Tourlane

Tourlane is a Berlin-headquartered travel company that plans and books tailor-made, multi-stop trips for leisure travelers. Customers submit destination, preference and budget details through an online form and receive a personalized draft itinerary within minutes; they are then paired in a one-on-one consultation with an English-speaking, native-European travel expert who refines the itinerary. Tourlane books the components of the trip — flights, accommodation, rental cars, activities and transfers — and provides support before, during and after travel through dedicated contacts and a mobile app containing travel documents.

The company positions its current consumer offering around European destinations for U.S. travelers, listing countries including Italy, Greece, Ireland, France, Spain, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Wales, while stating it has designed trips to more than 30 destinations worldwide since 2016. According to TechCrunch, the platform aggregates flights, accommodations, activities and tickets, and the company is applying generative AI at the front end to guide users toward options and at the back end to evaluate large numbers of permutations of flights, accommodation, cars, activities and travel dates. Tourlane also publishes travel research indices and campaigns (for example rankings of cultural capitals, African national parks, old towns, walkable cities and sustainable cities) as a content and marketing activity, and describes itself in that context as a carbon-neutral travel company.

Founding story

Founded by Julian Weselek (CEO and co-founder) and Julian Stiefel, per a startup database and TechCrunch; the company is based in Berlin.

Business model

Tourlane sells packaged, customized trips assembled from third-party suppliers. Consultation and the initial personalized itinerary are free and non-binding; customers pay a single all-in price when they book. TechCrunch reports that, like traditional travel agents, Tourlane earns a commission on the services it sells, with rates it does not disclose and which vary by factor and partner. Changes or cancellations after booking may incur fees depending on supplier policies.

Undisclosed commissions on booked travel services (flights, accommodation, cars, activities), charged within an all-in trip price [7][2].

Traction

The company states it is trusted by over 150,000 global travelers with over 100,000 trips booked and that more than 92% of customers want to book again; TechCrunch reports trips booked for 100,000 individuals and that the year before the November 2024 round was five times stronger than the last pre-COVID year. Trustpilot rating of 4.4 of 5 across 5,581 reviews. Headcount was around 500, of which about 150 were customer agents, as of November 2024.

Latest developments

In November 2024 Tourlane announced a €25 million ($26 million) Series D led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from new backer Target Global, HV Capital and Jared Smith. Proceeds are earmarked for reaching profitability, expanding technology and AI capabilities, and potentially adding origination markets beyond France and Germany. The company has since emphasized the U.S. market with Europe-focused itineraries, and continued publishing travel research indices including a 2026 cultural capitals index.