Skift Take
The travel industry, no stranger to disruption, is experiencing a new wave of venture-backed startups. These businesses are generally larger than ever before and focused on bringing new customers and products into the digital travel fold. We expect this momentum to continue and for it to have an impact on executives, founders, and investors throughout the sector.
We are excited to present a limited edition e-book published by Skift Research on the new wave of venture capital and startups in travel, and it’s only $50. It’s a lighter read than our standard in-depth reports, but still packed with the same interesting stats, graphs, and actionable takeaways that you have come to expect from us.
In fact, much of the original data is pulled from this year’s diverse slate of travel research topics, making this e-book an ideal, and curated, entry point into the world of Skift Research.
A third wave of travel startups is building momentum in the marketplace. New travel businesses are on track raise more than $5 billion in venture capital worldwide this year, up from $1.6 billion in 2013.
The first era of web 1.0 startups brought travel online in the late-1990s and early-2000s. The second round of travel startups came in the early-2010s. Exemplified by Airbnb, these businesses were outsiders to the industry, looking to capitalize on stagnating innovation. Many focused on the sharing economy and new paths to distribution. In between these large waves were several smaller ripples. For instance, the dozens, if not hundreds, of startups hoping to be the “Facebook of travel.” Most of these inevitably failed.
But now a new, third wave of travel startups is building and set to wash over the industry. These businesses are, broadly speaking, larger and more mature. They are more likely to partner with industry incumbents and many even take direct investments from corporate venture capital arms. This new generation includes unicorn startups, private companies valued at over $1 billion, across many travel sub-sectors such as tours and activities (Klook), hospitality (OYO Rooms), corporate travel (TripActions), and more.
Skift Research’s new e-book identifies three large themes as well as their impacts for investors and stakeholders in the industry: the center of gravity in travel is shifting eastward; alternative accommodations move beyond Airbnb; and tours and activities come online.
What you’ll learn from this e-book:
- The amount of venture capital that travel startups are raising.
- Changing trends in travel startups: breakdowns by size, geography, and exits.
- How startups are capitalizing on the important role Asia has to play in the future of travel.
- What the move beyond Airbnb means for distribution, property management, and tech in the alternative accommodations space.
- A look at key players pushing to make tours and activities bookable online.
This is the latest dispatch from Skift Research aimed at analyzing the fault lines of disruption in travel. These publications are intended for the busy travel industry decision-maker. Tap into the opinions and insights of our seasoned network of staffers and contributors. More than 200 hours of desk research, data collection, and/or analysis goes into each piece.
After you subscribe, you will gain access to our entire vault of reports conducted on topics ranging from technology to marketing strategy to deep dives on key travel brands. Reports are available online in a responsive design format, or you can also buy each report a la carte at a higher price.
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Tags: skift research, startups, venture capital