Culture Trip debuts online booking platform

The London-based start-up will initially offer a modest range of accommodation.

However, following a soft launch on Tuesday (6 August), the site says it is aiming to offer travellers more than 10,000 places to stay over the next six months.

Next year, meanwhile, it will make booking experiences via its platform its key focus.

Culture Trip was founded in 2015 and has grown into a leading cultural exploration and travel inspiration website.

It last year secured $80 million funding to establish itself as a travel seller.

“With the roll-out of our new features, consumers will be able to turn their travel inspiration into reality by booking a place to stay directly on the site,” said the company in a statement.

“We’re excited to be one step closer to helping people go from being inspired to actually experiencing what makes a place special and unique for themselves.”

Culture Trip says it will set itself apart from other bookable platforms relying on price and availability by leveraging local knowledge and expertise to offer first-hand perspectives on what makes each destination unique.

“We’re planning to make places to stay bookable first on-site, followed by experiences,” said Culture Trip.

“We’ll be rolling out booking for places to stay from August 2019 to end of year. Offering users the ability to book experiences via the site will be a key focus for us in 2020.”