Experience-booking platform Steller has announced it is acquiring influencer marketing agency Travel Mindset. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“As travel picks up again in the wake of the pandemic, and as more people look to their favorite influencers when making travel decisions, we see a real need to evolve how destinations are discovered, planned and booked,” Steller CEO Pete Bryant says.
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Travel Mindset, founded in 2012 and based in Chicago, says its services include editorial, video, social media and event and campaign management. Its client base includes Fairmont Hotels, Celebrity Cruises, Under Armour and several state and national tourism boards.
Steller, founded in 2014 and based outside Seattle, says it is capitalizing on the growing role of influencers in travel. Its platform “allows travelers to discover, connect and book based on experiences shared by their favorite creators.”
Steller has also named Microsoft Advertising veteran Rik van der Kooi to its board of directors.
“Steller is quickly becoming the go-to travel service for storytellers and experienced travelers alike,” van der Kooi says. “The acquisition of Travel Mindset is a great complement to that, and I look forward to supporting the team in scaling it to many more users and destinations.”
Harley Schachter, founder and CEO of Travel Mindset, will join Steller as the company’s first chief revenue officer.
“By joining the Steller team, we’ll be able to offer our clients an expanded global reach through Steller’s distribution network, improve our existing services and help travel marketers drive new sales,” Schachter says.
Jade Broadus, vice president and creative director at Travel Mindset, discusses how influencers fit into an overall marketing strategy during the 2021 video, PhocusWire Pulse: A New Age For Social Media.
Travel lags the fashion industry in its aptitude for social commerce, according to the new Phocuswright report, “The Future of Social Media, Influencers and Social Commerce in Travel,” by Robert Cole, senior research analyst, lodging and leisure travel for Phocuswright.
“Influencer-driven social commerce represents a major opportunity for a travel industry striving to crack the code of developing direct distribution channels, nurture loyalty and improve marketing efficiency,” Cole says.