TrovaTrip, a travel planning and booking app that lets creators host adventures with their community, has raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Madrona. In the year Founded in 2017, the Portland-based company makes it easy for creators to sell and host multi-day experiences around the world. TrovaTrip offers more than 150 experiences in 48 countries. To date, over 15,000 travelers have used TrovaTrip to book an experience.
The platform includes bookable experiences such as hiking in Patagonia, textile extraction in Morocco, practicing yoga in Bali, and more. Hosts, the names of creators on the platform, set their prices for the specific experience they lead. TrovaTrip then provides a landing page for hosts to publish and advertise their trip and then start booking. In addition to promoting their bookable experience on their social media channels, hosts can also set up an email marketing campaign.
TrovaTrip handles payment processing, customer support, traveler management and insures the host during the trip for free. The company charges a 10% service fee and a $2.9% transaction fee.
All trips are organized and led by a certified tour operator and include a local guide to ensure a safe experience. Trips include accommodation, transport between cities, catered meals and guided activities relevant to the theme of the trip. Examples of travel categories and themes include photography, exploration, health and wellness, food, LGBTQ+, yoga, and more.
The platform was founded by TrovaTrip CEO Nick Poggi, CRO Lauren Schneider and CTO Brandon Denham. The idea for TrovaTrip started when Poggi, Schneider and a few friends were planning a two-week vacation to Europe, but they couldn’t find group travel options for young professionals, Poggi told TechCrunch in an interview. Along the way, they began planning to build the solution they wanted. Poggi then brought Denham on board, and the trio had the idea to create a platform where you could not only travel, but learn about the things you love with the person you want.
Image Credits: TrovaTrip
“Instead of selling these experiences directly to customers, we thought we’d build a platform that allows creators to deliver and host experiences with their communities,” Poggi said. “This creates a real and popular source of income for creators, as well as support as they seek to build their community. The concept worked and led to an amazing experience. Our first trip was to Italy and the next two were to Portugal,” he said.
The company’s Series A funding round includes participation from existing investors, PSL Ventures, Oregon Venture Fund, Elevate Capital and Portland Seed Fund. TrovaTrip will use the new funding to further advance the platform and open access to more creators, Poggi said.
“We are very focused on strengthening our platform to provide a world-class experience for our hosts, travelers and operators,” said Poggi. We will increase our sales and marketing efforts to open the platform to more creators and their communities. We’ve only scratched the surface of the different categories and themes we can work on. We’re really excited to open up the platform a little bit more on the host side. We will then continue to work to expand our selection of travel destinations.
TrovaTrip’s Series A funding round, led by PSL Ventures, announced the company’s $5 million seed funding in August 2021. The company has so far raised $20 million in funding.
Looking ahead, TrovaTrip plans to continue to grow its platform to become a reputable source of income for creators. The company has become the primary source of income for some creators, he said. TrovaTrip plans to make travel safer and maintain a quality bar for group travel.
