Round led by prominent family fund Micheli Associati and includes funding from P101 and 360 Capital Partners.
LONDON – Musement, the award-winning digital travel companion, has announced the completion of a $10m. Series B financing round led by Micheli Associati, the successful family fund that has led multiple companies to Billion dollar IPOs worldwide and includes investments from two of Europe’s most notable VCs; P101 and 360 Capital Partners.
First launched in 2013, the fast growing startup has quickly expanded its product offering and has connected thousands of tours, sporting and musical events, galleries, museums, attractions and insider activities in more than 450 cities across 55 countries worldwide.
The new funding round will in part be used to continue the pace of its technology developments. Notable world-first milestones achieved by the company include the development of a widely praised end-to-end in-destination ticketing service that allows travellers to receive a push notification when close to a top attraction then book a ticket, skip the line at the venue and obtain direct, immediate access to their chosen attraction in situ. The technology pioneered by Musement performs real time checks on whether a venue has same day tickets, if there is current availability and if the venue accepts e-tickets allowing travellers to maximise their time at a destination and effectively eliminating one of the tour and activity sector's biggest growth hurdles to date.
Another world first for Musement in 2016 was the launch of the first travel chatbot to assist travellers with their activity requests, an area that will be swiftly accelerated by the company post funding to include the integration of its human concierges and travel agents working with Musement on platform to answer specific customer needs.
Thanks to the company’s lauded end-to-end platforms developed specifically for travel agents, hotels, airlines and venues, Musement has also inked deals with some of the world’s largest travel industry organisations in the past 12 months, including Travelport, 15below and Trekksoft. The company will be further expanding their B2B2C distribution partnerships following the funding both on and offline.
The company will also continue to expand as a destination for customers to find anything that’s of interest to them wherever they are, across a wide range of activity verticals, without limiting the offering simply to guided tours – a key differentiator to the core business of Musement’s main competitors.
The recent round of funding will additionally be used to support the company’s fast operational growth, including the establishment of additional offices in key territories to complement its HQ in Milan where its international team, comprised of people coming from 13 different European, American and Asian countries, has grown from 10 to 70 in the last 2 years, as well as its recently opened Spanish office in Barcelona.
Matteo Renzulli from Micheli Associati said, “We’re delighted to assist Musement on a new adventure to expand its hugely popular service even further. Our decision to invest was initially fostered by the track record of the management team and by their unique vision in a competitive yet booming sector. It was then confirmed by their execution – not many startups around the world consistently over-deliver on their business plan, operationally and financially, and Musement has been doing just this.”
Andrea Di Camillo, Managing Partner of P101 said, “The tours and activities sector is booming. Globally it’s worth over $160 Billion (WIB) and Musement’s offering has responded to travellers needs globally for a slick app that makes you feel like a local wherever you are. Congratulations to the team!”
Alessandro Petazzi, Co Founder & CEO of Musement said, “We are delighted to be sharing our next steps with investors who have nurtured incredible businesses worldwide. Our vision for Musement is to build a totally new experience that responds to a genuine consumer need for all in-destination activities to be in one place, not just to create another distribution platform for guided tours. Whether travellers want a food, wine or wellness experience, access to nightlife destinations or a specialist guided tour, Musement provides a single port of call for all their needs. Our goal is also to make a seamless booking experience across all verticals, helping consumers to discover things that are relevant to them whether at home or travelling. Until now, this integrated experience has never been achieved and our new funding round will assist us in executing this vision even further."
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
