Experiences Tech & Distribution. And Maybe Some Other Travel Industry Stuff #2
Welcome to the second edition of the Magpie Newsletter, covering technology and distribution in the experiences sector of travel.
1. Hopper Acquires Placepass
Hopper raised $345 million in 2021, among the largest rounds in travel tech. Their acquisition of Placepass signals a strategic push into the experiences market. Hopper operates as an app-only platform for flights with no performance marketing spend on Google, positioning itself more as a fintech company than a traditional OTA. Experiences offer the transaction frequency that Hopper needs -- tours, activities, and attractions provide consistent booking behavior. With 70 million app downloads, the company is building toward super-app status while avoiding the Google dependency that constrains Expedia and Booking.
2. Viator -- Commissions for Exposure
Commission-based rankings are standard industry practice, and Viator's explicit Accelerate program represents transparency around what typically happens informally elsewhere. The program places opted-in products in advertising placements across Viator within 48 hours, with the expectation that increased visibility will drive conversions that boost organic rankings. Lower-margin products like attractions may rank higher under this model, while higher-margin offerings like food and wine tours could face disadvantages.
3. Klarna Acquires Inspirock
Trip-planning applications have historically underperformed commercially despite solving real traveler needs -- Google even abandoned its Trips app pre-pandemic. Klarna's acquisition of Inspirock signals fintech interest in travel spending, backed by the company's $1.6 billion raise in 2021. Whether external funding can overcome traditional trip-planning app challenges remains to be seen.
4. The Connected Trip
Pre-pandemic, OTAs positioned interconnected travel experiences as their strategy for Google independence. Booking CEO Glenn Fogel continues discussing integrated itinerary updates across flights, transport, and accommodations. Expedia shifted its language from "connected trip" to simply "trip."
Major OTAs have actually reduced their direct involvement in experiences. Booking outsourced to TUI-Musement and Viator, while Expedia maintains direct contracts but accepts feeds from Viator and GetYourGuide. True integration requires deeper experiences participation, as activities represent the core reason travelers visit destinations.
5. City Experiences Acquires Devour Tours
City Experiences (Hornblower subsidiary) acquired Devour Tours, which operates food tours across eight European cities. This consolidation pattern is likely to accelerate as cash-positioned companies seek expansion while resource-constrained operators look for paths to recovery.
6. Loyalty, Discounts, Subscriptions -- Divergent Strategies
Major players are pursuing very different strategic approaches:
- Expedia: Branding and loyalty points
- Booking: Branding and discounts
- Tripadvisor: Subscription and membership models
- Google Travel: Customer satisfaction driving ad spend
- Klook: Horizontal integration toward super-app
- GetYourGuide: Vertical integration with original content
- Hopper: Fintech positioning enabling aggressive funding
7. Events
- WTM London -- November 1-3, 2021
- Tourism Innovation Summit (Seville) -- November 11-13, 2021
- Arival San Diego -- February 1-4, 2022