Curioseety
Curioseety is an Italian online marketplace that connects individual travelers with certified local tour guides (CuriosGuides) for booking small-group, authentic activities across Italy and select international destinations, taking a 10% commission on transactions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersMilano, Italy
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Curioseety does
Curioseety is an Italian-headquartered online marketplace that connects individual travelers with certified local tour guides, branded as CuriosGuides, for the booking of small-group, experience-led activities. The platform operates primarily across Italy with early international supply in destinations such as Córdoba (Spain) and Sardinia, and offers tours across five categories: Food & Wine, History & Art, Nature, Off-track/Curious, and Lifestyle. Technology is a standard web-based booking platform with PayPal handling payment processing, Google Analytics and Google/Facebook advertising tags for acquisition and remarketing, and public social profiles on Facebook and Instagram. There is no mobile app, no public API or SDK, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities.
The business model is a two-sided marketplace with a 10% commission: travelers pay a refundable 10% deposit to the platform at booking and the remaining 90% directly to the guide on tour day. Guides are vetted through the CuriosGuide certification program, which requires applicable professional licenses issued by Italian local authorities, and the platform operates as an open marketplace where guides set their own prices (ranging from €19 to €495+) in either EUR or USD. The primary customer segments are individual travelers seeking authentic local experiences (demand side) and certified professional tour guides (supply side), with no enterprise or institutional buyers disclosed.
Distribution is a hybrid of direct website booking and listings on five major global OTAs and travel marketplaces—TripAdvisor, Viator, Expedia, Booking.com, and Airbnb Experiences—alongside a separate Travel Agents channel on the company's own site. The company is privately held, structured as an Italian SRLS (Curioseety SRLS), was founded in 2014 by Federico Paleari, has 1–10 employees, and has disclosed a single external capital event: a $250,000 raise from Newchip Accelerator in August 2021. There is no evidence of subsequent funding, M&A activity, or institutional investors.
Curioseety firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Curioseety
- Legal name
- Curioseety SRLS
- Website
- https://curioseety.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Curioseety is an Italian online marketplace that connects individual travelers with certified local tour guides (CuriosGuides) for booking small-group, authentic activities across Italy and select international destinations, taking a 10% commission on transactions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Curioseety industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Travel Experiences Marketplace
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (561520)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Recreation & Activity Services (Hiking, Boating, Climbing, Fishing—Guided/Authorized) (THAAAGAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Culinary Walking & Market Tours (THAJAGAA)
Keywords
Where Curioseety is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Milano
- HQ country
- Italy
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Curioseety business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Others
Revenue model
- Booking Commission: Curioseety acts as an intermediary platform between travelers and activity suppliers. The platform collects a 10% deposit on bookings and facilitates the connection. Tour guides receive 90% of the tour cost directly from travelers on the day of the tour.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Marketplace with guide-set pricing |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Activity pricing from €19 to €495+ |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels10 records
Curioseety product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Curioseety operates an online marketplace that connects travelers with certified local tour guides (CuriosGuides) for booking authentic, small-group activities across Italy and select international destinations. The platform facilitates discovery, booking, and payment for tours across five categories (Food & Wine, History & Art, Nature, Off-track/Curious, Lifestyle), taking a 10% commission on each transaction while guides retain 90%.
Product overview
Curioseety is a marketplace platform for booking authentic travel experiences with local experts. The core offering consists of the Curioseety Tour Platform connecting travelers with CuriosGuides (certified local tour guides) who publish and manage their own tours. The platform offers five main tour categories: Food&Wine, History&Art, Nature, Off-track/Curious, and Lifestyle. Tours are primarily focused on Italy but extend to other destinations. The platform operates as an intermediary, facilitating connections and bookings between travelers and third-party activity suppliers, taking a 10% commission on bookings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Curioseety Tour Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- 10% refundable deposit protects travelers if guide doesn't show
Companies that use Curioseety
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Curioseety technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
Feature1 record
Curioseety partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- TripAdvisorcoreCurioseety supplies tours to TripAdvisor's marketplace, allowing travelers to discover and book Curioseety experiences through the TripAdvisor platform.
- ViatorcoreCurioseety supplies tours to Viator's platform, enabling bookings through Viator's travel marketplace.
- ExpediacoreCurioseety acts as a supplier to Expedia's OTA network, distributing tours through Expedia's global travel platform.
- Booking.comcoreCurioseety supplies tours to Booking.com's experiences marketplace, expanding reach to Booking.com's global traveler base.
- AirbnbcoreCurioseety supplies tours to Airbnb Experiences platform, connecting with Airbnb's community of experiential travelers.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Curioseety competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Airbnb Experiences: Airbnb's Experiences product is a global marketplace for bookable host-led activities; it is both a distribution partner for Curioseety and the dominant direct competitor in the guided-experiences category.
- Klook: Klook is a major Asia-rooted experiences and activities platform rapidly expanding in Europe; it competes with Curioseety for both traveler demand and local-guide supply in Italy.
- Viator (Tripadvisor): Viator is one of the world's largest tours-and-attractions marketplaces and is both a Curioseety distribution partner and a direct competitor, offering similar certified-guide-led experiences globally.
- GetYourGuide: GetYourGuide is a leading European-headquartered tours and activities marketplace with deep penetration in Italy; it competes for the same certified local guide supply and traveler demand as Curioseety.
Emerging players
- Headout: Headout is a venture-backed experiences marketplace aggregating last-minute tours and attractions; it overlaps with Curioseety on guided local experiences and OTA-style distribution.
- Like a Local Guide: Like a Local Guide is a curated, community-driven travel guide platform emphasizing authentic local tips and experiences; it competes in the same 'off-the-beaten-path' positioning as Curioseety's Off-track/Curious category.
- Cookly: Cookly is a niche marketplace focused on cooking classes and food tours with local chefs—a direct adjacency to Curioseety's Food&Wine category and its authentic-local proposition.
Direct peers
- ToursByLocals: ToursByLocals is a private-tour marketplace featuring licensed local guides worldwide, mirroring Curioseety's certified-guide positioning and small-group, high-touch experience format.
- Withlocals: Withlocals is a closely comparable marketplace connecting travelers with vetted local hosts for food, culture, and off-beaten-path tours—the most direct head-to-head competitor to Curioseety's curated-guide model.
- Musement: Musement (now part of TUI) is an Italy-originated tours-and-activities platform with very similar European focus, heritage in Italian supply, and curated local-experiences positioning.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Curioseety social profiles
Digital presenceCurioseety financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Curioseety leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Curioseety funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Curioseety M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Curioseety
What does Curioseety do?
Curioseety operates an online marketplace that connects travelers with certified local tour guides (CuriosGuides) for booking authentic, small-group activities across Italy and select international destinations. The platform facilitates discovery, booking, and payment for tours across five categories (Food & Wine, History & Art, Nature, Off-track/Curious, Lifestyle), taking a 10% commission on each transaction while guides retain 90%.
Is Curioseety a public or private company?
Curioseety is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Curioseety founded?
Curioseety was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Curioseety based?
Curioseety is headquartered in Milano, Italy, in the Europe region.
How does Curioseety make money?
One revenue line is on record: booking Commission.
Who are Curioseety's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Airbnb Experiences, Klook, Viator (Tripadvisor) and GetYourGuide. Emerging players are Headout, Like a Local Guide and Cookly. Direct peers are ToursByLocals, Withlocals and Musement.
Does Curioseety have an API?
No public API is recorded for Curioseety.
What industry is Curioseety in?
Curioseety's product category is Online Travel Experiences Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAAAGAF, Recreation & Activity Services (Hiking, Boating, Climbing, Fishing—Guided/Authorized), with a secondary code of THAJAGAA, Culinary Walking & Market Tours. Its NAICS code is 561520 and its SIC code is 7900.