Tech investment in group travel planning took off in 2022
After decades of trailing other sectors of the industry, capital investment in the group travel sector has picked up significantly in 2022. Four companies, WeTravel, BACH, Groups360 and Reposite have scaled operations considerably in the past year due in part to major outside capital investments from both within the travel industry and outside venture capital firms.
Each organization seeks to carve out its share of the billions of dollars that are spent on group travel annually by developing a proprietary technological solution. From end-to-end booking software for professional tour operators to buy-sell marketplaces to real-time availability of group hotel rooms and app-based platforms that promise to solve the pain points of planning group travel, these companies are promising to awaken an industry that to this point has mostly relied on email and spreadsheets.
Exactly who are these companies and what are they trying to achieve? Leisure Group Travel profiles these high flyers who are changing the way group travel is planned and managed.
Reposite
Number of worldwide employees: 31
Total funding to date: $10.2 million
Elevator pitch: Reposite is the industry-leading planning tool that fuels discovery and simplifies coordination for group planners. They provide complimentary tools to planners to create RFPs, run tailored supplier searches, request custom quotes and build proposals all from one centralized workspace. Our supplier marketplace is comprised of a diverse group of vendors representing nearly 6,000 locations worldwide and bringing over 12,000 offerings from 10 different categories such as activities, restaurants, transportation, catering, hired entertainment, hotels, decor, event staff and more.
What problem are they trying to solve? It’s impossible to book group travel online. All the major players in the space have historically focused on consumer travel. When you cross the threshold into groups that’s when things get difficult. Group planners are left spending countless hours making calls and filling out event forms for all the restaurants, activities and hotels in their itineraries. Reposite exists to maximize the efficiency of group travel planners effectively bringing them from these offline outdated tools to one online centralized workspace.
Contact: reposite.io
Groups360
Number of worldwide employees: 201
Total funding to date: $85 million
Elevator pitch: Groups360’s integrated technology solution, GroupSync, equips group, meeting and event planners to search and shop hotels worldwide and to book rooms and space directly, online or through a simplified RFP process. GroupSync is the first distribution channel to offer online booking for both group hotel rooms and meeting space at scale.
What problem are they trying to solve? Search, shop and book your group with ease with the GroupSync Marketplace. Group travel organizers can search and compare among 200,000 properties worldwide making shopping a quicker, more seamless experience while managing room blocks becomes much simpler with GroupSync Housing.
Contact: groups360.com
WeTravel
Number of worldwide employees: 100+
Total funding to date: $34 million
Elevator pitch: Founded in 2016, WeTravel’s platform was built to automate, integrate and simplify the travel booking process for any-sized group travel organizer and tour operator. Now used by more than 3,000 travel companies—to transact with nearly 500,000 travelers and thousands of suppliers, annually—the business has revolutionized how the travel industry manages their businesses with a suite of integrated administration, marketing and payment solutions that conjoin into an intuitive platform.
What problem are they trying to solve? Available to all-sized travel businesses, WeTravel revolutionizes how travel businesses operate; from analytical and cross-team administration functions to automated marketing tools to cross-border, cross-currency payment solutions, WeTravel’s travel-specific platform supports the entire back-end operations for travel businesses to successfully operate.
BACH
Number of worldwide employees: 32
Total funding to date: $ 8 million
Elevator pitch: BACH is the leading group travel platform for bachelor and bachelorette experiences. Their focus is on inspiring adventure while reducing the inherent pain points of group travel related to accommodations, activities, nightlife, payments, logistics, and beyond, all an app-based environment.
What problem are they trying to solve? It is especially hard to plan bachelor parties because there are different group dynamics, budgets and personalities that you have to factor in when doing so. BACH attempts solve the pain points behind planning a group trip by combining key features in one place.
Contact: thebach.com
