HouseTrip is Europe's largest HouseTrip is Europe's largest P2P (peer-to-peer) vacation apartment booking site. The model is the same as Airbnb's short-term home rental site, both search information on the platform, personal to personal service.

HouseTrip has just received a round of 17 million investment in April of this year, and has already received $2.7 million in investment.

HouseTrip takes the hassle out of direct communication and negotiation between tenants and homeowners. For homeowners, they can post homes for rent on the site and wait for renters; for renters, they can easily find and book the homes they need for business or vacation on the site. Obviously, HouseTrip is competing head-to-head with AirBnB, which offers a similar service.

Arnaud Bertrand, founder and CEO of HouseTrip, said: "Around the world, HouseTrip will become a major player in the hotel industry. HouseTrip will be a powerful alternative to hotels and hostels around the world." I wonder how the head of AirBnB will feel when he hears these words.

The model is simple: anyone can book a hotel room or an entire apartment or villa through the website when they go away. Because it's a peer-to-peer service, it's easy for renters and owners to communicate and negotiate directly. For landlords, they can post their homes for rent on the site and wait for tenants; for renters, they can easily find and book the homes they need for business or vacation on the site. The next step is to contact the owner or tenant through their internal mail, choose a time to stay and pay online is a matter of private negotiation between the two.

HouseTrip was launched in January 2010. Funded by Index Ventures and various business angel investments. It also has offices in Switzerland (Lausanne), Portugal (Lisbon) and the UK (London). HouseTrip is constantly adding new accommodations to its website, with more than 350 destinations popping up daily around the world.

The site was co-founded by a 27-year-old Frenchman and his wife. A bit of a husband and wife store feeling, no matter how a loving couple hand in hand to start a business together is always a happy romantic thing! Not to mention the fact that they are still making money together!