New Flash-Sale Website for Social Activities

MSNBC: Shoes, spa treatments, trips to Tahiti — is there anything you can’t buy at a steep discount on a flash-sale website these days?

Now you can add fully guided group events and activities to the list. Launching in 30 cities on Thursday, LivingSocial Adventures offers custom-designed experiences that combine local activities, transportation and related services and are led by LivingSocial employees.

It’s like Events and Adventures without the interview, membership fee or focus on meeting that special someone (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Among the initial offerings:

    - Washington, D.C.: 90-minute equestrian trail ride, catered picnic lunch,

       wine tasting and roundtrip transportation ($99)

    - Chicago: Scenic river tubing, catered barbecue and roundtrip transportation ($65)

     - Minneapolis, Minn.: Sushi-making lesson, sake tasting, “sake bomb” (kanpai!)

        and take-home sushi cup ($39)

The concept is the brainchild of Maia Josebachvili, a one-time Wall Street derivatives trader who spent her spare time planning weekend trips for herself, her friends and, eventually, friends of friends who wanted to come along.

“Within a few months, I had an e-mail list of 300 people who were waiting for the next adventure,” said Josebachvili. “I thought who needs Wall Street when I can plan camping trips for a living?”

The result was Urban Escapes, a New York-centric company designed to get young professionals “out of the bubble.” The company was acquired by LivingSocial, where Josebachvili is now a global director, in October 2010.

Officially launching as LivingSocial Adventures, the concept offers several twists on a market segment that is exploding with new products and players. (On Tuesday, Expedia and LivingSocial competitor Groupon unveiled their new flash-travel product, Groupon Getaways with Expedia.)

The biggest twist is that the activities will be researched, put together and led by LivingSocial employees. The company will also contract with vendors to charter not just the primary activity, but also transportation, meals and whatever else is required to create a “fully curated social event.”

And, as the name suggests, “social” is the key word. “The beauty of it,” said Josebachvili, “is that you show up and there’s somewhere between 20 and 150 people [depending on the specific event] with a similar mindset who are there to do the same thing you are.”