STARTUP STAGE: MüvTravel uses AI to customize itineraries for independent travelers

MüvTravel

MüvTravel is an AI-powered platform to help independent travelers customize their entire trip, including transportation, accommodations and activities.

 

Speaking with PhocusWire, founder and CEO Michel Karam says the system analyzes millions of reviews, transportation fares and booking tools to help travelers create itineraries that are optimized for their interests and routes. 

Describe both the business and technology aspects of your startup.

MüvTravel is the Swiss knife of independent travel. MüvTravel is an aggregator of travel solutions and curated content offering users comprehensive guides to top destinations in the world. To do this, we use an artificial intelligence-generated ranking system based on millions of reviews, multimodal fare comparison, as well as easy to use booking tools, to allow customers to create sharable, personalized journeys from scratch or customizable suggested itineraries.

Our technology allows users to optimize itineraries for transit efficiency, calculate time to reach one destination to another and even suggest the preferred mode of transportation (car, walk, public transit, bike, etc.).

We have implemented AI solutions that will allow us, with time, to suggest personalized itineraries based on users tastes, lifestyle, mood and budget and will allow us to connect like-minded individuals for information or recommendations.

What inspired you to create this company?

As an avid independent traveler, I have always been astonished that with today’s technology, it still takes so long to plan a trip and that there are minimal “personalized” travel booking options available. In addition to this, during my travels I also found it frustrating to realize I missed out on unique experiences, activities and opportunities in the destinations I visited, even after researching beforehand.

As a pioneer of user reviews, I have started to see the limits of nonpersonalized reviews. Reviews have become unreliable - not only because of tempering, but also because as the number of reviews increases (and opinions differ) it becomes harder and harder to make a selection based off of them. Too much information simply becomes noise.

So, I decided to work on a tool that would provide personalized travel options for users and also allow people to discover destinations that match their taste and preferences. Additionally, I want them to connect with like-minded travelers for inspiration, recommendations and itineraries. The advances of artificial intelligence today open many possibilities.

As worldwide travel continues to increase (7% annually in the last few years) I am hoping this tool will allow people to become more independent and discover - at their own pace - beautiful places that might not be on generic tourist lists, concierge and tour guides.

Give us your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of the company.

• Strengths:
  • Extensive, well-curated content: high-resolution images, detailed descriptions, maps, etc.
  • Easy-to-use, but sophisticated, technology
  • Multiple revenue sources: booking commissions, referral fees, advertising, ticket sales, packages and tour sales, licensing, subscription, VIP services, etc.
• Weaknesses:
  • API dependent: many functionalities are dependent on third-party technology and openness
  • Low advertising budget in a sector of advertising behemoths
• Opportunities:
  • Fast-growing sector: independent travel (more than 7% annually worldwide)
  • Unique value proposition that’s not limited to transportation and accommodation
  • Growing interest of GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple) for travel and of major online travel agencies for trip planning
• Threats:
  • GAFA (i.e., Google Trips) and OTAs (i.e., Expedia) might decide to expand their current trip planning tools and content to compete with MüvTravel

What are the travel pain points you are trying to alleviate from both the customer and the industry perspective?

With the exception of flight and accommodation, the current travel planning process is long and tedious, as it involves visiting several online guides and local sites to plan what to do and what to see. Information on each page is often limited, which leads to disappointment once we arrive at our destination. This is because review-based curation is easily manipulated by establishment owners or reflects the opinions of people that don’t always share our tastes or lifestyles.

So you've got the product, now how will you get lots of customers?

• User participation: i.e., itinerary building and sharing
• User interaction and generated content: i.e., travel pictures, blogs, travel journals
• Advertising
• PR

Tell us what process you've gone through to establish a genuine need for your company and the size of the addressable market?

Independent travel (in comparison with packaged travel) is currently 78% of the leisure travel market (1,815,000 leisure trips in the United State in 2018 vs. 471,000 business trips). Worldwide travel has been growing 7% per year in the last five years (with travelers in Asian markets leading the growth).

How and when will you make money?

We are already making money from booking and referral fees and will implement other revenue streams (package selling, advertising, licensing, etc.) as we grow traffic and develop the tools and development strategies to manage these revenue opportunities.

What are the backgrounds and previous achievements of the founding team, and why do you have what it takes to succeed with this business?

I have a background in artificial intelligence and have been involved in online travel and leisure since 1996. In 1996, I launched one of the first reviews-based restaurant and hotels guide websites. I’ve also been involved in travel and leisure magazine publishing and was the editor in chief of Weekend Magazine and Gastronomie Magazine. In 2006, I launched MüvWeekend, an experiential gift box and voucher company.

What's been the most difficult part of founding the business so far?

Finding and curating content from all corners of the world. Creating tools sophisticated and solid enough to be efficient and useful, but intuitive enough to be easy to use.

Generally, travel startups face a fairly tough time making an impact - so why are you going to be one of lucky ones?

We are offering a unique, needed solution to a very large, fast-growing worldwide market.