According to a press release earlier this week, ski holiday booking platform SkiYodl is currently aiming to raise £1.5 million in crowdfunding investment.

  • SkiYodl was launched in December 2019.
  • In January 2021, they claimed that “In our first season we generated £350,000 in booking revenue”.
  • In December 2022, they claimed to have generated “£500,000 in revenue” in winter 2021/22, with a target of £1 million in turnover by the end of 2022.
  • In February 2023, they claimed that: “In our first season we generated £1.1m in booking revenue.”

In January 2021, the company used Crowdcube to raise £770,000 from 450 investors.

Founder previously worked in Verbier

Founder Oli Dannatt previously worked as a ski instructor for Richard Branson in Verbier. On his return to the UK he apparently found it difficult to book a ski holiday:

“We realised how much of a pain it was being on the consumer end of the ski market. Technology hadn’t really embraced this space at all – it was a case of having to phone up multiple agents and waiting a week to get answers back. The whole thing was just a nightmare.”

Maybe he wasn’t looking in the right places. However, with seed funding he set up SkiYodl, offering only Verbier at first, and then expanding to other resorts.

“20-25% cheaper than Airbnb & Booking.com

Covid and last year’s French travel ban hindered growth, but the company now has 3500 properties listed.

SkiYodl claims that it can “charge less for accommodation” and that “80% of our properties are 20-25% cheaper than on Airbnb and booking.com”

As a potential investor, this would concern me. Revenue is one thing, but profit is another.

In the travel industry, margins are already tight. If you are charging 20-25% less than the industry leaders, who can rely on high volumes, then that doesn’t leave much room for profit.

Valued at £6 million

SkiYodl is being valued in this round of financing at £6 million. For a company that is yet to book £1 million of revenue, on a likely low margin, this sounds like it’s hugely over-valued.

There are plans for growth into other regions, including North America and the summer holiday market (‘SunYodl’).

“Having 12 months’ revenue is very important for us.” Indeed.

[SkiYodl have been contacted for comment]