Peek Raises $80M to Fuel Growth of Travel Experiences Marketplace

The Resurgence of Travel and Peek's $80 Million Funding

Following the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel and tourism sectors are gradually recovering. A company specializing in curated experiences – encompassing activities like museum tours, skydiving, and cooking courses – has recently announced a new round of funding, fueled by a rebound in its own business performance.

Peek Secures Series C Funding

Peek, a platform that connects consumers with experiences, facilitates team-building event bookings for businesses, and provides digitization tools for tourism operators – described by CEO and co-founder Ruzwana Bashir as “a Shopify for experiences” – has secured $80 million in funding. The company intends to utilize these funds to expand its product offerings, increase its workforce, and broaden its reach, having already processed over $2 billion in bookings from approximately 35 million customers, primarily in North America.

This Series C funding round is particularly noteworthy due to the involvement of WestCap, the investment firm established by Laurence Tosi, the former CFO of Airbnb. Additional investors include Goldman Sachs Asset Management, 3L, Cathay Innovation, I2BF Global Ventures, Manta Ray, and Apeiron. Previous backers of Peek include prominent figures such as Jack Dorsey, Eric Schmidt, and Kayak founder Paul English.

Growth and Profitability

While Peek has not disclosed its current valuation, Bashir indicated that it “has increased substantially” due to significant business growth and the achievement of profitability this year. The company has now raised over $100 million in funding over the past decade.

“We are now re-investing in growth,” she stated. Interestingly, the initial investment amount was reported as $60 million, but quickly increased to $80 million just days later, demonstrating strong investor confidence in the travel and tourism sector.

A Shift in the Travel Landscape

This represents a significant change from the previous year, when travel companies were focused on recovery and navigating the prolonged impact of the pandemic. Many had anticipated a surge in travel during the summer of 2020, but experienced only a temporary increase in bookings. Berlin-based GetYourGuide, previously valued at over $1 billion, secured convertible notes and credit facilities to stabilize its operations during the crisis.

Peek also faced challenges when the pandemic began. Co-founder Oskar Bruening explained, “It was a very frightening time for us. We were experiencing strong growth, but bookings immediately plummeted.” The company responded by implementing difficult measures, including a 30% reduction in its workforce.

Adapting to the New Normal

Peek proactively adapted its approach, focusing on virtual experiences like online cooking classes. It also expanded its customer base to include corporate and internal event bookings.

A key strategy involved supporting experience providers by assisting them in obtaining emergency loans and providing tools to adapt to the changing environment. This included a shift towards catering to local customers and offering enhanced software functionality for business management.

“We function as the operating system for these businesses,” Bashir emphasized.

Software as a Core Business

This proactive approach proved successful, enabling Peek to achieve profitability during the pandemic. Currently, software accounts for “the majority” of Peek’s revenue, although this balance may shift as consumer travel rebounds and boosts activity on its marketplace.

Bruening highlighted the significant market opportunity, estimating a total addressable market of $1 trillion. He noted that many businesses still rely on traditional methods like pen, paper, and phone calls for managing bookings, whereas “you can’t connect with customers before you connect.”

Peek's Offerings and Customer Base

Peek’s offerings encompass a wide range of activities, including wine tours, watersports, skydiving, and art classes. Peek Pro, its B2B2C product, provides technology for online booking, point-of-sale services, and automation of tasks such as inventory management, dynamic pricing, waivers, and marketing analytics. The company serves “thousands” of customers, including the Museum of Ice Cream, Color Factory, Artechouse, and Pennekamp State Park.

Bashir believes Peek’s success reflects a broader trend of technology adoption by offline businesses. While e-commerce experienced significant growth during the pandemic, offline businesses were compelled to accelerate their digital transformation.

“Offline businesses needed to make a 10-year leap,” she explained. Peek is among the companies providing solutions to fill this gap, alongside those offering software for restaurants and logistics for brick-and-mortar retailers.

Investor Confidence

“We have been early adopters and investors in travel technology companies, and have been following Peek.com for years,” stated Tosi of WestCap. “Ruzwana Bashir is a dynamic leader and Peek.com’s unique approach has allowed them to serve millions of people. This is a transformative solution that will allow a wider audience of travelers and locals to have meaningful experiences, and for activity operators to grow their businesses.”