Waynabox sold its first surprise trip in 2015, destined for Brussels. It was not the original idea that the company had pursued, born with the objective of commercializing airline tickets unsold by companies at the last minute, as explained by its CEO Jordi Agustí. They realized that it was very difficult to do because they had to close individual agreements with airlines and saw that what was important was not when the flights were bought but that the client did not know where they were going until shortly before departure. So the strategy was to not reveal the destination until 48 hours before, offering getaways to European capitals with flight and hotel included.
Less than ten years later, the Barcelona-based company is experiencing a record year after overcoming the setback that the pandemic meant for tourism. Waynabox expects to generate 10 million euros this 2023, a figure that doubles that achieved in 2019. Agustí points out that the results are explained by the price increase that the sector has been applying for months, with hotels and flights between 30% and 40% more expensive, and by the historical figures of travelers being registered globally. In that sense, the company will also break its record for travelers, reaching 90,000 compared to 65,000 in 2019.
What has not yet recovered are the profits. The company covered costs for the first time in 2019, but a year later covid came and took steps backward. This 2023, it is allocating part of the budget to continue growing, so it will not reach profitability either. According to Agustí, they are not far and hope to do it again next year.
What is going to become Waynabox's best year coincides with the acquisition by Atresmedia in March. The entry of the audiovisual group as a majority partner must serve to strengthen the company's position in Spain, reaching more public, but also in the rest of Europe, accessing new markets. The tourism company does not reveal the investment that Atresmedia has made in recent months, but indicates that it has materialized through advertising campaigns and by providing economic resources. Before the purchase by the group, the company had raised 2.5 million euros in rounds.
Spain, Italy, France, and Portugal are the countries where the company currently operates, and it now hopes to expand to Northern Europe. Other projects on the table include automating the technology behind the booking process and improving the travel experience, with more precise and personalized recommendations, as well as better on-site assistance to avoid leaving travelers stranded when something goes wrong, as sometimes happens.
Waynabox does not foresee major hirings to face this new stage. Currently, the staff consists of 17 employees located in a coworking space in Plaza Reial. According to Agustí, at most, they will grow to 20-22 employees. The key, he emphasizes, is to optimize technology as much as possible so that employees can dedicate themselves to dealing with customers. That is why they will look for profiles that speak the languages of the countries they want to enter, which does not worry them much because "from Barcelona it is easy to attract talent for Europe."
Waynabox does not foresee major hirings to face this new stage after the acquisition by AtresmediaThe company offers about 50 destinations, both within Spain and in the rest of Europe. Prices range from 150 to 300 euros per person, depending on the time of year. In Spain, there are also options to go by train or to do a roadtrip, with your own car or a rented one.The van option has been parked,emerged with the pandemic, after seeing that there are not many providers and that they are more designed for international visitors who use them for more than one weekend.
In the short term, they do not contemplate leaving the continent, as they did before covid with destinations to the United States, now too expensive. The US ruled out, they are analyzing whether to incorporate Canada or some Central American country into their offer.