November the 16th, 2023 – The Croatian startup Turneo has made PhocusWire’s Hot 25 Travel Start-Ups, rounding off a very successful year for this company.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Croatian startup Turneo’s placement on this year’s prestigious list of Hot 25 Travel Start-Ups by PhocusWire is excellent news for this innovative platform. To touch on what Turneo does – it enables hotels to promote, sell and manage experiences at their desired destination.
“PhocusWire selects the most innovative technology companies in the tourism segment on an annual basis. So far, it has successfully predicted future giants of the industry. Being in a company where giants such as the “unicorn” TravelPerk and leading solutions such as Frontdesk and GuestReady were found is a huge honour. We all have a common focus on innovation, which enables tourism to meet and exceed the ever-changing expectations of travellers,” stated Matija Marijan, Turneo’s CEO.
Tourism is turning its attention towards experiences
Today, tourists are increasingly focused on experiences, and the tourism sector is increasingly turning to fulfilling these needs more than anything else. There’s been a strong trend towards experiential travel, leading to increased pressure being placed on hotels and other accommodation providers to offer their guests more than just a simple room.
“Guests want experiences, and they want to be able to book them online, in advance, in a simple way. The offer of excursions and activities through flyers at the stands next to the reception is losing popularity, as guests increasingly choose a destination precisely because of the experiences it offers, and then they book those experiences in advance. Innovative hotels therefore understand that selling the experience of the entire destination is what’s important,” explained Fran Kauzlarić, the Croatian startup Turneo’s co-founder.
It’s precisely in this segment that Turneo has shown some very impressive results, which it has proven by cooperating with hundreds of hotels on a global level – including leading Croatian chains such as Maistra, Aminess, Liburnia and Illyria (Ilirija). In addition to increased guest satisfaction and revenue per room, hotels that use the Croatian startup Turneo have noticed a stronger online presence, which leads to more direct accommodation bookings. With implementation lasting from a few minutes for smaller facilities, to a week for larger chains, Turneo offers full integration with the existing website, automated sales and support, and full insight into monthly analytics of sold tours, activities and experiences.
Accepting new trends hasn’t always been popular…
In the recently published document “Crafting Unforgettable Moments – Lessons learned from hotels at the forefront of experiential hospitality”, the Croatian startup Turneo revealed why they’re already the best at what they do – and why the industry took so long to solve one very specific problem. With trends shaping the future of the entire sector, hotels can get practical advice on implementing solutions based on experience and learn from some of the best examples around the world.
“Accepting new and innovative solutions hasn’t really always been a strong point of the tourism sector, but this time things might end up being a bit different. With recent announcements from Marriott, Four Seasons, Meliá Hotel and other brands, it’s clear that experiential tourism is already making a strong mark on the entire sector. For those who want to stay in the game, adding experiences can become the best – if not the only – way to avoid becoming just another faceless ad on online search engines,” concluded Marijan.
The Croatian startup Turneo was founded only in 2022 by Matija Marijan, who previously worked as a director in the B2B department of Expedia, and Fran Kauzlarić, who was once employed as Head of Innovation at Brussels Airport.
