GetYourGuide: Building the Global Marketplace for Travel Experiences

Company Summary, Location and Offices

GetYourGuide is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and operates as a global digital marketplace for tours, activities, and travel experiences. The company maintains major offices in Berlin, Zurich, London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, New York, and Bangkok, supporting a worldwide ecosystem of travelers and experience providers.

Founded in Europe but global by design, GetYourGuide serves customers in more than 150 countries and supports suppliers across thousands of destinations. The company operates a marketplace model, connecting demand from travelers with vetted local tour operators, attractions, and activity providers through a technology‑driven platform.

Leadership Background: Johannes Reck

Johannes Reck is the Co‑Founder and CEO of GetYourGuide. He co‑founded the company in 2009 while studying at ETH Zurich, identifying early on that booking travel experiences lagged far behind flights and hotels in terms of digitalization.

Before and during the early years of GetYourGuide, Johannes Reck combined academic training in business and technology with hands‑on entrepreneurial execution. As CEO, he has led the company through multiple growth phases, from an early European startup to a globally recognized travel‑tech scale‑up backed by major investors.

Johannes Reck is responsible for overall company strategy, international expansion, product vision, and building long‑term partnerships with experience providers and travel platforms worldwide.

Products and Platform Strategy

Under Johannes Reck’s leadership, GetYourGuide has built a comprehensive marketplace focused exclusively on experiences rather than accommodation or transport. The platform enables users to discover, compare, and book tours, attractions, tickets, and activities across cities and destinations.

Key product capabilities include mobile and web booking, instant confirmation, flexible cancellation, digital tickets, supplier dashboards, payout management, fraud prevention, and customer support. The platform integrates payments, FX handling, tax and compliance logic, and partner APIs that allow GetYourGuide inventory to be distributed via affiliates and travel partners.

Interview

1. Where is GetYourGuide headquartered and how is the company structured globally?

Answer: GetYourGuide is headquartered in Berlin, with regional hubs across Europe, North America, and Asia to support both travelers and local experience providers.

2. What is your role as CEO of GetYourGuide?

Answer: As CEO, I focus on long‑term strategy, product vision, and scaling the marketplace globally while maintaining quality and trust.

3. What problem was GetYourGuide created to solve?

Answer: Experiences were fragmented and offline. We wanted to make booking activities as easy as booking flights or hotels.

4. What are GetYourGuide’s core products today?

Answer: A global marketplace for tours, activities, attraction tickets, and experiences with instant booking and flexible cancellation.

5. How does GetYourGuide onboard suppliers?

Answer: Through digital onboarding, vetting, and tooling that helps suppliers manage availability, pricing, and bookings.

6. How does GetYourGuide handle payments?

Answer: We manage payments centrally, handling FX, local taxes, fraud checks, and supplier payouts.

7. What role does technology play in trust and quality?

Answer: Reviews, ratings, machine‑learning ranking, and fraud detection are core to maintaining quality.

8. How fast can new suppliers start selling?

Answer: Many suppliers can be live within days after completing onboarding and quality checks.

9. How does GetYourGuide manage fraud and risk?

Answer: Through transaction monitoring, payment controls, and customer behavior analysis.

10. What does the technical architecture look like?

Answer: A cloud‑native marketplace platform with APIs, real‑time availability, and scalable payment infrastructure.

11. How is pricing structured?

Answer: GetYourGuide earns commissions on completed bookings.

12. Who are your primary customers?

Answer: Travelers looking for high‑quality, bookable experiences worldwide.

13. How does GetYourGuide differ from Viator?

Answer: We invest heavily in curation, mobile experience, and supplier tools.

14. How does GetYourGuide compare with Airbnb Experiences?

Answer: Airbnb Experiences focus on hosts; GetYourGuide focuses on professional operators at scale.

15. What about Klook and Tiqets?

Answer: Klook is strong in Asia, Tiqets in attractions; GetYourGuide spans both tours and tickets globally.

16. What recent developments stand out?

Answer: Expansion of flexible cancellation and mobile‑first discovery features.

17. What is the company’s financial model?

Answer: A commission‑based marketplace with strong unit economics.

18. What is on the 12–24 month roadmap?

Answer: Deeper personalization, better supplier analytics, and new destination coverage.

19. How does GetYourGuide support partners?

Answer: Through APIs, affiliate programs, and white‑label distribution.

20. What is your long‑term vision?

Answer: To become the default platform for discovering and booking experiences anywhere in the world.

Competitors

FAQ

Is GetYourGuide a travel agency?

No. It is a digital marketplace connecting travelers with experience providers.

Does GetYourGuide handle payments?

Yes, payments and payouts are managed centrally.

Who uses GetYourGuide?

Millions of travelers globally.

Is GetYourGuide global?

Yes, operating in more than 150 countries.

What makes GetYourGuide different?

Focus on experiences, quality curation, and mobile‑first discovery.