Bandwango

Bandwango operates a software-as-a-service "experience builder" platform that lets destinations and community organizations create, distribute and manage digital mobile passes. Passes cover formats such as free savings passes, paid attraction passes, gamified scavenger hunts and trails (for example beer, wine, art and retail trails), and are delivered through a mobile web experience that does not require an app download. Visitors access passes purchased or claimed via a destination's website, QR codes or email, then check in at participating merchants by GPS to redeem discounts or accumulate points toward rewards.

The company describes its underlying product as a Destination Experience Engine (DXE) intended to connect communities to local businesses and drive e-commerce for things to do, capturing a share of online sales. Its merchant network spans attractions, tours, breweries, wineries, cafés, golf courses, retailers, restaurants, bars, state parks and other points of interest. Alongside pass creation, Bandwango provides templates, an administrative Experience Builder for updating pass content, passholder customer service and support, re-engagement marketing, merchant payment handling and accounting, and analytics on sign-ups, check-ins and conversions that clients use to report economic impact.

Business model

Bandwango licenses its experience builder platform to destination and community organizations, which use it to launch free or paid mobile passes; the company also handles merchant payments, accounting, customer service and passholder support, and reports having processed over $16 million in payouts/transactions to merchants. The platform's stated goal is to drive e-commerce for local things-to-do and capture a portion of online sales.

Revenue is tied to the pass platform: destinations deploy free or paid experience passes, with paid passes such as multi-day attraction passes sold directly to consumers, and the company processes and pays out merchant transactions while stating an aim to capture a portion of online sales for things to do. Third-party revenue estimates for the company vary widely and are not consistent.

Traction

The company reports 450+ active communities, more than 40,000 local businesses and points of interest, and over $16 million in payouts to local businesses. Third-party material adds more than 300,000 email opt-ins achieved for customers and partnerships with more than 25% of U.S. DMOs. Named deployments include Visit Cheyenne savings and Legendary passes, the Short North Arts District Art Trail in Columbus, the Tri-Valley Beer Trail, Franklin's Midnight Sun Scavenger Hunt, VisitPITTSBURGH's KidsBURGH pass, Johnston County's Beer, Wine & Shine Trail, Experience Columbia SC, Santa Monica's LA Tech Week Pass and the multi-city Cities of the Big Ten passport.

Latest developments

Reported activity includes the Cities of the Big Ten digital passport with Visit Lincoln and 16 other Big Ten city tourism organizations (August 2024), VisitPITTSBURGH's free KidsBURGH digital pass (September 2024), the free gamified LA Tech Week Pass launched with Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (October 2025), and the rollout of Experience Builder 2.0.