Innovative group travel platform sees major growth during pandemic and expands access with new round of funding.
PORTLAND, OREGON – TrovaTrip, the first travel planning and booking platform enabling creators to host epic adventures around the globe with their communities, announces its $15 million Series A financing. The round was led by Seattle-based Madrona with participation from existing investors, PSL Ventures, Oregon Venture Fund, Elevate Capital and Portland Seed Fund. The investment will allow TrovaTrip to further advance its platform and expand access to more creators and their communities.
“We’re excited for our partnership with Madrona and their breadth of experience working with exceptional companies,” says TrovaTrip co-founder and CEO, Nick Poggi. “With over 15,000 Travelers booked to date, our hosted experiences are resonating with customers, but we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible as we continue to grow our community.”
Despite the numerous headwinds for travel during the pandemic, TrovaTrip grew bookings 10x through the pandemic to $15 million in 2021 and has continued rapid growth in 2022. “It’s a testament to our resilient team and innovative model that gives creators a very authentic and repeatable means of generating income via shared experiences,” Poggi adds.
In conjunction with the financing round, which brings TrovaTrip’s total capital raised to $20 million, Scott Jacobson from Madrona joined the board. Jacobson has extensive experience partnering with marketplace businesses like Rover.com.
“TrovaTrip continues to demonstrate leadership in a competitive space and in one of the most challenging environments in travel history,” says Jacobson. “We believe in this leadership team and business, and we’re equally excited about the company’s innovative approach to travel and empowering creators with a compelling new revenue and engagement opportunity.”
How the TrovaTrip platform works for creators
The TrovaTrip platform makes it seamless for creators, called “Hosts”, to plan, sell and host multi-day experiences with their communities around the globe. Hosts start by collecting market data from their community via TrovaTrip’s audience research tool. Insights include where people want to travel, what they want to do and their budget. Using these insights, Hosts select a trip organized by a certified Operator in-destination. TrovaTrip offers over 500 unique experiences across 49 different countries catering to a wide range of audiences and communities. Examples include unique trips like hiking in Patagonia, sourcing textiles in Morocco, practicing yoga in Bali and more.
Hosts set their trip price, which allows them to pick how much they earn. TrovaTrip then provides a landing page for Hosts to easily edit, publish and promote their trip to begin accepting bookings. Hosts can also leverage the platform to set up email marketing in addition to promoting across their various social channels.
TrovaTrip handles all of the payment processing, customer support, Traveler management, communication with Operators and covers the Host with free insurance during the trip. To date, TrovaTrip has worked with creators to host experiences across many themes: hiking & outdoors, food & beverage, body positivity, LGBTQ+, health & wellness and more.
All trips are organized and run by a certified Operator and includes a local guide to support the Host and Travelers from start to end ensuring a safe and fun experience. “There is a real hunger for this type of experience, especially for those that have never tried group travel or hesitated to travel solo in a group setting,” says Poggi. “When travel is centered around a common topic and creator, it brings together like-minded individuals resulting in fast connections and unforgettable experiences.”
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She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
