Travel experience marketplace GetYourGuide secures $194m to accelerate global expansion

GetYourGuide, the global platform for discovering and booking travel experiences, announced the closing of $194 million in equity and credit financing. The round represents a valuation increase for the company and solidifies its leadership position in the industry. The strategic investment will be deployed to expand GetYourGuide’s marketplace in key geographies such as North America and accelerate product innovation for both travelers and experience creators globally.

Blue Pool Capital led the $85 million Series F funding round, with participation from KKR and Temasek. UniCredit led the Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) of $109 million, with participation from BNP Paribas, Citi and KfW.

Johannes Reck, CEO and Co-founder, GetYourGuide: ''In the current market, we view this as a vote of confidence from our investors who believe passionately in unlocking unforgettable experiences for travelers around the globe. We are still early in the transformation of our category and the larger $300 billion category and the even larger $1.5 trillion experiences market.  And our technology is poised to help drive innovation and growth for our partners and customers alike.''

Consumers are continuing to spend on experiences over traditional retail goods. GetYourGuide’s data confirms this trend: booking volumes in the first quarter of 2023 are four times higher than the first quarter of 2019. The travel experiences category is quickly growing, benefiting from a generational shift in consumer spending habits. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, American consumer spending on experiences grew twice as fast as spending on goods between 2000 and 2019.

Oliver Weisberg, CEO, Blue Pool Capital: ''There is immense opportunity in the digitization of the experiences industry, and we believe GetYourGuide’s global leadership and market-leading customer-centricity in the category stems from its deep expertise in this complex space. We believe GetYourGuide is uniquely positioned to be the global leader in the category; we are pleased to lead the equity financing given the strength of the business.''

The investment will help increase the pace of innovation for travelers and supply partners, leveraging the rapidly progressing capabilities of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs).  The acceleration of product investment will not only help travelers make the most of their travels, but also empower supply partners to manage and grow their businesses on the platform with intuitive tools. 

The funding comes in time to kick off peak travel season, where record-breaking engagement is expected on GetYourGuide’s platform. J.P. Morgan acted as exclusive financial advisor to GetYourGuide on the transaction.

www.getyourguide.com