Qalendra is a travel technology startup based out of Seattle. It mines, fuses, and structures data from many sources to generate long-range predictions and data-driven insights for travel and hospitality.
Specifically today, it develops algorithms that pinpoint where the best conditions for vacations, sports and activities are, up to four months in advance.
Its data processing aims to help travel incumbents better manage their inventory, implement variable pricing according to the conditions in each destination at specific dates, power recommendations and personalization engines, and boost sales and loyalty.
Qalendra says that its data is available as an API for online travel agencies (OTAs), global distribution systems (GDSs), and tour operators on a monthly subscription basis.
Tell us how you founded the company, why and what made you decide to jump in and create the business.
Our mission is to give travel companies the tools to help a billion people have better vacations. We started the project in October 2013 and incorporated the company in March 2015.
We were part of Cohort IV of 9Mile Labs Accelerator in Seattle and we were lucky enough to get on board advisors from Expedia, Iunu, XTT Consulting, T-Mobile and Altus Alliance.
We are proud to be one of the startups that will demonstrate on stage at the Travel Innovation Summit at the Phocuswright Conference in Hollywood, Florida, in November.
Size of the team, names of founders, management roles and key personnel?
Cristian Munteanu (CEO) has a background in marketing and business development. He was trained in the art of Disruption by those who invented the term - TBWA - the coveted ad agency founded by Jean-Marie Dru. For 10 years, Cristian was a creative director, than manager, leading teams in 16 countries in Europe with the mission to bring disruption to industries such as banking, oil & gas or automotive.
Bogdan Ghervan (CTO) is a senior full stack developer well experienced in working with travel APIs and booking systems. Qalendra is not our first venture.
Each of us started other companies such as a NPS mobile platform, a styling community or an e-sports application. We exited some while others were glorious flops.
Funding arrangements?
Bootstrapped so far. Currently planning for our seed round.
Estimation of market size?
Intelligence for travel is growing by 9% year over year and is estimated to reach $136 BN by 2020.
Competition?
There is nothing similar to what we do, but for sure, many travel technology providers will flock to develop their own solutions once we prove that there is value in what we do.
Fortunately, we are the first to market with almost 2 years of a head start in R&D, our product is state-of-the-art and we are protected by patents for the technology and its applications.
Travel incumbents may consider developing their own solution, but they will keep it for themselves and not market it to competitors. The costs will be high, the talent difficult to find, maintenance a nightmare, so using our solution will prove a much better choice.
Revenue model and strategy for profitability?
At Qalendra, we develop contextual technology and deliver it to travel companies such as OTAs, GDSs, tour operators, airlines or content providers on a monthly subscription basis.
Our first product is the Predictions API, a RESTful web service that speaks JSON and exposes the predictions and insights created using our patented Hyper-Contextual Data ProcessingTM.
The pricing is very simple, transparent and straightforward: pay for what you use, stop when you want. The price we start with is $1 per 1,000 predictions.
Our algorithms ingest data from many sources (weather, terrain, facilities, traffic, prices...), compare all destinations at once and identify where the best conditions for vacations, sports and activities are, anywhere in the world, with months in advance.
What problem does the business solve?
I'll state it as a problem: V=Q/P This is the value equation we are all familiar with: value is quality over price. So far, travel companies made sure to provide travelers with all information about prices.
And yet, 88% of travelers still waste days doing travel research. On average, they visit 38 sites over 21 days. They are not searching for the lowest price - that’s easy. They are searching for the best trip. The truth is that so far, technology made it easy for anyone to compare prices and book… a bad trip.
What we do at Qalendra is to provide contextual awareness for travel. We assess the Quality of trip experiences – that’s the "Q" in the equation. We help people solve the value equation.
The best thing is that we give travel companies the tools to get out of the price war they are all fighting in while helping people have better vacations.
How did the initial idea evolve and were there changes/any pivots along the way in the early stages?
Initially, we were thinking about building a B2C company that would solve the problems we had as travelers. The value proposition was very compelling, the first tests we run with 300K people in the US had spectacular results. But the go-to-market challenge was there.
So, the most significant change we've made was to pivot towards a B2B company that develops a new technology and delivers it to other companies on a monthly subscription basis.
Why should people or companies use the business?
Our technology automates travel research and discovery. By accessing the professional APIs and big data not available for the common Internet user, we make travel research 100 times better than any human and 1,000 times faster.
Hence, we open the path for travel research and discovery on mobile platforms. But there are many other applications of our technology.
OTAs can sell premium packages customized for specific needs, build transparent and credible recommendations or power a new range of mobile apps.
Aggregators can rank trips based on the quality of experience, not only on price.
Airlines can go beyond seasonality for a much improved yield management and can promote the best destinations in their portfolio at specific moments in time when travel conditions are optimal.
Content providers can back their content with objective data.
GDSs and hotels chains can adapt their pricing to the changing travel conditions.
What is the strategy for raising awareness and the customer/user acquisition (apart from PR)?
So far, we released 2 algorithms for testing purposes: for skiing and for golfing. We have clients using our first product, the Predictions API, and we already gather valuable feed back.
We try to get as many developers try our product, so we focused on making their on boarding as easy as possible, giving them 45 days of free trial and providing support all the way.
But, at this stage in our development, the best way to create awareness for what we do is to meet our clients face to face.
That's why being invited to demonstrate on stage at the Phocuswright Travel Innovation Summit in November is a great opportunity for us.
Where do you see the company in three years time and what specific challenges do you anticipate having to overcome?
Our long-term strategy is to develop this amazing technology that opens a new world of possibilities and then make it available to anyone on reasonable terms so that it is accepted as the industry standard. In three years time we'd have reached mass adoption and already start developing other applications powered by our technology.
One example is a new tool that certifies the quality of travel conditions in the locations of hotels, ski resorts, golf clubs etc. Think of VeriSign for travel.
What is wrong with the travel, tourism and hospitality industry that it requires a startup like yours to help it out?
There is no way to put this gently so here it goes: today the travel industry is deeply disconnected from the travelers. Products are sold that make no sense, technology focuses only on prices and is not context aware, recommendations are broken, personalization is shallow, priorities are completely wrong and many aberrations somehow became normal.
For example, in March 2015, all OTAs were selling ski packages with 40% discount to resorts that were off season. Practically, they were sending skiers to where there was no snow.
Travel insurance products cover the risk of missing your flight or having your luggage stolen or lost. But not the risk of missing the snow or the wind during your skiing or surfing vacation.
It's just like they care about your underwear, not about your trip experience. This aberrations are bound to vanish.
What other technology company (in or outside of travel) would you consider yourselves most closely aligned to in terms of culture and style... and why?
I like to believe that we're somehow similar to Google. We try to use technology for good and we want to make it available to anyone.
We are also using many of their services. Another company we feel similar with is Red Bull - we admire their courage, their deep understanding of their customers' psychology and their sense of design.
Which company would be the best fit to buy your startup?
TripAdvisor would make a lot of sense as an acquirer. I even used to present what we do as "TripAdvisor based on data". Google could build some very interesting synergies with us, as well as Amazon or American Express.
OTAs, such as Expedia or Booking.com should be interested in our mobile capabilities. There are many big players in travel and not that many startups that come with a new technology. Most startups in this space are disruptive at the level of the business model.
Describe your startup in three words?
Contextual travel technology
Here is Qalendra's Vine:
Tnooz view:
Qalendra's B2B technology sounds promising. But, as ever, the proof is in the execution.
We'll be eager to see the startup demonstrate its Predictions API at the Travel Innovation Summit at the Phocuswright Conference in Florida this November. But the real test will be how impressed suppliers are by the quality of its service.
Qalendra's team appears to be small but mighty. We're eager to see what's next for it and we welcome the recent wave of contextual data startups (like Flyr, Sépage, and others). Maybe these startups will raise the metabolism of the industry.