GetYourGuide is removing several categories from its marketplace and has written to suppliers to inform them of the move.
In an email shared with PhocusWire, the company said the move is "part of ongoing efforts to optimize our platform and offering."
The Germany-based company said that effective July 31, categories including self- or mobile-guided audio tours, exploration games and scavenger hunts as well as eSIMs and SIM cards are being removed. Vehicle rentals without an associated tour/activity or driver are also included.
The email points suppliers to the company's terms and conditions, which talk about removing content if customers are at risk or there is "excessive chargebacks or fraudulent transactions." GetYourGuide declined to provide further clarification on this point.
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GetYourGuide told PhocusWire the changes affect fewer than 0.5% of supply partners and that "affected supply partners can continue their business on the platform if they offer activities such as guided tours."
Alex Govoreanu, co-founder and CEO of self-guided tours app Questo confirmed the company had received the email and described the news as "surprising, especially in a time when we are growing faster than ever, and we see a growing interest for self-guided tours."
He added, however, that it is not a shock: "Our sales on GYG dropped two years in a row, while our overall sales grew 20 [times] in the same time frame. In the past two years, GYG allowed on its platform multiple suppliers of self-guided tours, and I guess this has led to a significant decrease in the quality of the experience they were providing to the end customers."
Govoreanu also said Questo remains open to doing business with GetYourGuide.
Another supplier who asked to remain anonymous to protect its relationship with the tours and activities platform said, "We have had a great working relationship with GYG and our self-guided tours have been Top Picks on their website. Just a month ago they approached us to create new tours in locations where they are low in inventory, but now all of our tours are suddenly being removed! I can only hope that they will re-evaluate this decision."
Meanwhile, WeGoTrip co-founder and CEO Alexander Golovatyi said the dip in sales was a “significant concern” adding that the lack of one of the key marketplaces for audio tours would be challenging for future sales. It added however that direct sales via its website are its “primary objective.”
“Now that GetYourGuide has excluded audio tours from the listings our efforts to strengthen our positions in search engine rankings can become more effective, and our market offerings more noticeable.”
Golovatyi also said the move could create "new opportunities... in the search advertising space" with GetYourGuide no longer dominant for the audio guide category in search rankings.
"This shift is making the search ad environment more egalitarian, enabling smaller and emerging companies to challenge the status quo," he said.
Airbnb said last month it was removing experiences and canceling future reservations affecting thousands of suppliers.
In a statement provided at the time, the company said, “We regularly evaluate Experiences based on the host’s expertise, the activity’s uniqueness and local relevance, and guests’ ratings and reviews and remove those that continue to provide low quality experiences.”