Azuro raises €5m to build Europe’s first user-owned portfolio of compact, design-led vacation homes

Swiss proptech and lifestyle startup Azuro has raised €5 million to launch Europe’s first user-owned portfolio of smart vacation homes, offering a new model for owning—not renting—beautiful, compact spaces across top European destinations. Founded by Jan Linhart and David Polacek, the company aims to move Europe beyond the short-term rental arbitrage model with sleek, design-led homes set in natural settings that owners can use year-round.

The funding round, backed by Robin Lauber, Daniel Bronk, and several prominent angel investors, supports Azuro’s plan to deploy approximately €50 million in real estate capital across nine European locations. The company will begin with Mallorca and the Alps, where the first homes are scheduled to open in 2026, targeting Europe’s top cycling, ski, and beach destinations.

“We’re building a network of sleek, compact homes that we would love to stay in ourselves,” said co-founders Linhart and Polacek. “Azuro’s homes are designed for year-round use and located in natural settings across European vacation hotspots, giving buyers meaningful experiences and long-term upside.” Each buyer owns a slice of the entire portfolio, gaining predictable, consistent stays across destinations without booking roulette or overpricing.

Azuro’s approach responds to short-term rental overpricing and regulatory pressure facing the European second home market. Instead of mega-villas or city flats, the company focuses on small, beautiful bases in nature minutes from essential amenities, with pricing tied to real property value rather than rental arbitrage. The model combines real property ownership with hospitality-grade consistency, targeting people who value time as much as taste.

“What will survive are sustainable, locally aligned homes that are consistently occupied,” the founders told CNBC, highlighting the shift away from traditional short-term rental models toward more sustainable vacation property ownership. Azuro’s portfolio ownership structure eliminates endless searches and booking uncertainty, providing predictable access to multiple locations across Europe through a single investment in the entire network of compact, design-led vacation homes.

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