Jubel is a travel services platform creating personalized trips for users.
By learning a user’s travel preferences — such as their budget, desired climate, and interests — Jubel’s artificial intelligence-based algorithm creates trip ideas from its proprietary database, offering travelers a one-of-a-kind vacation itinerary.
Global travel and tourism is an $8 trillion industry. In the U.S. alone, digital travel sales are expected to surpass $219 billion by 2021.
Recently, the travel industry has seen high levels of M&A activity, and several companies have either been acquired or gone public. For example:
Viator, a platform offering curated trip activities for travelers, was acquired by TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP) for $200 million.
Airbnb acquired villa rental startup Luxury Rentals for $200 million.
And Despegar, a travel booking service focused on Latin American markets and backed by Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE), went public at a value of $1.8 billion.
Jubel, meanwhile, is targeting a growing sector within the travel industry known as “experiential travel.” This is where people experience a country or city by connecting to its history, its people, and its culture.
According to a survey by American Express Travel, 57% of people said they seek to interact with locals when traveling. And 57% said that exploring a new destination was their most important travel goal in 2018. These specific interests have helped push adventure tourism to become a $445 billion market.
The problems for most travelers, however, occur during the trip-planning period. In the 45 days prior to booking a trip, for example, consumers visit an average of 140 travel sites and spend 23 hours doing research.
According to data from Google Analytics, 36% of travelers would pay for the services of a travel brand that tailored a user’s information and trip experiences based on personal preferences.
Jubel was created to serve this need. Here’s how its platform works:
Users start by answering a travel survey that influences the trips Jubel recommends. Users indicate their preferences about areas including budget, general destination, and desired activities. They’re also asked about lodging preferences, desired pace of travel, and how much “culture shock” they’d like to experience.
After a user submits their survey, Jubel accesses its database of nearly 1,000 destinations and creates a travel proposal. Users can review the trip details and, if they approve, place an initial deposit on the vacation.
Jubel will then book flights, accommodations, and any experiences for the trip. After payment has been processed, users receive their full itinerary. Users can access Jubel’s team of travel specialists at any time during the trip.
Users also have the option to choose a "surprise" trip. Here, users are given trip proposals that provide a general idea of what to expect on the trip without revealing the destinations. Beginning at the airport and continuing throughout the trip, travelers are prompted to open dated envelopes that reveal the next step of their itinerary. The envelopes contain all reservations and a Jubel Atlas with local recommendations on places to eat and sleep.
In exchange for its services, Jubel charges an 18% booking fee that's added to the cost of the trip. As of September 2018, the average trip on Jubel was $4,840. The company also collects a 7% supplier commission fee through its affiliate booking programs. These include Expedia and Booking.com, both of which Jubel uses to book flights and accommodations.
Since launching in early 2016, Jubel has generated more than $780,000 in revenue. The platform’s user base grew 107% in 2017, and the company completed the Capital Innovators Accelerator program in 2018.
According to a company survey, 96% of Jubel users are likely to recommend the service.
Jubel has a balanced team, including former J.P. Morgan executive Jose Pablo Toscano who is the company's CEO, as well as Chief Technology Officer Robert Lyons, who previously co-founded two data-focused technology startups.
Head of Experiences Jenny Schroder previously worked for Indagare Travel, a premium travel agency in New York City.
Starting in January 2019, the company plans to offer additional features to its platform, including the ability to book curated group trips.