VizEat raises $4.3 million for social dining

Another few million for the sharing economy.

VizEat, a European startup that lets travelers eat dinner in locals' homes, just raised €3.8 million (about $4.3 million) in a new funding round.

The startup focused on "social dining" allows locals, mainly in Europe, to sign up to host dinners in their homes. The hosts set a price for the dinner, encompassing the cost of ingredients and any profit they want to make from the meal. Travelers or really anyone interested can pay to join the event. VizEat takes a fee on top of that, paid by the attendees.

“For many holidaymakers, a VizEat food experience with locals is often the highlight of any trip. Because travelers don't have to radically change their travel habits to enjoy these great experiences, VizEat has partnered with a range of hospitality providers, harmoniously aligning itself with the tourism industry," VizEat CEO Jean-Michel Petit said in a statement. "This new round of funding will allow us to boost our growth plans so that we can bring our ultimate local food experiences to more people, in even more countries.”

VizEat was founded in 2014 and now has 20,000 hosts in 110 countries.

Its closest model in the United States is EatWith, a similar social dining startup headquartered in San Francisco that raised $8 million in 2014.

Feastly, another similar US startup, highlights near-professional chefs, rather than tourism.

VizEat acquired Cookening, a similar European startup, last year.

VizEat's most recent funding round included participation from prior investor Eurovestech. The company didn't disclose its lead investors or other participants.

Following its latest funding round, the company is opening new offices in the UK and Germany.

VizEat adds another layer to the sharing economy, where companies like Airbnb facilitate transactions between independent hosts and customers. In this case, VizEat hosts are just hosting visitors for a meal, rather than an extended period of time. The social component of VizEat is also more explicit, with the end product depending on interaction between hosts and guests.