The travel industry is highly discussed when it comes to its online behavior and available platforms. Most travel arrangement can be accomplished online. However, it can be hard to figure out which supplier to use, since the suppliers are fragmented and in excess. The competition among online providers is intense, and this only keeps growing. New suppliers keep entering the market, and there is one party in particular that caught my eye.
Could they be the Uber in the travel industry That is how they like to introduce themselves.
I am talking about TRVL, which was launched in closed Beta in September 2016 and will officially launch this month. It is a sharing-economy platform that enables everyone who is over eighteen to become a travel agent. The traditional travel agencies work as information brokers and receive a commission. TRVL makes it possible for anyone to share their travel experiences, recommendations and suggestions and receive a commission for it, instead of just the registered companies.
It makes sense. We ask for travel tips from our friends and family all the time. This platform enables to enlarge your network. Now you can also receive recommendations from the friends of your friends and their friends. The planners, so you and me, and TRVL receive the commission normally reserved for agents for their first-hand gained travel recommendations. The people taking advantage of the travel plans do not pay anything extra, they get the service for free.
Everything is accessible in one place, TRVL serves as a platform to connect two groups: the ones that love planning their trips and the ones that despise it.
Not only the idea is interesting, also when it comes to the technology, TRVL looks promising. The start-up’s previous digital publishing tool PRSS was taken over by Apple and is now the Apple News Format, integrated into iOS.
References:
N. van Bemmel, 2016. “Reistip: Zo wordt iedereen reisagent”. [online] Available at:
G. Brand, 2016. “TRVL gaat reiswereld opschudden”. [online] Available at:
H. J. Kamps, 2016. “You’re a travel agent! You’re a travel agent! Everyone’s a travel agent!”. [online] Available at:
Dear Sanne,
TRVL indeed looks like a cool and refreshing new approach for booking holidays! The platform seems similar to Uber or Airbnb, replacing the traveling agencies. Yet, there are several quite important differences you have to take into account.
First of all, travel agencies have the benefit of buying in larger numbers. Many of the package-deals they offer are cheaper than what one would pay if he or she book this same flight, hotel, car rental, etc. as an individual. The bargaining power of the travel agency is simply much larger than that of the individual. For Uber and Airbnb this is less of a problem as their users can directly offer their service, there are no parties between the supplier and buyer except the platform itself. Yet, people offering their service via TRVL still have to deal with suppliers (hotels, airline company, etc.) who all want to make a profit.
Still, travel agencies can be quite expensive, so what about TRVL? Well, they act like their service is for free (from their website: “TRVL is absolutely free for both TRVL agents and travelers”), but it’s not. They state that “after the traveler has completed the trip, TRVL receives a commission”. This commission has to come from somewhere in the value chain, so their first statement doesn’t seem to be entirely true.
And one of the most important considerations: there are plenty of free review websites out there. Sure, it takes an evening or two to go through the possibilities and reviews. But, in my opinion, booking the holiday is already a fun part of it. All the information is freely accessible online, why would you need anyone unless you’re going on a safari trip or jungle excursion?
Thank you for pointing out this new startup. Sounds like a really interesting platform. Seems like the success of it really will depend on the amount of people that will use it, and the amount of people that will share their experiences and recommendations, considering that it will have cross side network effects. Your post made me signup for the closed beta and i´m curious if it will be as big as uber.
Great company pick for this post! I’m also curious to see whether the previous Apple take over is a good indicator for success in this coming venture. Good example of this might also be the Siri makers, who have now launched Viv (http://viv.ai/), which got taken over by Samsung now. Are you planning to try TRVL to plan trips for others? I’m curious how sizeable the agency fees are for amateur trip advisors. Thanks for your post Sanne!
Interesting read and definitely a contemporary idea for the online travel marketplace. I recently booked a (first) trip to New York and it took a lot more time than I had anticipated, given the vast number of booking agents, various airlines and prices. I do feel however, that this concept will ultimately aim to compete with agents such as Booking.com, TripAdvisor and Expedia etc, and given the many players and intense competition in the travel industry, it may take quite some time for TRVL to gain traction in the market.
The idea is indeed interesting, especially the business model behind it enabling consumers to also earn commission! However, due to the huge players dominating the online travel market, I personally don’t think this is ready to be the ‘Uber’ of the travel industry just yet – although it could be possible once a huge network or user base is established.
Hi Sanne, what an interesting post! I haven’t heard about TRVL before, but it sure looks like an initiative that fits the current emerging sharing economy. It is true that we often gather tips and ‘must see’s’ from a large amount of places, like your family and friends, websites such as Tripadvisor and travel guides such as Lonely Planet. TRVL anticipates on this by promising that they provide a ‘single page solution’, in which there is no need to switch to any other website, because the “best travel suppliers” are aggregated in one platform. These travel suppliers (special hotels, popular activities etc) are handpicked selected based on a ‘wow-factor’. This raises some question marks. The selection is made by TRVL, so, in the start phase of the platform, the travel agent and the traveller are constrained to put together the travel they want with the travel suppliers they want. Their choice is limited.
Another consideration is promise that it is for free. The traveller will pay directly to the supplier, and thus not to TRVL or the travel agent. However, where does the commission that TRVL and the travel agent receive come from? Will it be paid by the travel suppliers? I think the platform needs to grow further in order to being attractive for travel suppliers. Otherwise the travel suppliers will not cooperate with TRVL, because the advantage is not clear and big enough.
Nevertheless, I am very curious how this will work out and if they indeed will become the Uber of the travel industry!!