Articles tagged “funding”

Restaurants and other in-destination experiences for locals and travelers will play an increasingly important role in TripAdvisor's future over the next few years. They enable TripAdvisor to diversify away from casual leisure travelers toward restaurant and tour patrons who might book way more frequently.

While Skyscanner mulls an IPO and other European travel companies and startups attracted venture capital funding in 2016, things might be trending downward. Investors will likely be more timid in 2017 as European travel brands confront challenges wrought by Brexit, terrorism and local economies.

A $20 million investment in a consumer travel content company? From one to another, that's nice news, but we struggle to see how much growth it can really have.

OnceThere has proven it can attract some investor attention but tours and activities is a sometimes-low margin business and it's next step is demonstrating it can link up with more booking sites in the U.S. and around the world.

We love the idea of Remote Year but can't figure out the attraction for venture capital, except perhaps the desire to live vicariously through other people spending your money.

TripAdvisor's investing activity was down more than $30 million for the first half of 2016 and its investment in Southeast Asia's Eatigo doesn't mean it's turning up the heat on funding for startups. However, it does signal TripAdvisor's ongoing interest in getting deeper into dining reservations around the world.

Things haven't looked great on paper for travel startup funding this year. Many investors have told us they feel there's a lack of originality in travel and that, combined with the global economy, likely explains what's going on.

Travelers want to consume content on the same devices that they use for every other aspect of their lives and that includes virtual reality videos. InstaVR's focus on apps helps travel brands reach their audiences that may not own virtual reality headsets yet and enjoy watching videos on their phones.

Travelers will never tire of experiences that get them closer to food and people in a city and apps using the VizEat model have taken off with locals as much as they have with travelers.

Many travelers, particularly wealthy ones, will always look to dine in the most exclusive restaurants any destination offers. Restaurant dining, however, is just one of a variety of food experiences travelers are looking for and mobile dining reservations apps should consider this as they expand.