinvest’s portfolio includes Oatly, Vita Coco, and Tony’s Chocolonely, with alumni including Chewy and Vitaminwater. The investment will support HomeExchange as it scales its global platform and deepens its presence in existing markets, with a particular focus on North America and Western Europe.

Ternel (Capital Croissance), a shareholder and impact investor since 2015 , is renewing its commitment alongside the founders to support this new phase of growth. ISAI, a shareholder since 2021 that supported HomeExchange through its latest growth phase, is exiting its stake as the company enters this new chapter. Co-Founders and co-CEOs Emmanuel Arnaud and Charles-Édouard Girard remain at the helm, both increasing their stake as part of the transaction.

Three decades of disrupting how the world travels

For over 30 years, HomeExchange has connected travelers around the world, exchanging homes instead of money, and rediscovering hospitality in its truest form. In the last year alone, the platform has enabled 2.3 million travelers to complete more than 11.8 million overnight stays. These numbers underscore the scale of the shift toward home exchanging as a mainstream form of travel.

Emmanuel Arnaud, co-CEO of HomeExchange, said: “Home exchanging has moved from a niche idea to a proven way to travel, and HomeExchange has led that movement from the very beginning. This investment lets us grow it even further. Americans have shown that they’re ready to embrace new consumption models built on sharing rather than ownership. Verlinvest’s support gives us the resources and opportunity to accelerate our growth in the US and in Western Europe, allowing us to bring that experience to even more travelers while staying true to what has made HomeExchange successful”.

A long-term conviction in consumer shifts

Verlinvest was drawn to HomeExchange’s rare combination of scale and loyalty. The firm’s decision to invest reflects its confidence that HomeExchange’s community-first model can expand significantly further without compromising what has made it work.

Raphaël Thiolon, Managing Director at Verlinvest, said: “HomeExchange combines everything we look for at Verlinvest: a unique and innovative product, exceptional loyalty a market still in its early stages with immense long-term growth potential, and, finally, a remarkable team that shares our ambition to create an iconic global brand. We believe HomeExchange can become one of the major ways people travel and experience hospitality, and we are proud to support Emmanuel and Charles-Edouard as they make that ambition a reality”.

Building a global home exchanging movement

HomeExchange’s ambition for this next chapter is clear: to make home exchanging a mainstream way to travel globally. To get there, the company is focused on three fronts:

• A richer, more seamless experience for every kind of traveler. HomeExchange keeps refining the platform, including a new messaging system and calendar, and is rolling out new filters, like the ability to see at a glance whether a cleaning service is offered.
• Standout offerings that set HomeExchange apart. HomeExchange continues to expand HomeExchange Collection, its curated tier of exceptional homes, alongside new features built for pet owners.
• A larger, more connected community. HomeExchange is growing a member base that already spans 155 countries, with the ambition to strengthen its lead in the markets where it’s already the leader. The United States and Western Europe are the company’s primary growth focus, supported by a dedicated team and local partnerships.

“We have been supporting HomeExchange since 2015, and today we are reinvesting with even greater conviction. This new chapter alongside Verlinvest illustrates our thesis as impact investors: to provide long-term support for business models that combine strong growth with real societal benefits,” emphasizes Mohamed Abdesslam, Managing Partner at Ternel.

“When we invested in 2021, we were convinced that HomeExchange was laying the foundations for a new category of travel. Five years later, that intuition has come to fruition. We are proud to have supported this team throughout this journey,” added Aude Lapillonne, Partner; Pierre Martini, Managing Partner; and Christophe Poupinel, General Partner, ISAI Expansion.

About HomeExchange

HomeExchange is the world’s leading home swapping platform. Traveling with HomeExchange means staying in real homes without any financial transaction, based on the principle of reciprocity: each member lends out their home and, in return, is welcomed into another member’s home. Built on a community driven by trust and sharing, the platform enables millions of people to exchange homes each year and lists more than 600,000 homes in 155 countries.

Founded in 1992, HomeExchange was acquired in 2017 by Emmanuel Arnaud and Charles-Édouard Girard, co-founders of GuestToGuest (2011), the platform behind the GuestPoints system, which allows users to exchange homes with greater flexibility, without having to coordinate the availability of two households at the same time.

After acquiring several home exchange platforms between 2013 and 2023—all consolidated under the HomeExchange brand in 2019 — the company launched HomeExchange Collection in 2021, a service dedicated to exceptional homes. A certified B Corp™ since 2022, the company employs over 150 people across France, Croatia, Spain, and the United States.
www.homeexchange.com

About Verlinvest

Verlinvest is an international, family-backed evergreen investment company. Verlinvest identifies inflection points in consumer behaviors and partners with the businesses driving these consumer revolutions forward while having a positive impact. Established in 1995, with offices in Brussels, London, New York, Singapore, and Mumbai, Verlinvest focuses on the FMCG, health, consumer technology and lifestyle categories, investing across three strategies: Venture, Growth, and Platform — from early-stage backing through large-scale brand building.

The company has over €2.5bn in AuM and counts brands such as Oatly, Vita Coco, Tony’s Chocolonely, Purplle, K1 Speed, Mutti, Who Gives A Crap, and Insomnia Cookies among its portfolio, alongside alumni Chewy, Sula, and Vitaminwater.

Further information is available at www.verlinvest.com  

About Ternel

Ternel is a venture capital fund dedicated to European impact-driven technology startups, combining financial performance with positive impact. With €200 million in assets under management, Ternel invests from pre-seed through Series B.

Its investment thesis is built around two core pillars: restoring environmental ecosystems and advancing human and social progress. Its portfolio includes companies such as HomeExchange, Edflex, Certideal, Cosma, and Strong by Form.

Ternel is Capital Croissance’s early-stage impact tech strategy. Founded in 2012, Capital Croissance is an independent private equity platform with €1 billion in assets under management, backed by a community of more than 600 entrepreneurs, family offices, and private investors.

For more information: www.ternel.vc

About ISAI

For over 13 years, ISAI Expansion has been supporting Tech and Digital entrepreneurs who have chosen the path to profitability via Tech Buyout or Tech Growth operations. ISAI Expansion selects profitable, fast-growing companies with revenues of at least €10 million and invests, either as a majority or minority shareholder, alongside the founders and/or managers. ISAI Expansion has also supported numerous successful Tech successes, including Cosmo5, aDvens, Theodo, Invoke, HomeExchange and Vitalliance.

ISAI Expansion is a strategy of ISAI Gestion (« ISAI »), one of the pioneers in the French Tech ecosystem. Co-founded in 2009 ” by and for ” Tech entrepreneurs, ISAI gathers today more than 500 Entrepreneurs-LPs alongside major Institutional Investors.

With offices in Paris and NYC, ISAI manages €1.1bn across four investment strategies: Early-Stage Venture, Corporate Venture, Growth Lending and Tech Buyout. The company is a UNPRI signatory and a committed player in inclusive and low-carbon Tech.

For more information: www.isai.vc