01
de Desembre
de
2016
Act.
01
de Desembre
de
2016
There is no longer any need to separately look for hotel, restaurant, ski pass and classes so that the little ones can learn to ski, Skiverse takes charge of it all thanks to its platform, with more than 14,000 kilometres of snow and 100 ski resorts in Europe. This startup, set up in Terrassa by brothers Agustí and Salvador Devant, has brought the snow sector back to agencies, one of their main "forgotten areas", points out the former. And according to Agustí Devant, who had the idea, "travel agencies had no distribution channel or aggregator with which to find snow products, as they do with other types of activities and holidays." In fact, the company estimates that only 9.8% have excursions or trips of this type available.
The platform first took shape in June 2015 and has been in commercial operation since the beginning of 2016, when the company had only 20 ski slopes. They now have a list of more than 250 resorts pending review and agreements to be closed, and they predict they will end the season with a turnover of about 1.5 million euros.
Snow tourism also on the Internet
Skiverse has also been the springboard for ski resorts and other firms who do their best business during the coldest season to join digitalisation. This market accounts for a total of 30 million euros in Europe, according to the Vanat 2015 report on snow tourism, but only 8.3% of companies in the sector are in the online world. "How much money could they earn if they were?" asks Devant, a question that justifies the startup's existence.
The co-founder explains that this lack of a digital presence is due to the investment made on infrastructure: "Ski resorts have improved their slopes and points of access a lot so that the skier's experience is a good one, but they have not invested in technology to bring their product to distribution." This means that agencies, already affected by the rise in e-commerce, have gradually lost sales in these products. "You do not even see so many coaches with schools or families going away for the weekend!" adds Devant, who points out that the transport companies could also benefit from an upturn in the sector.
This, including activities for the winter season among what agencies have available would allow them to "offer products for all seasons and increase their revenue".
A channel for each occasion
Devant's initial idea was to create a B2C business, in other words, targeted at selling products and services directly to the consumer. The turn towards B2B happened when the two brothers saw the lack of snow tourism on the Internet, which made them decide to turn themselves into a supplier for agencies.
Although most of their business comes from this segment, the project's creator says that they also sell to websites, such as Logitravel, Atrápalo orSubasta de Ocio. "The user is looking for different channels and we work both for the digital client as well as the traditional one," and he insists, "it is strange to see how the digital consumer is at home with technology and buys individual products, but continues to use agencies when looking for packages." The reason, he says, is that searching out specialised professionals puts people's minds at rest when they have to go on a long or distant trip. "The traditional agency is a prescriber," he points out. According to Devant, that is why "the average sale price with an online agency is about 160 euros, while for a traditional agency it can be 4,000 euros." Whatever the case, he is pleased that the reception "has been good" and he points out they now provide coverage for more than 4,000 Spanish agencies.
Accelerated growth
A total of 335,000 euros have been invested by the brothers. The sum includes their own contributions, that of friends who believe in the project, investors of the stature of Carlos Blanco and an Enisa loan of 60,000 euros.
What's more, the startup has been in the Conector and Barcelona Activa accelerators, and from the beginning has had the support of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, one of the first organisations to learn about Skiverse. "We took the idea to them, they liked it and they opened the doors to us to Catalonia's resorts to begin working," says Devant.
Since then, they have brought together almost all the 30 ski resorts in Spain and others in France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. They are also in talks with agencies in Portugal and the United Kingdom, a step forward they will consolidate during 2017. Their latest achievement, however, was to win second prize for the best startup in the Premis Creatic awarded by the Mataró Tecnocampus.
The platform first took shape in June 2015 and has been in commercial operation since the beginning of 2016, when the company had only 20 ski slopes. They now have a list of more than 250 resorts pending review and agreements to be closed, and they predict they will end the season with a turnover of about 1.5 million euros.
Snow tourism also on the Internet
Skiverse has also been the springboard for ski resorts and other firms who do their best business during the coldest season to join digitalisation. This market accounts for a total of 30 million euros in Europe, according to the Vanat 2015 report on snow tourism, but only 8.3% of companies in the sector are in the online world. "How much money could they earn if they were?" asks Devant, a question that justifies the startup's existence.
The co-founder explains that this lack of a digital presence is due to the investment made on infrastructure: "Ski resorts have improved their slopes and points of access a lot so that the skier's experience is a good one, but they have not invested in technology to bring their product to distribution." This means that agencies, already affected by the rise in e-commerce, have gradually lost sales in these products. "You do not even see so many coaches with schools or families going away for the weekend!" adds Devant, who points out that the transport companies could also benefit from an upturn in the sector.
This, including activities for the winter season among what agencies have available would allow them to "offer products for all seasons and increase their revenue".
A channel for each occasion
Devant's initial idea was to create a B2C business, in other words, targeted at selling products and services directly to the consumer. The turn towards B2B happened when the two brothers saw the lack of snow tourism on the Internet, which made them decide to turn themselves into a supplier for agencies.
Although most of their business comes from this segment, the project's creator says that they also sell to websites, such as Logitravel, Atrápalo orSubasta de Ocio. "The user is looking for different channels and we work both for the digital client as well as the traditional one," and he insists, "it is strange to see how the digital consumer is at home with technology and buys individual products, but continues to use agencies when looking for packages." The reason, he says, is that searching out specialised professionals puts people's minds at rest when they have to go on a long or distant trip. "The traditional agency is a prescriber," he points out. According to Devant, that is why "the average sale price with an online agency is about 160 euros, while for a traditional agency it can be 4,000 euros." Whatever the case, he is pleased that the reception "has been good" and he points out they now provide coverage for more than 4,000 Spanish agencies.
Accelerated growth
A total of 335,000 euros have been invested by the brothers. The sum includes their own contributions, that of friends who believe in the project, investors of the stature of Carlos Blanco and an Enisa loan of 60,000 euros.
What's more, the startup has been in the Conector and Barcelona Activa accelerators, and from the beginning has had the support of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, one of the first organisations to learn about Skiverse. "We took the idea to them, they liked it and they opened the doors to us to Catalonia's resorts to begin working," says Devant.
Since then, they have brought together almost all the 30 ski resorts in Spain and others in France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. They are also in talks with agencies in Portugal and the United Kingdom, a step forward they will consolidate during 2017. Their latest achievement, however, was to win second prize for the best startup in the Premis Creatic awarded by the Mataró Tecnocampus.