The Eindhoven based travel experiences startup received the investment recently to roll out globally, as demand for unique travel experiences increases.
Withlocals connects – and wants to expand it’s network of locals
The travel experience marketplace received the funding from Inkef Capital, an Amsterdam based VC firm leading the series A round. At the moment the platform offers alternative activities in 24 cities, led by 900 locals. They expect to expand their activities to a total of 40 cities in the next year. Withlocals launched in 2014 offering mostly dining experiences at locals’ houses, being very popular in the Asian markets. They pivoted to a broader package of experiences, as they noticed travellers grew more interest in off the beaten track, no mass experiences.
Growth numbers and expectations
Withlocals says it is seeing over 10,000 people participating monthly in experiences. Over the past 18 months they increased booking volumes with an average of 20 percent per month. Next to expansion in more cities, the investment will be used to add multiple languages to its website and the roll out of new mobile functionalities. At the moment 42 percent of bookings is made via the mobile app. A number Withlocals expects to grow to 85 percent by the end of 2018.
Founder Marijn Maas, formerly involved in Typhone Telecom and Greenhouse Group: “At the start we mediated between locals and tourists for an authentic travel experience. It turned out not to be scalable, so in April 2016 we pivoted and focussed on tours and activities. We call it mass personalisation. Everything in a Withlocals program is tailor made for you and your travel companions.
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