The travel industry has yet to see a clear frontrunner emerge in the tours and attractions space.
Be it for lack of the right idea or the right distribution model - or, most likely, both - no major or minor player in the activities segment has sufficiently capitalized on traveler needs. In part, due to increased competition among the players themselves.
Online travel companies like Expedia, though reluctant to always admit it, are sleeping with one eye open as budding peer-to-peer services start to make moves.
But it’s the less-established experiences platforms that have the highest hurdle to clear in their efforts to remain independent and secure direct bookings.
“The issue with us [partnering with major travel players] is if we do too much and rely on it, then we’re sunk, and we’re just another supplier, frankly,” says CityUnscripted founder and CEO Nick Whitfield.
“We need our brand, and we need people to rebook. Otherwise the OTAs make more money out of the experience than we do.”
Harsh reality
It’s a classic case of can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em - one from which no sector of the industry looking to scale is immune.
For CityUnscripted - which does count sites like Expedia, Viator and GetYourGuide as partners - Whitfield says direct bookings currently outnumber those made via outside travel companies, which account for just 30% compared to 100% of business when the company launched two years ago.
Still: “Our biggest challenge is to get distribution right,” Whitfield continues. “We need to get in front of the right people. Bookings are growing rapidly but we need to grow a lot faster and grow our marketplace smartly.”
Currently, London-based CityUnscripted’s p2p service operates in 32 cities - primarily in Europe but also in markets such as New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and Hong Kong - and has about 850 hosts.
Whitfield says the company’s growth strategy first involves increasing its number of local hosts - to the tens of thousands - then expanding activities options to cities in the hundreds.
While CityUnscripted is “getting a high repeat booking ratio,” there’s no denying the exposure granted by the likes of OTAs. “It’s good distribution, but it’s entirely on them promoting us,” Whitfield says.
“It feels like you can get lost. The branding doesn’t stand out as a result.”
CityUnscripted’s particular product thus gets shuffled among the myriad of offerings on major platforms.
“Our whole ethos is to massively improve city travel for travelers around the world by replicating the best experiences,” he says. “We think traditional tour guides of old are becoming less and less popular.”
He says travelers of all ages - from 18 to 50, and not millennials specifically - are looking for more out of travel, beyond well-worn tour routes in favor of diverse city experiences. “A core driver for our target market is that real thirst for learning.”
The landscape is changing
Another contender in the p2p space promoting unique activities is Airbnb’s Experiences - which, coincidentally, Whitfield says has approached CityUnscripted.
“The product they have is a bit unusual,” he says. “Their short-term plan is to be unusual and get attention, but then the plan is to bring in more product like [what CityUnscripted] is doing.
“Right now they’re massive, they’re a threat ... but I think from what they’ve said, they don’t think [our] experiences are unique enough for them. But for our guests, it’s what they want.”
As such, Whitfield says a partnership with Airbnb is “not going anywhere at the moment.”
But CityUnscripted’s ties to the bigger providers remain raveled.
“They have amazing distribution,” he says. “At the end of the day, we want to build up our brand, get reviewed well.”
Like it or not, “They’re still good for us.”