Berlin travel start-up, GetYourGuide, secures $194 million in financing to boost its business after facing near collapse due to the pandemic

The Berlin travel start-up GetYourGuide sees itself back on the road to success after a near collapse in the corona crisis and has decided to invest in another round of financing $194 million (€182 million) secured.

According to the company on Thursday, the financial injection consists of one Equity financing of US$85 million by Blue Pool Capital with the participation of KKR and Temasek. In addition, the banks BNP Paribas and Citibank as well as the German KfW provided a revolving credit – a kind of overdraft facility for companies – of 109 million US dollars. According to company circles, the valuation of the start-up rose to almost two billion US dollars.

The Prenzlauer Berg-based start-up GetYourGuide mediates for a commission Travel experiences, tour guides or entrance tickets for vacationers around the globe. In 2019 – ten years after it was founded – the start-up had reached a billion dollar valuation thanks to a large investment by the Japanese investor Softbank.

through the Corona-Pandemics However, GetYourGuide got into difficulties because the travel business collapsed and the The company’s sales fell to almost zero was. At the time, Johannes Reck, CEO and co-founder of GetYourGuide, offered employees shares in the company instead of a salary so that they did not have to let the sought-after specialists go.

Booking volume four times higher than in the first quarter of 2019

With the end of the Corona measures in most countries, GetYourGuide could be on again most successful year 2019 so far continue and even surpass the results of that time. According to the company, the booking volume in the first quarter of 2023 is four times higher than in the first quarter of 2019: “The travel experiences category is growing rapidly and is benefiting from a cross-generational change in customer behavior,” it says.

The investment should be considered by GetYourGuide Leader in the $300 billion travel experience market strengthen, the company announced. The fresh money will be used, among other things, to expand the market presence in key regions such as North America. “This round of financing is a milestone for GetYourGuide and the beginning of a new chapter,” said Reck. Since the pandemic, GetYourGuide has come back as a bigger and better company. (Tsp, dpa)