Urbs Travel

Summary

Urbs is a mobile app that offers unique audio content written by cultural experts and local writers, customisable routes, and a ticket booking integration so people can skip queues and save time. Launched September 2021. User base grew +50% to 252 monthly active users in the last month to Nov. '21. On a mission to create a one-stop shop city platform.

• Looking to disrupt the outdated tours & travel activities market, estimated at $150bn
• Aim to take advantage of the growth of audio (UK podcast listeners +24% YoY)
• 7 European cities, 1,000+ locations, 25+ hours of audio
• Unique content by experts from Oxford Uni, Condé Nast Traveler, Forbes.

Idea

We believe that the city guide industry is outdated. Modern travellers can either hire a tour guide (inflexible and expensive) or carry around a bulky written guide (not immersive). Digital solutions are fragmented: quality navigation lacks original content, whilst quality audio lacks maps.

Urbs is a city-focused app that offers unique content crafted by cultural experts and local writers, a route plotting function that allows users to plan out their day, & a ticket booking integration that lets travellers skip the queues and save time.

We've worked with more than 20 leading experts to produce unique content for 7 cities across Europe, with two more in the works. The product launched in Sept. & users grew 50% MoM to 252 monthly active users in Nov. '21.

When users purchase a ticket on the app we take a c. 8-12% commission. Further revenue streams for 2022 include premium content, co-branded guides for UK tourist boards (which will drive users to the platform), & an accommodation booking API.

The tours & travel activities market is worth $150bn, whilst more and more people are consuming audio content (16m UK podcast listeners in 2021).

Our vision is to develop a one-stop shop city platform. We’re using this funding round to produce new content, grow our user base, and add some great new features such as accommodation booking and a social function where users can share their routes.

Team

Will von Behr (Founder & CEO)

Will was pursuing a Master's at Oxford before he decided to found Urbs. Prior to that he spent two years advising on the mergers and acquisitions of consumer goods companies. Will looks after the content side of the business, ensuring scripts are top-class and audio is recorded to perfection.

Luke Smyth-Osbourne (CTO)

Prior to joining Urbs, Luke worked in Software Development at QA Consulting. He looks after both our iOS and Android products, managing our outsourced development team.

Max Thomas (User Acquisition, Part Time)

Max is a freelance user acquisition specialist who previously served as Head of Campaign Management at Nara Media. He helps us optimise our store listings, run campaigns and track everything we possibly can.