6 Travel App Business Success Stories [2024]
Traveling has become an essential part of people’s lives. A travel app business can help you tap into the ever-growing travel industry, providing a platform for travelers to explore new destinations and experiences.
By offering a wide range of services such as booking flights, hotels, rental cars, and tour packages, a travel app can become a one-stop-shop for all travel-related needs. Moreover, it can provide users with valuable information about travel destinations, including popular tourist spots, local customs, and safety tips, making their travel experience more enjoyable and stress-free.
With an intuitive, feature-packed app that caters to diverse globetrotter needs and makes travel more epic, connected, and memorable, you can position your platform as a must-have tool for modern adventurers across the world.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a travel app business:
1. LuggageHero ($1.2M/year)
Jannik Lawaetz, the CEO and Co-Founder of LuggageHero, came up with the idea for his business after experiencing the inconvenience of dragging his luggage around while traveling. His lightbulb moment came when he was stranded outside an Airbnb apartment with his luggage and had to convince a local shop owner to store his bags. Since then, LuggageHero has grown to over 40 locations in major cities across Europe and North America, offering travelers a convenient network of short-term luggage storage options.
How much they make: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
Current team size: 12
LuggageHero CEO Jannik Lawaetz founded a network of short-term luggage storage options with +40 locations across the world and raised $2.25 million in funding in 2019, with aims to expand to +1800 locations using a POI algorithm, offering customers value and building a reliable team.
2. TourScanner ($720K/year)
Simone Semprini, CEO and Co-Founder of TourScanner, came up with the idea for the business while traveling in Brazil and struggling to find activities and tours online. Seeing the opportunity in the growing market for online tours and activities, he developed the concept, connected with co-founders Guillaume Picard and Joseph Dimucci, and launched TourScanner as the first meta-search engine for tours and activities. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, TourScanner has recovered and is now performing better than ever, with a monthly net revenue of $60k and plans to reach $1M ARR in 2022.
How much they make: $720K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
Current team size: 5
TourScanner, a meta-search engine for tours and activities, achieved monthly net revenue of $60k and plans to reach $1M ARR in 2022, utilizing a lightweight business model based on affiliate programs that earned a commission from referrals sent to major travel companies like Viator, GetYourGuide, Musement, and Groupon.
So... can you actually make money with a travel app business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. Kiwi.com ($432M/year)
How much they make: $432M/year
Current team size: 1500
Kiwi.com uses its cutting-edge Virtual Interlining algorithm to combine flights on legacy and low-cost airlines into a single itinerary, helping customers find better route options and prices with 2 billion daily price checks, 100 million daily searches, and over 50,000 daily seat sales.
4. Tripadvisor ($1.37B/year)
How much they make: $1.37B/year
Current team size: 2956
Tripadvisor is a global travel advice network with over 1 billion reviews and recommendations from almost 8 million companies that generated 902 million U.S. dollars in global revenue in 2021, representing a 49% increase from the previous year.
- 4,818 founder case studies
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
