Travel technology company Holibob has raised £10.1 million to connect travellers with attractions.
The London firm collects, curates and distributes tours and activities, allowing travellers to book their place.
The Series A round was led by Ryan Howsam, founder and CEO of British travel insurance company Staysure, who is a known investor in financial services, luxury, travel and tech sectors in the UK.
Holibob has also secured a flexible extendable credit facility so the company can rapidly scale its hiring and product development efforts in line with future revenue growth.
That growth includes a 600% increase in revenue over the past six months, as well as the addition of numerous travel industry veterans to its executive team through the acquisition in April of TourismSolved.
That acquisition bolstered Holibob’s marketing capabilities, as well as its ability to offer the content and context travellers require before making a booking decision.
“We’ve seen a real gap in the industry’s ability to think beyond basic content, such as ‘top 10’ and ‘best of’ lists, and provide the context travellers need in order to find the perfect activities for their trip,” said Craig Everett, founder and CEO.
“Developing the technology to provide that context – and deliver the ideal product within it – is how we’ll help the industry move from being majority offline to majority online, and help travellers get more out of every trip they take.”
In Crypto: ‘People don’t fly in unsafe planes’ – Bank of England deputy
Holibob will use the infusion of capital to accelerate its innovation across machine learning, marketing technology, content optimisation, and consumer experiences in order to drive growth for its partners, which currently include Amadeus, Kayak, and SecretEscapes.
The company will also work to enhance the depth and quality of products offered through its platform, and help tour and attraction operators build their online presence to capture more direct bookings.
Howsam said: “The team’s proven ability to partner with, and more importantly drive revenue for, leading travel brands made it an easy decision to double down on my support for them and their business model, including the extension of a credit line that will allow the team to focus on innovation and execution rather than further fundraising.”