Travel Tech Essentialist #85: Default Investable
“Default alive” is almost an impossible standard for early-stage startups since it means being cashflow positive. On the other hand, “default investable” means that your metrics are good enough to raise another round in the current environment. — David Sachs
For the specifics, take a look at #2 below.
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1. Air travel search getting close to pre-pandemic levels
According to Amadeus data, global search volumes have been on an upward trajectory in the first 4 months of 2022. During the last week of April, global search volumes were only 3% short of pre-pandemic levels, with double-digit increases in searches in major markets such as Mexico (+69%) and Canada (+29%).
Domestic searches: 4% increase in the last week of April vs 2019, led by Italy (+82%), India (+47%) and the US (12%).
Intra-regional searches: the last week of April came only 4% short of 2019 levels. Strong performers were France (+38%), the UK (+35%) and the US (+19%).
International searches are the slowest to recover but are still performing strongly, with a drop of 7% vs 2019.
2. How to operate in today’s startup environment
This presentation (video) by David Sacks (PayPal mafia, founder Yammer, founder Craft Ventures, Bestie in All-In, etc…) is required watching for all founders and entrepreneurs out there. In the current environment, should you think of being “default alive” vs “default dead” or “default investable” vs “default uninvestable”? He gives specific scenarios and metrics in his presentation. If you prefer a text summary, here it is.
3. Europe leads in Q1 publicly traded travel company growth
Adding a few more publicly traded companies (Lastminute Group, Amex GBT, Trivago, HomeToGo, MakeMyTrip) to the Q2 2022 revenue growth ranking. Two European OTAs have the highest yearly revenue growth: lastminute.com (+522%) and eDreams Odigeo (+295%).
4. Q1 revenue and growth for selected travel startups
Thank you to the startups that provided their Q1 revenues and year on year growth. If you are a travel startup and want to be included in future results, please complete this form.
- Worldia (Paris): Tailor-made travel platform.
- Tropicfeel (Barcelona): Travel gear: sneakers, backpacks, apparel.
- Travel Compositor (Palma de Mallorca): Technology for the travel industry.
- Onfly (Belo Horizonte, Brazil): Corporate travel and expense management.
- Stay22 (Montreal): Interactive map to search and book accommodations.
- Kombo (Paris): Multimodal transportation booking platform.
5. Things to know about raising debt for startups
Founders have access to good resources to help them navigate equity term sheets, but there is less information on the role of debt in building a company. a16z has advised numerous startups from seed to pre-IPO on how and when to raise debt. In this post, they cover the most common questions, starting with the basics of how debt works, before breaking down the different debt options available at different stages and the current ecosystem of lenders. Read + a16z.
6. Hopper extends its travel insurance offering to bookings made outside of Hopper
Hopper continues to expand its Fintech capabilities, announcing several new products meant to help alleviate high prices, frequent delays, and consumer anxiety. One of the new products enables travelers to add flight disruption or cancellation protection after booking a flight via an airline or other online travel agency. Read + Phocuswire.
7. IRL work making a comeback…corporate travel might follow
Maybe just a coincidence, but Elon Musk liked this tweet…
…and 30 minutes later, he sent this email
8. Travel booking on Instagram
Travel sellers have generally had a tough time translating the growing influence of Instagram as a travel discovery and inspiration source into a large scale customer acquisition and sales channel. Tripscout wants to change this. Last week it announced:
A $10M Series A investment
The launch of the first hotel bookings platform for Instagram with 30-75% off deals on their @Hotel Instagram account.
The largest Instagram audience among travel brands, with 30M+ followers.
Read + Skift or Tripscout Press Release
9. Fundraising
Tel Aviv-based hospitality tech startup Duve raised $10 million, bringing its total funding to $14 million.
Chicago-based traveler journey data platform Journera raised $10 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz and BCG, bringing its total funding to more than $36 million.
Swiss-based Chain4Travel raised seed funding of $4.4 million for the development of its blockchain-based travel platform.
Short-term rental SaaS startup Hostfully raised $4 million in a seed round, bringing its total funding to date to $7 million.
Mobee Travel, a French platform for travelers with reduced mobility or disabilities, raised €1.5 million.
10. M&A and other
Electric aviation and charter flight company Surf Air will go public via a SPAC deal at a $1.42 billion value.
Amex GBT began trading on the NYSE via a SPAC. Read +.
Australian airline Qantas acquired 51% of TripADeal, an Australian OTA specialized in online packaged holidays.
HomeToGo is continuing its acquisition spree by acquiring German vacation rental technology company SECRA. Read +.
AWS is organizing a free virtual event focused on how travel and hospitality leaders are using the cloud. June 14th at 12PM US ET. Register here.
Travel Tech Essentialist job board
There are currently 81 exciting jobs posted in the Travel Essentialist job board. This job board can be a great resource whether you’re hiring or looking to be hired. Here are just a few of the amazing jobs seen on the board:
IDeaS: Technical Architect, Emerging Solutions (Remote)
WeRoad, DACH Regional Manager, (Berlin), > €100K
Airbnb: Senior Market Manager (Paris, Mexico City, New York)
Expedia: Brand Marketing Manager (Austin, TX)
Kiwi.com: Head of Product Marketing (Barcelona)
Browse more open roles (or add your own open roles) at Travel Tech Essentialist Job Board
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Have a great rest of the week,
Mauricio