Instinct founder says travel accounts for more than 50% of transactions

Instinct founder Noah Shinn said on a podcast that more than 50% of the platform’s transactions are travel-related. He said the invite-only platform is approaching $1 billion in annual transactions, although he did not explain how that rate is calculated; he also said the company is growing 10% day by day, with transaction volume increasing at a similar rate.

Shinn argued that agents could check restaurant websites every five seconds to find reservations and hinted that Instinct wants to reinvent the system by giving preferential treatment to special occasions. Observers criticized the idea, noting that agents could lie about anniversaries and other occasions to secure tables, while some restaurants prefer regular local patrons. TechCrunch also reported that Instinct recently raised $1 billion in Series C funding at a $10 billion valuation and is competing with Meta’s Muse and Wajo.