This is a regular roundup of some of the latest mobile application startup launches in travel covering everything from trip inspiration and planning to virtual assistants.
Grumgo
What is it?
Grumgo is a mobile application that aims to guide and assist the traveller while exploring a new city. The service is powered by artificial intelligence and travel psychology. The goal of the app is to take the hassle out of planning an itinerary by knowing where to take users and helping them get a unique and personalised trip.
Who’s behind it?
Alessia Cacaveri - founder and CEO
Giovanni Basile-Garcia - Co-founder and chief innovation officer
Ron Kalian - co-founder and CTO
Valentina Ursida - co-founder and operations manager
Is there a problem you’re trying to solve?
Cacaveri says:
"Grumgo’s idea was born about a year ago after coming back from yet another city break that proved difficult to fully enjoy due to lack of time to plan the itinerary and the activities. Ever found yourself at the destination and asked what should we do now?
"While we are increasingly opting for shorter trips, multiple times per year (this is especially true for Millennials), we spend less time planning them.
"In fact, 85% of leisure travellers start planning their itinerary only once they land at the destination.
"Planning is hard and time consuming and, without a proper research about the destination, selecting what to do (and what to do next) can be overwhelming. This only leads to:
- wasting lot of time when you could be exploring
- feeling the pressure of selecting the right activities (so called 'travel stress')
- the inevitable reality not matching our travel expectations (travelling is a personal experience and should not be tied to Top 10s.
"Short trips, therefore, often don't deliver on travel's promises for happiness. We are here to change this."
What else?
The app will soon launch via both Google Play and the App Store. The plan is to offer London and Rome initially before expanding to other cities quickly. By the end of 2017, Grumgo hopes to add three more cities.
TraveLibro
What is it?
TraveLibro is a travel social network that enables travellers to capture experiences differently and provide them with the opportunity to tell their travel stories.
A user can capture their travel journeys on-the-go, solo or with fellow travellers with the help of check-in's, photos, videos, thoughts and reviews via a shared timeline, thus enabling them to relive their travel stories.
It aims to be a community that inspires others to travel.
Who's behind it?
Monish Shah - co-founder, has a background in investment banking.
Malhar Gala - co-founder, described as a "serial entrepreneur".
Is there a problem you're trying to solve?
Shah says:
"Over the years, we have witnessed the change in the way travel experiences are being shared—from writing a blog about a holiday to sharing a few selected moments on social media for instant likes and gratification.
"We believe that this sudden migration has lead to a gap in the market, a need to capture and share travel experiences differently. Currently your travel tales are limited to a few pictures or a few hundred words.
"Thus, there is a need for a solution that allows you to tell a story of your entire experience. It further gives you the opportunity to inspire others with your stories and reminisce your journeys.
"We believe that everybody has a story to tell; this belief led to months of ideation and hard work to create a solution for that traveller—the story teller.
Persistent efforts were made to develop the nearly perfect platform to capture an individual’s travels and build a community of like-minded storytellers to inspire each other.
"Hence, going back to the drawing board led to creating that optimal solution that is now TraveLibro—a social network, which captures your entire Travel Story.
"It gives blogging a fun twist by creating a beautiful timeline of your travel stories with photos, videos, rating and reviewing of your check-ins and thoughts."
Anything else?
The startup is currently bootstrapped with founders Shah and Gala having invested in the venture.
Eightydays
What is it?
A service to help users plan multi-city trips in a few clicks. The idea is that pay less for a multi-city trip compared to a round-trip.
Who is behind it?
Aleh Tsikhanau - CEO and co-founder, responsible for product, design and strategy.
Alexey Kruchenok - CTO and co-founder, responsible for algorithms and strategy.
Artem Gorny - partner and co-founder, responsible for business strategy.
Mikhael Larchanka - developer and co-founder, responsible for the front-end.
Is there a problem you're trying to solve?
Tsikhanau says:
"Usually people dream about travelling in terms of categories: "Why don't we fly to Paris?!"
"We approach it from a different perspective: "Paris is cool! But what about visiting Rome, Nice, then on a high-speed train along the French Rivera to Paris-Gare de Lyon. Then to Amsterdam and back to home for the very same cost!"
"What if you do not need to spend hours opening hundreds of browser tabs but get your first travel idea in just a few seconds.
Anything else? (Funding/accelerators)?
Eightydays is participating with the Hi Tech Park incubator in Belarus. It also won Belarusian Startup of the Year in 2016. A month ago it received a booking for its first round the world trip.