GetYourGuide

In this article, we will explore the fascinating world of GetYourGuide. From its origin and evolution, to its relevance in contemporary society, GetYourGuide has played a crucial role in various aspects of human life. Over the years, GetYourGuide has attracted growing interest due to its impact in different areas, from culture and history to science and technology. Through in-depth analysis, we will examine the many facets of GetYourGuide, addressing its influence on everyday life and its role in shaping today's world. Furthermore, we will delve into the different perspectives and opinions that have emerged around GetYourGuide, in order to better understand its importance and place in contemporary society.
GetYourGuide
Type of site
Privately held company
Available in24 (adding languages) languages
Founded2009 in Zurich, Switzerland
Headquarters
Berlin
,
Germany
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)
  • Johannes Reck
  • Tao Tao
  • Tobias Rein
  • Martin Sieber
  • Pascal Mathis
Key peopleJohannes Reck (CEO), Tao Tao (COO)
IndustryTourism
ProductsOnline marketplace
Employees700+ (Q1, 2023) [1]
URLwww.getyourguide.com

GetYourGuide is a Berlin-based startup[2] online marketplace for travel activities.[3] GetYourGuide sells tours and excursions, activities including cooking classes, and tickets to tourist attractions.[4] It offers more than 100,000 products worldwide from more than 20,000 supply partners.[5]

History

The idea for GetYourGuide was conceived in 2009 by co-founders Johannes Reck, Tao Tao, Martin Sieber, and Tobias Rein, who were classmates at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.[6] When traveling to Beijing, they found navigating a foreign city as tourists difficult. They developed a business plan for a peer-to-peer Internet platform that connected tourists with amateur guides. Later, the plan was expanded and refined to an internet booking platform for professional tours and activities.[7][8]

The company was then founded in 2009 in Zurich by the four students.[9] Initially, the company was funded by friends and family members.[10] The founders moved from Zurich to Berlin in 2013 to raise venture capital, but ended up getting a lot of their funding from American investors.[10] GetYourGuide raised US$170 million in funding over four funding rounds from 2009 to 2017.[11][12][13] Another $484 million was raised in a 2019 Series E round, valuing the company at $1 billion.[14] This was one of the largest-ever funding rounds for a European startup.[14] Then, in June 2023, GetYourGuide raised $194 million in venture capital, valuing the business at about $2 billion.[15]

In April 2013, GetYourGuide acquired Gidsy, which had also been developing mobile apps and had a team of 12 developers.[16] As a spin-off of ETH, GetYourGuide was initially headquartered in Zurich. The new company relocated its headquarters in 2012 to Berlin. An office in Zurich was maintained primarily for engineering teams.[citation needed] In October 2017, GetYourGuide opened a new engineering office in Zurich.[17]

In November 2017, GetYourGuide announced a $75 million Series D funding round raised to help support expansion in Asia and the Americas.[18]

By 2017, GetYourGuide was not yet profitable, but was rapidly growing. It sold 5 million tickets that year, compared to 5 million since it was founded in 2008.[19] This grew to 25 million total tickets sold by 2019.[20] During parts of the COVID-19 pandemic GetYourGuide shut down activity booking.[21][22] After travel restrictions were lifted, activity on the site rebounded[21][22] GetYourGuide started selling activities in the United States in 2021.[23]

In April 2019, GetYourGuide raised a $484 million investment from SoftBank Group. This infusion of capital raised its valuation above the $1 billion mark, making it a unicorn.[24]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company shifted to remote work.[25]

Services

Experience/tour providers list their service on the platform and the provider is charged a commission on the sales.[2] An online customer review system enables potential customers to assess the quality of tour providers. Additionally, GetYourGuide removes providers who consistently get bad reviews from its inventory.[7] In August 2018, GetYourGuide began selling tours under its own brand name. The company mined its data on customer preferences from having sold 15 million tours since its founding nearly a decade ago. From that information, it developed standardized criteria for how to best run a tour. To be labeled a GetYourGuide tour, an operator must agree to follow its best practices regarding meeting points, check-in processes, starting times, duration, and other factors. In return, the retailer will send more customers the operator's way.[26]

GetYourGuide headquarters from 2019 in Berlin

References

  1. ^ https://getyourguide.careers [bare URL]
  2. ^ a b Browne, Ryan (2023-06-01). "TripAdvisor rival GetYourGuide nears $2 billion valuation as it raises fresh funds to invest in A.I." CNBC. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  3. ^ Williams, Greg (15 Aug 2011). "Europe's hottest startup capitals: Berlin". Wired.
  4. ^ Kolodny, Lora (7 January 2013). "GetYourGuide Finds You Leisure Activities at Your Travel Destination". The Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ Kelso, Stirling (March 19, 2024). "Wanna tour the McLaren Racing headquarters? This travel site could take you there". Fast Company. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  6. ^ "Inside GetYourGuide: Germany's $2bn travel experiences platform". Sifted. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  7. ^ a b Knoller, Rasso (October 19, 2018). "Zeig mir deine Welt" [Show me your world] (in German). Forum Magazine.
  8. ^ "AIMUN 2007". ETH Zurich. October 3, 2007.
  9. ^ Bath, Dominik (September 3, 2018). "Get your Guide plant neuen Campus in Berlin". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Zeig mir deine Welt". Forum (in German). October 19, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  11. ^ Kolodny, Lora (January 7, 2013). "GetYourGuide Finds You Leisure Activities at Your Travel Destination". WSJ. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  12. ^ Lomas, Natasha (July 31, 2014). "Holiday Events Booking Platform, GetYourGuide, Pulls In Another $25M To "Landgrab" New Markets". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  13. ^ Butcher, Mike (April 24, 2013). "Deadpooling Gidsy Acquired By GetYourGuide In A Berlin Insiders Deal". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Lunden, Ingrid (May 16, 2019). "GetYourGuide picks up $484M, passes 25M tickets sold through its tourism activity app". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  15. ^ Browne, Ryan (June 1, 2023). "TripAdvisor rival GetYourGuide nears $2 billion valuation as it raises fresh funds to invest in A.I." CNBC. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  16. ^ Butcher, Mike (24 April 2013). "Deadpooling Gidsy Acquired By GetYourGuide In A Berlininsiders-deal". TechCrunch.
  17. ^ Imwinkelried, Daniel (October 31, 2017). "Zürich-Berlin hin und zurück". Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
  18. ^ Davies, Phil (30 November 2017). "GetYourGuide expands global language capabilities". Travolution.
  19. ^ Lomas, Natasha (November 2, 2017). "Battery Ventures leads $75M Series D in travel tours app GetYourGuide". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  20. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (May 16, 2019). "GetYourGuide picks up $484M, passes 25M tickets sold through its tourism activity app". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Browne, Ryan (June 1, 2023). "TripAdvisor rival GetYourGuide nears $2 billion valuation as it raises fresh funds to invest in A.I." CNBC. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  22. ^ a b Lunden, Ingrid (June 1, 2023). "GetYourGuide books $194M at a $2B valuation with travel experiences back in business". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  23. ^ Kiesnoski, Kenneth (June 29, 2021). "Crypto-friendly travel site marks U.S. debut with dogecoin payment option". CNBC. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  24. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (16 May 2019). "GetYourGuide picks up $484M, passes 25M tickets sold through its tourism activity app". TechCrunch.
  25. ^ Panzarino, Matthew; Hinson, Joey (13 March 2020). "Three travel startups tell us how they're responding to the coronavirus crisis". TechCrunch.
  26. ^ O'Neill, Sean (June 18, 2018). "GetYourGuide Will Market Some Tours and Activities Under Its Own Brand". Skift.
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