NB: This is a viewpoint from Drew Meyers, co-founder of Oh Hey World.
There have been repeated business attempts in the travel space around showing you Facebook-based or other photos from friends in a visual way.
JetPac probably has the best product and traction in this space, but I don't have an iPad to try it out myself. ZETrip is the latest to take the friends' photos angle, having just launched their iPhone app as a way to browse friends' photos in a simple way. The messaging:
"Dear Drew,
"Add a little bit of sunshine to your day by browsing hundreds of trips and gorgeous travel photos from friends. Try our new and free iPhone app."
Great.
A way to waste more of my time browsing photos, the vast majority of which I don't really care about. This is a business?
It's not addressing a pain point for me; it doesn't solve a need in my life. And for that reason, it's not going to have enough of a catch that someone is persuaded to download a new app or sign up for yet another website.
Remember Tripl? Seriously, Tripl's iPhone app was absolutely gorgeous. Stunning.
But the app was totally useless to me as a user. Turns out the masses perhaps agreed because the company is no longer operating.
The issue here is that each of these models assumes there is a business in inspiring travel and, as an entrepreneur in the travel space, I just don't believe there is a need for a site or app purely dedicated to inspiring.
Travel inspiration is a process that happens over a long, long period of time on a wide wide variety of sites.
It comes from soundbites at a party with friends, flipping through a magazine in the doctor's office. It's a natural part of life when we find ourselves inspired by a moment, place, or a dream to travel.
You know what none of these travelers are doing? Sitting down at their computer and thinking "Where should I go next" and then specifically searching out answers in one session.
It's far more likely that they, and you, already have a few dream destinations tucked away for future travels.
And when travelers are looking for inspiration they start their research by wanting to know more about these places already implemented in the back of their minds. If they uncover other places that are similar along the way, awesome!
I believe in building value. And these sites don't add value to my life. Maybe that's just me. However, based on the people I've spoken to, I don't think I'm alone in that sentiment.
What are real pain which influence travel decisions you ask?
- Cheap air tickets to a place I already want to go
- Data showing traveling to destination X (abroad) is cheaper than a trip to destination Y (domestic)
- Free, or cheap, accommodation
- Friends planning a trip that I can tag along on
- Knowledge that friend X is living in destination Y
- Some great local contact(s) in destination Y
So, which individuals and companies are working on solutions to these practical problems?
Those who know me absolutely know I am 100% on board with anything that leads more people to travel.
Yet I have zero desire for a more efficient way to browse friends' photos, and don't believe seeing photos in a new way is going to move the needle toward increasing the number of passports with stamps in them.
As a entrepreneur in the travel space, I think some companies are missing the point driving their business.
Travel is transformative, the connections you make with others on the road -- finding new ideas, cultures, and others with similar interests is a high-point for many travelers and in building businesses in this space, we need to be sure we're actually facilitating this end-goal.
Actually getting people to travel. And so, how we tackle the travel sphere is where it gets interesting, and there is a lot of room for improvement and growth -- from planning to booking to sharing to connecting on the road; this is where the pain points lie for travelers.
Travel inspiration is all around us and, while some people have fears preventing them from travel, they have money concerns, work commitments, etc ... what they aren't lacking in their lives is inspiration.
So the real question for a startup considering yet another way to browse travel photos should be:
- What are you doing to increase the number of people actually traveling?
- How are you getting more people to experience new cultures and people with their own two eyes?
That, my friends, is how you move the travel industry forward and, ultimately, change lives.
NB: This is a viewpoint from Drew Meyers, co-founder of Oh Hey World.
NB2: Travel photos image via Shutterstock.