GetYourGuide

Last updated
GetYourGuide
GetYourGuide logo.svg
Type of site
 Privately held company
Available in37 languages
Founded2009;16 years ago (2009) in Zurich, Switzerland
Headquarters
Berlin
,
Germany
Area servedWorldwide
Founders
  • Johannes Reck
  • Tao Tao
  • Tobias Rein
  • Martin Sieber
  • Pascal Mathis
Key peopleJohannes Reck (CEO)
Tao Tao (COO)
IndustryTourism
Products Online marketplace
Employees700+
URL www.getyourguide.com
Headquarters in Berlin GetYourGuide HQ 2018.jpg
Headquarters in Berlin

GetYourGuide, based in Berlin, is an online marketplace for tour guides, excursions, travel-related activities, and tickets to tourist attractions. [1] [2] It has more than 150,000 offerings worldwide from more than 20,000 supply partners, some of which use the GetYourGuide branding. [3] In the third quarter of 2025, the company sold over 10 million tickets. [4]

Contents

Providers list their service on the platform and are charged a commission on sales. [5] The site features an online customer review system and operators are required to perform to certain standards.

History

On a trip to Beijing in 2009, Johannes Reck arrived a day early and had trouble navigating the city; his experience improved greatly after he was shown around by his friend and classmate at ETH Zurich, Tao Tao, and they sensed a market for local tour guides. [6] [7] They developed a business plan for a peer-to-peer Internet platform that connected tourists with amateur guides. The plan was expanded and refined to an internet booking platform for professional tours and activities. [8] That year, they founded GetYourGuide. [9] Initially, the company was funded by friends and family members. [8] As a spin-off of ETH Zurich, GetYourGuide was initially headquartered in Zurich. It relocated its headquarters in 2012 to Berlin to raise venture capital.

In early January 2013, the company raised $14 million in a Series A round with investments from Spark Capital and Highland Capital Partners. [10] In late January 2013, it added $4.5 million in funding from investors including Kees Koolen. [11]

In April 2013, GetYourGuide acquired Gidsy, which had also been developing mobile apps and had a team of 12 developers. [12] [13]

In July 2014, the company raised $25 million in a Series B round. [14]

In November 2015, the company raised $50 million in a Series C round. [15]

In October 2017, GetYourGuide opened an engineering office in Zurich. [16]

In November 2017, GetYourGuide raised a $75 million Series D funding round to expand in Asia and the Americas. It sold 5 million tickets that year, compared to 5 million sold in all years prior. [17]

In August 2018, GetYourGuide began selling tours under its brand name in partnership with operators that meet certain standards. [18]

In April 2019, GetYourGuide raised $484 million in a Series E round led by SoftBank Vision Fund at a valuation above $1 billion, making it a unicorn. It was one of the largest-ever funding rounds for a European startup. [19] By that time, the company had sold 25 million tickets since inception. [20]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company shifted to remote work. [21]

GetYourGuide started selling activities in the United States in 2021. It also began accepting Dogecoin for payment. [22]

In May 2023, the company raised $194 million at a $2 billion valuation. [23] [24]

In October 2025, the company announced that it was profitable for the first time, it sold over 10 million tickets in the third quarter, and that it had €1 billion in sales in the past year. [4] [25]

Controversies

In April 2025, the company was one of several companies fined by the Italian Competition Authority for profiting from reselling tickets to the Colosseum at a profit and making it harder for tourists to buy tickets at face value. [26] [27]

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Greg (15 August 2011). "Europe's hottest startup capitals: Berlin". Wired .
  2. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (7 January 2013). "GetYourGuide Finds You Leisure Activities at Your Travel Destination" . The Wall Street Journal .
  3. ↑ Kelso, Stirling (19 March 2024). "Wanna tour the McLaren Racing headquarters? This travel site could take you there". Fast Company .
  4. 1 2 Schulz, Bailey; Agarwal, Pranavi (21 October 2025). "GetYourGuide Says It's Profitable on $1 Billion+ in Sales: How it Stacks up in Experiences" . Skift .
  5. ↑ Browne, Ryan (1 June 2023). "TripAdvisor rival GetYourGuide nears $2 billion valuation as it raises fresh funds to invest in A.I." CNBC .
  6. ↑ Donaldson, Ali (28 February 2025). "How This Travel Company Went From Bootstrapped". Inc.
  7. ↑ Hoon, Yeoh Siew (30 October 2025). "Full circle: GetYourGuide comes home to Asia". Northstar Travel Group .
  8. 1 2 Knoller, Rasso (19 October 2018). "Zeig mir deine Welt" [Show me your world]. Forum Magazine (in German).
  9. ↑ Bath, Dominik (3 September 2018). "Get your Guide plant neuen Campus in Berlin" [GetyourGuide is planning a new campus in Berlin]. Berliner Morgenpost (in German).
  10. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (7 January 2013). "Online Holiday Events Booking Platform GetYourGuide Raises $14M Series A To Internationalize Content, Zero In On Mobile". TechCrunch .
  11. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (30 January 2013). "GetYourGuide Gets $4.5M Series A Expansion, From Ex-Booking.com CEO (& Others), To Help It Scale Globally". TechCrunch .
  12. ↑ Butcher, Mike (24 April 2013). "Deadpooling Gidsy Acquired By GetYourGuide In A Berlininsiders-deal". TechCrunch .
  13. ↑ Butcher, Mike (24 April 2013). "Deadpooling Gidsy Acquired By GetYourGuide In A Berlin Insiders Deal". TechCrunch .
  14. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (31 July 2014). "Holiday Events Booking Platform, GetYourGuide, Pulls In Another $25M To "Landgrab" New Markets". TechCrunch .
  15. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (13 November 2015). "GetYourGuide Bags $50M To Grow Its Travel Activities Booking Platform". TechCrunch .
  16. ↑ Imwinkelried, Daniel (31 October 2017). "Zürich-Berlin hin und zurück". Neue Zürcher Zeitung .
  17. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (2 November 2017). "Battery Ventures leads $75M Series D in travel tours app GetYourGuide". TechCrunch .
  18. ↑ O'Neill, Sean (18 June 2018). "GetYourGuide Will Market Some Tours and Activities Under Its Own Brand" . Skift .
  19. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (16 May 2019). "GetYourGuide picks up $484M, passes 25M tickets sold through its tourism activity app". TechCrunch .
  20. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (16 May 2019). "GetYourGuide picks up $484M, passes 25M tickets sold through its tourism activity app". TechCrunch .
  21. ↑ Panzarino, Matthew; Hinson, Joey (13 March 2020). "Three travel startups tell us how they're responding to the coronavirus crisis". TechCrunch .
  22. ↑ Kiesnoski, Kenneth (29 June 2021). "Crypto-friendly travel site marks U.S. debut with dogecoin payment option". CNBC .
  23. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (31 May 2023). "GetYourGuide books $194M at a $2B valuation with travel experiences back in business". TechCrunch .
  24. ↑ Browne, Ryan (1 June 2023). "TripAdvisor rival GetYourGuide nears $2 billion valuation as it raises fresh funds to invest in A.I." CNBC .
  25. ↑ Bergen, Mark (21 October 2025). "Travel Site GetYourGuide Nears €1 Billion in Sales After Pandemic Slump" . Bloomberg News .
  26. ↑ Giuffrida, Angela (8 April 2025). "Main ticket seller and six tour companies fined £17m for Colosseum price-fixing". The Guardian .
  27. ↑ Jones, Gavin (8 April 2025). "Italy fines tour operators almost 20 mln euros over Colosseum tickets hoarding". Reuters .
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