Online travel firm GetYourGuide raises $75 million

trivago NV

02/11/2017 14:00

* Firm focuses on bookings for "in-destination" activities 
    * Has sold 10 mln tickets - nearly half this year 
    * Founder wants to invest in growth, but doesn't rule out 
IPO 
 
    By Douglas Busvine 
    FRANKFURT, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Berlin-based online travel 
booking firm GetYourGuide has raised $75 million to expand its 
offering that helps tourists book activities at their 
destinations ranging from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to shark 
diving in Cape Town. 
    GetYourGuide specialises in so-called in-destination 
activities and says it is experiencing explosive growth with 
nearly half of the 10 million tickets ordered through its 
platform being booked this year. 
    "We are opening the next era of online travel - which is 
what I can do at a destination," CEO Johannes Reck said in a 
telephone interview. 
    "We're a new kid on the block that doesn't sell air fares or 
hotel rooms. We focus on the experience." 
    European venture capital investors are shifting away from 
price comparison sites to new areas of travel, as airline and 
hotel brands begin to take back control of bookings at the 
expense of intermediaries like eDreams  EDRE.MC , Expedia 
 EXPE.O , TripAdvisor  TRIP.O  and Trivago  TRVG.O . 
    The later-stage, "Series D" round was led by Battery 
Ventures, a technology-focused investor that was joined by all 
of GetYourGuide's existing backers including KKR  KKR.N , Spark 
Capital, Highland Europe, Sunstone Capital and Nokia's 
 NOKIA.HE  venture capital firm Nokia Growth Partners. 
    The funding round, which brings the total amount raised by 
GetYourGuide to more than $170 million, according to Crunchbase, 
comes at a time when some other online travel companies have hit 
a rough patch. 
    GetYourGuide operates on commission, which Reck said is a 
more robust model than advertising-driven price comparison sites 
like Trivago. He said it creates "lock-in" with GetYourGuide's 
10,000 suppliers, while its customers can get their money back 
if they find local prices to be cheaper. 
    The company provides access to more than 31,000 tours and 
attractions in 7,300 destinations around the world.  
    It estimates the size of the global market for sightseeing 
tours and other activities at around $150 billion - or 10 
percent of total leisure travel spending. It cited forecasts 
that the market could be worth $183 billion by 2020. 
    "We think that 20-25 percent of the global market can move 
online," said Reck, noting online spending is no more than 1.5 
percent currently. 
    GetYourGuide did not disclose its financial performance, nor 
the valuation put on the business by this funding round, but 
Reck did say he wanted to focus on investing in long-term growth 
over achieving near-term profitability. 
    Commenting on a possible initial public share offer, Reck 
said: "We are definitely considering this - it's the primary 
option at this time. But we have a ways to go before we can talk 
about that. 
    "Why not stay private for a couple more years and really 
invest?" 
    One of Europe's most successful venture capital investments 
in recent years was Scotland's SkyScanner, which Chinese online 
travel company Ctrip.com  CTRP.O  paid 1.4 billion pounds ($1.74 
billion at the time) to acquire a year ago. 
 ($1 = 0.7625 pounds) 
 
 (Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Greg Mahlich) 
 ((douglas.busvine@tr.com; +49 69 7565 1271; Reuters Messaging: 
douglas.busvine.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: TECH GETYOURGUIDE/