GetYourGuide, a leading marketplace for discovering and booking unforgettable travel experiences, is introducing a comprehensive suite of new tools and capabilities, like AI Content Insights and Seat Selection, designed to help experience operators unlock new growth, reach new audiences, and stand out. These experience operators, which include iconic attractions and passionate solo entrepreneurs, now include organizers of live events that cater to travelers who want to engage with a destination’s cultural offerings.
This product release, which marks the beginning of GetYourGuide’s business expansion to offer Shows & Events, benefits customers who can now choose seats directly in the app for select venues. Shows & Events, or Live Events, represent a multi-billion dollar market opportunity. Recent research demonstrates that 25% of travelers will attend an event while on vacation, with the event itself being the driver.1 Currently in an early preview, the feature is initially available with MGM Resorts’ shows in Las Vegas including Cirque du Soleil, enhancing the convenience for travelers to book local entertainment via GetYourGuide.
Under the theme “Step into the Spotlight,” GetYourGuide’s release comes as experiences are taking center stage against the backdrop of the broader travel industry. The total experience category is projected to surpass $1.8 trillion2 by the end of the year. Additionally, experiences and the trend towards online booking remain among the fastest-growing segments within global travel. Growth in experiences is still expected, despite economic and political shifts continuing to impact financial markets. For example, according to a new study by MMGY,3 US travelers appear resilient with 83% still intending to travel this year, though they may make trade-offs around duration and destination.
“Today’s enhancements are all about giving our operators the tools they need to really shine. With technology on their side, they get more control and insights, helping them create unique, high-quality offerings that stand out in a competitive market,” says Tao Tao, COO & Co-Founder at GetYourGuide. “On top of that, in today’s digital world, shared live experiences are more valuable than ever. With Shows & Events, we’re excited to build a more cross-category experience marketplace that provides a top-tier booking flow and opens new doors for customers and partners alike.”
“Our upgrades to Review Management and Provider Rating aren’t just about collecting feedback — they’re about making it actionable,” says Amber Cartwright, Vice President of User Experience. “Research shows that reviews are the new word-of-mouth, with 91% of travelers trusting them as much as personal recommendations. These features reflect our commitment to creating a platform where travelers can book with confidence and operators can continuously improve based on authentic customer insights.”
At a glance, highlights of the Unlocked Spring Release 2025 include:
- Shows & Events: Starting with MGM Resorts’ shows in Las Vegas including Cirque du Soleil, customers will soon be able to select specific seats directly through the app in select destinations. This new feature creates additional opportunities for existing experience operators while opening the GetYourGuide platform to event providers looking to expand their digital reach to new audiences.
- AI Content Insights: This new AI-powered feature now automatically identifies inconsistencies within listings, from conflicting meeting points to missing inclusions, delivering actionable recommendations that help operators enhance content accuracy. These improvements streamline the listing process and significantly boost traveler confidence and trust in the booking experience.
- Review Management & Provider Rating: AI-powered summaries scan hundreds of reviews, instantly revealing patterns that would typically require hours of manual analysis. Powerful insights enable operators to refine and differentiate their offerings based on real customer feedback. The new Provider Rating feature allows new activities to immediately benefit from the established reputation of existing offerings from the same provider, building credibility from day one.
- Advanced Cutoffs: With this new tool, experience operators now wield unprecedented control over their booking windows. The zero-minute cutoff capability allows last-second reservations until an experience begins, capturing spontaneous travelers and potentially driving booking increases of several percentage points.
- Pickup Planner: All from one central dashboard, this new tool enables operators to generate professional driver itineraries with a single click—transforming complex logistics into a competitive advantage. In addition, operators can leverage sophisticated, easy to use technology to instantly identify pickups requiring immediate attention, implement real-time updates with automatic customer notifications, organize bookings geographically with detailed participant information.
