Travel has always been about narratives. Great journeys are connected by stories of exploration, missed connections and unexpected discoveries. GetYourGuide, now one of the world’s largest platforms for booking tours and activities, began with such a story. This article traces the company’s rise from a student project in Berlin to a global marketplace reshaping the travel‑experience industry.
Jump to: The Beginning • Early Years • The Smartphone Revolution • Global Expansion • The Pandemic Shock • Funding and Innovation • AI • Expanding Categories • Global Vision • Strategic Patience • Core of Travel • Competition • Challenges Ahead • Looking Forward • FAQ
TL;DR
- Founded in 2009 by ETH Zurich students after a lost-in-Beijing mishap.
- Pivoted from peer-to-peer tours to a curated marketplace for professional operators.
- Raised over $1 billion, reaching unicorn status after SoftBank’s $484M investment.
- Survived the pandemic by focusing on flexibility, local tourism, and AI innovation.
- Now offers 200+ million tickets through 35,000 partners across 150+ countries.
Related Reads:
The Accidental Beginning: Lost in Beijing, Found in Berlin
Every entrepreneurial journey has an origin tale. For GetYourGuide, the seed was planted when two friends arrived in Beijing on different days. In the summer of 2008, Johannes Reck, then a student at ETH Zurich, booked his flight a day earlier than planned and found himself wandering Beijing without a plan or language skills. Unable to understand public transport signs and with no way to connect to local guides, he spent hours aimlessly circling the city.
When his friend Tao Tao arrived the next day, he served as an impromptu guide, showing Reck around and translating interactions. The experience highlighted how difficult it was for travelers to discover authentic local experiences and connect with local guides.
Back in Zurich, Reck and Tao joined fellow students Martin Sieber, Tobias Rein and Pascal Mathis to brainstorm a solution. They envisioned a peer-to-peer marketplace connecting travelers with knowledgeable locals. Their project was not just a business idea; it was rooted in a deeply personal frustration: the inability to bridge language and cultural barriers in a foreign city. That empathy would later become central to their brand.
In May 2009 they founded GetYourGuide in Zurich. Initially the platform was modeled after Airbnb but for experiences. However, as the founders soon discovered, most travelers were wary of booking tours from strangers, and local hosts had limited capacity to deliver consistent quality. A turning point came when a kayaking operator in Switzerland asked to list his tour and pay to do so.
The team realised there was greater demand among professional tour operators who already offered high-quality experiences but lacked a global online channel. This pivot - from a peer-to-peer model to a curated marketplace of professional suppliers - would define GetYourGuide's future.
Early Years: Berlin Move and Learning to Scale
After testing the concept in Switzerland, the founders relocated to Berlin, Germany, in 2009. Berlin, with its growing startup scene, affordable rents and international talent pool, offered the perfect environment. The city’s open, artistic culture also aligned with the company’s mission of showcasing experiences and cultural exchange.
In these early years, they built relationships with tour operators across Europe, convincing them to list on the platform. Convincing suppliers was not trivial. Many operators still relied on hotel concierges, brochures and on‑site sales and were skeptical about a new platform run by students. Yet the founders persisted, attending trade shows and personally meeting tour guides. This ground‑level work gradually built supply and trust.
Funding was another challenge. The company’s first capital came from an ETH Zurich grant for student entrepreneurs. With some angel funding they could hire a few employees and build the platform. By 2010, they secured a Series A round from venture capital firms, enabling expansion beyond Switzerland. Over the next few years, GetYourGuide raised additional funding: Series B in 2013 and Series C in 2015. Each round allowed the company to grow its inventory, hire engineers and marketers, and invest in user experience.
The Smartphone Revolution
GetYourGuide launched its first mobile app in 2014, tapping into the smartphone revolution. Suddenly travelers could discover and book tours on the go rather than planning weeks ahead. This change coincided with a cultural shift: travelers were moving away from collecting souvenirs toward collecting experiences. Social media also played a role.
As people posted photos of cooking classes, wine tastings or “secret” urban tours, demand for authentic experiences grew. The average age of GetYourGuide’s customers shifted from 40–50‑year‑old families to 25–40‑year‑olds, influenced by the culture of sharing experiences online. This new generation valued unique activities and often booked them spontaneously, perfectly aligning with the mobile app’s capabilities.
By 2019, GetYourGuide offered around 50,000 experiences and had sold 25 million tickets. That same year SoftBank’s Vision Fund led a $484 million Series E round, valuing the company at over $1 billion. TechCrunch described the investment as one of the largest funding rounds for any European startup at the time, catapulting GetYourGuide into the unicorn club. SoftBank’s backing signaled confidence that experiences were a lucrative, under‑digitized sector and that GetYourGuide could become the dominant platform.
Entering North America and Asia
Armed with capital, GetYourGuide expanded aggressively into new regions. It opened offices in North America, securing supply in major cities such as New York and San Francisco. Asia also beckoned. Japan, for example, quickly became the company's largest destination, with bookings five times higher than pre-pandemic levels by 2025.
Expanding in Asia required understanding cultural differences and building partnerships with local operators who often spoke little English. The company's European sensibilities - an emphasis on cross-cultural understanding, high customer service standards and an appreciation for history and art - helped win trust in Asia and the United States.
Yet international expansion also revealed the complexities of local regulation and the need for localized products. For example, in Japan and Vietnam, GetYourGuide had to adapt marketing messages and booking flows to accommodate local payment methods and consumer behavior. This period forced the company to operate like a global local, building infrastructure that could scale while remaining culturally sensitive.
The Pandemic Shock: Crisis and Resilience
The COVID‑19 pandemic in 2020 nearly wiped out the experiences business. Overnight, travel ground to a halt. According to CEO Johannes Reck, GetYourGuide’s revenue was “wiped out” as cancellations poured in. The company had to furlough employees and cut costs. Yet rather than hibernating, management used the downtime to rethink the product.
They introduced flexible booking policies and pivoted to local tourism where restrictions allowed. They also accelerated their investment in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, to improve search relevance, pricing and content.
As travel resumed in late 2021 and 2022, demand for experiences skyrocketed. Travelers were eager to reconnect with people and places after months of isolation. Reck noted that bookings exceeded pre‑pandemic levels, and the company quickly scaled staff to meet demand. The experiences sector emerged from the pandemic stronger than before, with many travelers prioritizing activities over material purchases.
Funding and Product Innovation
In June 2023, GetYourGuide raised $194 million in a combination of equity and debt, led by investors including UniCredit, Blue Pool Capital and KKR. The funding increased the company’s valuation to around $2 billion and provided resources for expansion in the U.S. and product development, especially AI capabilities. Speaking to CNBC, Reck explained that the experiences market could be worth $300 billion globally and that GetYourGuide was only just scratching the surface.
Ai at the Heart of the Platform
A major focus after 2023 has been deploying AI to improve discovery, personalization and partner tools. In his 2025 keynote at the Unlocked Americas Summit, Reck noted that the experiences sector is now 50 percent larger than it was in 2019, approaching $400 billion annually, and that online travel agencies have doubled their share of this market.
To capture this growth, GetYourGuide must structure an inherently unstructured product — tours, shows and local activities vary immensely in content, length and quality.
That is where AI comes in. The company uses large language models to generate descriptions, translate reviews and surface relevant experiences based on user preferences. It employs AI‑powered tools to analyze and summarize customer reviews, providing actionable recommendations to suppliers and simplified information to travelers.
In its 2025 Spring Release, GetYourGuide introduced “Content Insights,” which automatically detects inconsistent or missing information in listings, and “Review Management & Provider Rating,” which uses AI to generate concise summaries of guest feedback and suggests improvements. The release also added dynamic filters to help travelers narrow down choices and a pickup planner for operators to manage logistics.
By the Fall 2025 release, these AI tools had become widely adopted. Over 60 percent of supply partners used AI features, and GetYourGuide reported having sold over 200 million tickets through more than 35,000 partners. The update introduced a QR code generator for quick check‑in, an AI reply optimizer to help operators respond to reviews efficiently, and a redesigned product details page for easier editing. For travelers, the platform rolled out new activity cards with curated images and highlights, along with AI‑powered filters to tailor recommendations.
Expanding Categories
GetYourGuide has always thrived by offering a vast variety of tours, but in 2024-2025 it expanded into new categories that blurred the line between travel and entertainment. Through partnerships with MGM Resorts' Cirque du Soleil, Broadway and West End theaters, NBA and MLB games, and major music festivals, the platform added shows and events to its lineup.
It even built dynamic seat selection and pricing technology - no small feat given the complexity of ticketing at venues - to deliver a frictionless booking experience.
The company also experimented with early access art experiences under the banner "All Art, No Crowd." Travelers could book exclusive tours at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Tate Modern in London and the Vatican Museums in Rome. These experiences sold out quickly, underscoring travelers' desire for intimate, unique moments. Another initiative, "passion-led experiences," tapped into popular culture.
GetYourGuide collaborated with Netflix and the travel company Dharma to create Emily in Paris tours, which allow fans to follow in the footsteps of the show's characters while learning about Parisian culture. These expansions show how experiences can intersect with entertainment and media, reinforcing GetYourGuide's brand as more than a simple tour aggregator.
A European Heart With a Global Vision
Although GetYourGuide now operates worldwide, its European roots have profoundly shaped its identity and strategy. The founders’ values – cross‑cultural respect, attention to history, and a commitment to supporting small businesses – are hallmarks of European tourism.
These values translate into the platform’s emphasis on curated experiences and human connection. In the spring 2025 keynote, Reck noted that 84 percent of reviews on the platform refer to guided experiences, highlighting the importance of personal interaction despite advances in AI. He argued that while AI can facilitate discovery and efficiency, humans remain central: “experiences are about human connection”.
This philosophy also appears in the company’s social initiatives. In 2025, GetYourGuide joined Germany’s “Made for Germany” initiative, committing to invest in the country’s digital future and support small and medium tourism businesses.
Reck said technology should empower, not replace, local operators, reflecting the company’s mission to connect travelers with unique local experiences while preserving cultural authenticity. The same ethos informed the company’s early pivot toward professional operators. Instead of eliminating the middlemen, GetYourGuide aimed to give them a platform to reach global audiences.
European Expansion Strategies
As a Berlin‑based company, GetYourGuide’s earliest partnerships were with European tour operators. The continent’s deep history and cultural heritage provided a rich inventory. However, the company also faced European realities: regulatory fragmentation, different languages and distinct consumer behavior across countries.
To navigate these challenges, GetYourGuide built localized websites and customer service teams fluent in multiple languages. Its Berlin headquarters houses employees from over 70 nationalities, reflecting its commitment to global diversity and inclusivity.
Europe also influenced the company’s design aesthetic. The platform emphasizes storytelling and visuals – reminiscent of European travel magazines – to inspire discovery. It invests in editorial content and guides rather than purely transactional listings. This editorial approach distinguishes GetYourGuide from some of its American competitors, which focus more on price comparison.
Culture and Strategic Patience
The success of GetYourGuide did not come solely from raising capital and building technology. The company’s founders credit much of their progress to culture and strategic patience. In a podcast interview, co‑founder Tao Tao compared their journey to climbing through soccer divisions: each funding round and market entry requires new skills and mindset. The team learned to operate at different scales, from hustling for their first customers to running a multi‑billion‑dollar platform.
Customer obsession has been a core value. Tao recalls knowing by heart the top five search terms on the platform, which reflected real customer interests and guided product decisions. This obsession led to features like personalized recommendations, flexible cancellations and 24/7 support. It also meant investing in local markets and content to ensure tours met both travelers’ expectations and local operators’ needs.
Yet not everything went smoothly. In the PhocusWire interview, Reck admitted regrets: expanding too slowly in the Asia‑Pacific and U.S. markets and delaying investments in brand building. The company also grappled with overtourism, particularly in European cities.
Reck said they are working on dynamic inventory management – using price and availability to spread demand to lesser‑known attractions – and building experiences in secondary destinations. These actions reflect a maturity in balancing growth with sustainability.
Experiences as the Core of Travel
GetYourGuide’s rise occurs within a broader shift in travel. According to industry projections, the global travel experiences market was expected to reach $270 billion in 2024, surpassing the $254 billion recorded in 2019. Travelers no longer view experiences as optional add‑ons; they plan trips around specific activities.
The Arival research notes that culinary classes, volcano hikes, literary tours and immersive cultural experiences are trending categories. Demand is fueled by social media and a desire for unique, shareable moments.
At the same time, the supply side remains fragmented. Many small tour operators lack digital booking tools and marketing budgets. GetYourGuide serves as an intermediary, offering these operators visibility and booking infrastructure. AI helps them translate and summarize reviews, optimize pricing and test new categories.
The company takes a commission on bookings and invests heavily in marketing to attract customers. While critics worry that OTAs could commoditize experiences, GetYourGuide emphasizes curation and quality control through user reviews, supplier vetting and algorithmic rankings.
Competition and Differentiation
GetYourGuide competes with players like Viator (a TripAdvisor subsidiary), Airbnb Experiences, Klook in Asia, and other local operators. The experiences sector remains less commoditized than flights or hotels, leaving room for multiple winners.
GetYourGuide differentiates itself through scale (millions of reviews and hundreds of thousands of experiences), a robust mobile app, and an early investment in AI. Its European sensibility also shapes its brand as culturally rich and trustworthy.
Challenges Ahead
Despite its success, GetYourGuide faces challenges. Regulation of short‑term rentals and tourism taxes could impact some experiences. The company must continuously update safety protocols and ensure suppliers meet quality standards. Moreover, generative AI could lower barriers to entry for new competitors, requiring GetYourGuide to continue innovating.
Overtourism remains a pressing issue, particularly in iconic European cities like Venice and Barcelona. The company’s dynamic pricing and discovery tools aim to distribute demand, but their effectiveness remains to be seen.
Looking Forward: The Next Chapter
GetYourGuide’s journey from a Berlin startup to a global platform reveals the power of storytelling and persistence. Born from a day of confusion in Beijing, it grew through customer empathy, product innovation and cultural awareness. As the company enters its late teenage years, it continues to evolve.
The experiences sector – once considered a niche – is now central to travel. AI and partnerships with entertainment giants like Broadway and the NBA show how experiences can cross industry boundaries. Yet the core remains human: connecting travelers with guides, artists and cultural creators.
Reflecting on their journey, co‑founder Tao Tao likened it to playing soccer: you have to adapt to new leagues, always learning and growing. From scrappy founders begging tour operators to list their experiences to managing a global network of tens of thousands of suppliers, the team has navigated multiple transitions. It’s impressive how a small Berlin idea reshaped global travel booking.
GetYourGuide’s story also underscores the value of European entrepreneurial culture. The company remained rooted in Berlin even as it expanded worldwide. Its offices in Berlin, Zurich and beyond are melting pots of nationalities, reflecting the diversity of the experiences it offers. The founders maintain that technology should empower local communities rather than displace them. This philosophy resonates as the travel industry navigates the tension between globalization and localization.
Looking ahead, GetYourGuide aims to become five times larger than its 2019 self. It plans to deepen its presence in the Americas and Asia, diversify into wellness, adventure and culinary sectors, and invest in sustainability. The road ahead will not be easy, but if history is any guide, GetYourGuide will continue to innovate, adapt and tell stories that inspire travelers around the world.
The next time you book a cooking class in Tokyo or an early morning museum tour in Berlin through GetYourGuide, remember that it all started with a lost day in Beijing and a group of students who believed that connecting people through experiences could change travel forever.
FAQ
How did GetYourGuide start?
It began in 2008 when co-founder Johannes Reck got lost in Beijing and realized how hard it was to find authentic local experiences. That moment inspired a digital marketplace to connect travelers with guides.
Why is Berlin the company’s base?
Berlin offered a diverse talent pool, affordable rent, and a creative ecosystem that matched the company’s mission to bridge cultures through experiences.
How did GetYourGuide survive the pandemic?
By pivoting to local tourism, introducing flexible cancellations, and investing in AI tools that improved personalization and logistics.
What sets GetYourGuide apart from Viator or Airbnb Experiences?
Its European curation style, AI-backed personalization, and emphasis on storytelling and human connection rather than pure price competition.
How many experiences are available today?
More than 150,000 activities from 35,000 vetted partners across 150+ countries.