Editor’s note: This article by Michelle Kuepper originally appeared on VentureVillage, the Berlin-based online magazine for digital innovation in Europe.
Gidsy, the Berlin-based platform that hosts tours and activities in cities, is being taken over by tour-booking platform GetYourGuide.
The Gidsy team will be integrated into GetYourGuide, with personnel already working from their new owners’ Berlin office. According to the WSJ, Edial Dekker, founder of Gidsy, will be the head of mobile development for GetYourGuide, and his brother and co-founder Floris will be the head of design.
“We are moving the entire team over,” Edial Dekker told WSJ. “Gidsy will no longer exist”.
Gidsy is a peer-to-peer marketplace for activities, events and courses, which overlaps in many ways with GetYourGuide, a booking platform that hosts tours, expeditions and activities. Both have bases in Berlin, though GetYourGuide has been on a rapid expansion path since its launch in 2010, with other offices in Las Vegas and Zurich and a team of over 50 – it claims to be the largest online platform for tours and activities in the world.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
The takeover has the potential to be a nice fit, with Gidsy bringing a personal touch that GetYourGuide, which offers more professionally organised tours, is currently lacking. A statement on the Gidsy website said: “We’ve known the awesome GetYourGuide team for some time now, and share a common vision, which is why we couldn’t be happier with this next big step.” Although there’s no news currently on how – or indeed if – the product will be integrated into GetYourGuide.
Dekker told VentureVillage that “something we’ll be focusing on is mobile, social and product, and you’ll see that soon enough. Stay tuned…”
Earlier this year, GetYourGuide received a $14m Series A round from Spark Capital and Highland Capital Partners Europe.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.