‘Experience is king’

Bristol24/7 catches up with George Hart, who packed in a corporate job to co-found Tobooka, a Bristol-based startup creating a new culture of experience-led trips in the South West.

“The English countryside is a beautiful destination, but millennials care less about where they are, they care about what they’re doing and the experience they can take away,” says George Hart, one half of the two-man team behind Tabooka.

“Getting an industry to understand this shift in behaviour is difficult, but we’re up for the challenge.

“The start-up scene in Bristol is awesome. For two early 20-somethings, it’s so important to be part of a network where we can continually learn and grow, both personally and as a business.”

The entrepreneur grew up in Somerset, surrounded by the countryside, before moving to Bristol and says he and business partner Will Goodhew are lucky to be part of Entrepreneurial Spark, an accelerator near Bristol Temple Meads, which provides access to mentors and start-up meets.

Now part of a booming scene in a place that has just overtaken London to be named the UK’s smartest city, the entrepreneurial life in Bristol hasn’t always been George’s calling.

George were helped by Entrepreneurial Spark

With a degree in civil engineering, he worked in a big corporate firm for a couple of years.

“I wasn’t making a difference, I was a cog in the machine,” he says. “So, I took the risk and left to pursue something I’d dreamt of. I soon realised that the only risk was that I would have stayed in a corporate job for 30 years and not leave.”

Just six months later, George and Will launched Tobooka and haven’t looked back.

“Using local knowledge, we’ve created an online platform that connects group experiences to holiday lets,” explains George. “Imagine you’re a group of eight friends staying in Somerset. You might want to find a quad biking experience, followed by a boozy trip to a cider farm that only locals can recommend.

“We connect groups like this with amazing local experiences that they would otherwise be unable to find. For millennials, experiences are king, and we are creating a unique platform that caters to their demands.

“It benefits the holiday makers, whilst empowering the holiday let owners and local businesses that provide those niche experiences with very small, if any, marketing budgets. It’s the knowledge of those experiences that make us different.”

Like many of us, George remembers group holidays with overpriced, badly organised activities. With Tobooka, he hopes to change that.

The launch brought together more than 100 holiday let owners, over 30 businesses and a host of industry leaders and the platform was well received.

“We walked away with a spring in our step,” says George. “Over 50 holiday let owners signed up, bringing with them nearly 200 local businesses.

“Introducing something new into an industry is always hard, getting people to believe in it and change an approach is even harder. Over the next few months we’re focussing on bringing holiday let owners and businesses up to speed with the Tobooka platform and vision.”

Tobooka has big plans for the future, the South West is only the start.

To get in touch, or list an experience or holiday let for free, contact: info@tobooka.co.uk.

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