Traveling and enjoying getaways and experiences at an affordable price, but with a good offer and multiple destination options, is Flappin’s proposal. The traveltech from the surprise sector and aimed mainly at young audiences has closed its first year of life with a growth of 60% month by month. The goal is to grow more than 150% year on year. And the plans for 2023 go in that direction with its intention to continue its expansion in Spain, in addition to making the international leap.
“For 2023, the plans are quite powerful. It is the year of the internationalization of the brand. Flappin will be released in Italy and Portugal in March. They are two markets that we already know and have worked with and the culture is similar to the Spanish one. Because of their cultural ease and similarity, they are interesting for this model, which, in addition, we have validated that it works in both markets,” says Pol Clavell, CEO of Flappin, to the Economist
Italy and Portugal will be the first two international incursions of this startup that, until now, only operates in Spain. In both markets, “the complete catalog will be launched because it is the strength we have and, in the end, a trip or Flappin experience is more convenient for the client to refine the range of possibilities it has. If we go out with only one of our verticals, we are losing a part of the essence of what Flappin is.” After these two countries, the company’s plans contemplate gaining more presence abroad. “In the next 5 years, the goal is to be in the main European states and position ourselves as the best experience brand”.
2023 will not only be the year of the international leap. flappin too plans to increase its catalog and offer of travel products and experiences, in addition to continuing to grow in Spain. The traveltech is connected with various airlines and hotel platforms to offer multiple destinations, in addition to offering experiences (includes spa, adventure activities and surprise restaurants), in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Seville.
Flappin’s activity revolves around three vertical that correspond to surprise trips through Europe, Spain, Italy or multi-destination; surprise getaways in nature, relax, romantic or on the beach, and surprise experiences with options, for example, to go for tapas or enjoy exotic, Mexican, Italian or Japanese dinners. In this last vertical, adventures in the mountains or in the air or sessions in the spa are included.
The traveltech is specialized mainly in proposals for the youngest
“The three categories differentiate us from the rest of the SMEs in the sector and we offer a larger catalog and the client has more personalization when booking. We also have a stronger focus on gifts because any product on the web can be given as a gift with a box or card “. The traveltech has a total of 19 packages after having recently added 3 such as the Multi-destination for Europe, Alternative Europe and Surprise Dinner.
And the offer continues to grow because, for example, “we incorporate more than five restaurants each month per city”, currently having more than 150 gastronomic partners. The platform has more than 220 different destinations, and it is expected that in 2023 its catalog will also be expanded because they are going to incorporate from the beginning of the year the long trip. In addition, the number of cities in which you can enjoy the experiences will increase.
A record year
Flappin was created at the end of 2021 by four partners with the aim of launching the first platform that integrates travel and leisure experiences with the surprise factor as a differentiating concept and with a strong focus on gifts because it is a segment dominated by , for example, experiential boxes.
“But millennials don’t want this type of product because of brand positioning and quality of experiences. We saw the opportunity because no one was targeting the youngest As for these kinds of gifts. In the end, there is a need in the new generations to live experiences and find trips and getaways at affordable prices that are unique and different”, adds Pol Clavell, who had had prior professional contact in the sector and who, along with the other partners, “we thought about doing something different and bigger because surprise trips are something that has been working for a long time. We thought that the concept of surprise could be applied to different verticals of what leisure is, also to getaways close to home and experiences in the city”.
Closes round of financing worth 400,000 euros
And so Flappin was born. The experience is being positive because in the first year of his life he has achieved important milestones. Already on the first day of activity, traveltech had its own clients with reservations and in just nine months they were registering a gross billing of 130,000 euros per month. Also, in the first year, it has grown 60% month-over-month and it has faced its first round of pre-seed investment, led by BCombinator, which closed about a month and a half ago with ENISA. The amount has been 400,000 euros. “It allows us to expand the brand in the Spanish territory, increase the team (there are 11 people with the forecast of incorporating two more) and improve the product”.
In its first year, Barcelona-based Flappin takes down more than 5,500 experiences booked. Its target is young people, who make up around 70% of users. Around 50% of sales are customer-owned reservations, while the other 50% corresponds to the gift of travel and experiences, a segment in which the target is more open because, for example, there are parents or older people to give gifts to younger people. Mainly, Flappin’s clients reside in Spain, although sales are also made between foreigners who reside in the national territory or come to the country on a trip and make reservations in this traveltech.
Between the products with more acceptance trips to Europe are listed, followed by the destination to Italy, as well as nature or relaxation getaways in hotels with spas. Likewise, customers also opt for gastronomic experiences and, specifically, the exotic surprise dinner, which is the best seller.
Flappin arrives in Italy and Portugal with his travels and experiences