A company based in Barcelona that invoices 90% in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. That is the case of Exoticca, a scaleup that was born in 2014 to digitize one of the segments that had not yet done so in the world of travel, tour operators, after eDreams and Booking had done so with planes and hotels.
It was necessary to be able to configure a travel plan to distant countries with the immediacy that was done for other destinations, without having to go more than once to a travel agency. "We wanted it to be like buying a flight or booking a hotel," summarizes its CEO, Pere Vallès, in office since 2018.
The main obstacle was in the activities carried out at the destination, with guides, transfers, and visits that depended on small companies without an internet presence. Exoticca developed a platform where these local companies could upload all their inventory, digitizing the services they offered and detailing availability and prices.
Thus, the traveltech startup could then offer a complete circuit ---round-trip flights, but also internal flights, hotels, and activities--- in real time and in a few clicks, without having to wait weeks to finalize the budget. As it did so without intermediaries, contracting directly with suppliers, the price was also cheaper compared to traditional agencies.
Exoticca, which defines itself as an online operator of long-haul trips, began by testing its model in various markets, but it was in the United States and Canada where its proposal for more comfortable and cheaper travel bookings was most successful. This explains why, ten years later, English-speaking countries, where the United Kingdom was also eventually added, account for almost all the revenue, with 60% generated solely in the United States. To put it in context, in its home country, Spain, only 8% of the turnover is generated. It also operates in France and Germany, with a residual weight in revenue.
With more than 70 destinations, the Barcelona-based company travels all over the world, spanning the five continents, with a very diversified offer in which no destination has a disproportionate prominence. Since the pandemic, trips with a lot of nature, such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, and safaris in Africa, have gained more traction, to the detriment of more urban and cultural ones. This year, countries that took longer to reopen after COVID, such as China, are also performing well.
Since the pandemic, Exoticca has detected that trips with a lot of nature, such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, and safaris in Africa, have more appeal.Exoticca rejects the label of luxury travel, as they believe it is misinterpreted due to the destinations they visit.With all-inclusive, the average price per person is between 100 and 200 euros per day, reaching between 1,400 and 1,600 euros for a two-week trip.According to the company, the profile of its clients falls into the middle/upper-middle class, with a predominance of adults between 45 and 75 years old. Now, they are starting to launch products for families, a type of client they have not fully exploited.
Knowing that 80% of the trips they sell are in groups and organized by language, the startup is now focusing on Latin America, where there is also a critical mass of travelers who share the same language. Since 2024, they have been present in Colombia and Mexico, and they expect to complete the list with six new markets throughout this year, reaching Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.
Halfway to becoming a unicorn
The recent financing round they have closed, for a significant 60 million euros, should help them expand throughout Latin America. This is their fifth round, the fourth with the participation of funds, and it has allowed them to reach a total funding raised to date of 125 million euros.
The operation was led by the French fund Quadrille Capital, and new investors such as All Iron and the Institut Català de les Finances (ICF) also joined. Past investors such as 14W, Mangrove, Bonsai, Banco Sabadell, and Aldea remained. After the different rounds it has executed, 75% of the company's capital is in the hands of venture capital, distributed among a dozen funds, completing the list K Fund, Milano Investment Partners, and Kibo Ventures. For Vallès, this participatory company structure gives them autonomy, as the fund with the most weight holds 15% of the capital. A few years ago, just after the pandemic, the company's founder, Jesús Rodríguez, sold his shares.
After the different rounds it has executed, 75% of the company's capital is in the hands of venture capitalLittle by little, Exoticcais getting closerto a goal pursued by manystartups, to become a unicorn, that is, to obtain a valuation of more than 1,000 million euros. "We still have a way to go. It is not a goal per se, but we are aware that the funds have expectations of generating value," explains Vallès. According to market sources, the company would have reached a valuation of 500 million euros.
Their latest round, a Series D, will also serve to strengthen the platform with which they began to digitize the segment of grand tours. Since mid-2022, they have started to commercialize their software to traditional travel agencies, with the aim that they can also streamline their procedures and even close the sale in a single visit. Currently, they work with 2,500 traditional agencies, concentrated in the United States and Canada. In Spain, they do so with Viajes El Corte Inglés. This business arm now represents 20% of Exoticca's revenue, and the goal is for it to continue growing in the coming years and reach 50% by 2027.
Achieving profitability
With funding secured, the traveltech sets 2024 as the year it will start to record profits, after closing a first half very close to break even. "This could be the last round we do," Vallès emphasizes, only considering this tool again if they want to buy other companies, something they haven't done until now. Possible acquisitions would be financed through debt and equity.
Exoticca sets 2024 as the year it will start to record profitsThe arrival of profitswill be accompanied this year by a turnover of 300 million euros. A figure that will represent a 50% growth compared to the 200 million euros in revenue recorded in 2023. In its first year of life, in 2015, sales were 2.5 million euros.
With a global workforce of 475 employees, more than 70% are in Barcelona, where the company was founded, with about 350 workers. They have just moved to offices on Aribau Street, between Diagonal and Travessera de Gràcia, where they have gained space to continue growing compared to the ones they had on Rambla de Catalunya. They also have smaller offices in Miami. The forecast is to reach 600 workers by the end of this year, growing in Barcelona to more than 400.