Holibob secures $12 million Series A to drive growth in tours and activities marketplace

The British start-up aims to drive growth for partners like Amadeus, KAYAK and Secret Escapes having seen six-fold growth over the last six months

Tours and attractions digital marketplace Holibob has completed a $12 million Series A investment round.

The round comes after the British travel start-up made its first acquisition of TourismSolved in April and reported a six-fold increase in revenues over the past six months.

In addition to the new funding, Holibob has secured a flexible extendable credit facility to support the rapid scaling of its hiring and product development plans.

Craig Everett, founder and chief executive of Holibob, said: “With the expertise we have in place and the infusion of capital from this funding round, we’re well positioned to realise our vision of helping the tours and attractions industry effortlessly connect the right products with the right travellers at the right time.

“We’re thrilled to see investors recognize both the growth our team has already generated as well as the opportunity still in front of us to bring the tours and attractions space into a new age of context-driven commerce.” 

The Series A round was led by Ryan Howsam, founder and chief executive of British travel insurance company Staysure and leading investor in financial services, luxury, travel and tech sectors in the UK. 

Howsam, who has invested in Holibob since 2020, and has particpated in all funding rounds since then, said:

“Having worked with Craig, [co-founder] Angus, and the team for the past two years, it’s clear they have the drive and expertise to solve big problems and continue Holibob’s excellent growth trajectory.

“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.” 

Holibob said it will use the funding to accelerate innovation in machine learning, marketing technology, content optimisation, and consumer experiences in order to drive growth for its partners including Amadeus, KAYAK, and SecretEscapes. 

It added it “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”. 

“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,” added Everett. 

“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.”