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EVER get tired of trawling through umpteen websites trying to plan your ideal trip away?
Well, you’re not alone.
Feeling your pain, fellow travelers Lani and Simon te Hennepe have put in the legwork to fix the problem for you. Frustrated by the sometimes laborious process of organizing a holiday plan that fits their personal style, the married couple decided to create a platform that lets you cut through the noise and find the activities, accommodation and travel plans that are right for you – without the hassle.
“The reason we went down this path, we were told what to do when we went to any of these locations by books and travel agents,” co-founder Simon told Travel Wire Asia. “But I’m an individual… and everyone travels differently.”
“We wanted anyone to be able to create their wishlist, or create places they’ve been and loved, and share it with their friends and also book their experiences.”
And so TRAVLR was born.
Acting as a one-stop-shop for global travelers, TRAVLR allows you to “discover, plan, book, experience and share,” meaning you can go right through the travel experience – from idea to Instagram – without needing to trawl the Internet for individual providers.
Currently operating in Bali and Fiji, the site collates content and tailors it to you, rather than regurgitating hot spots from off-the-shelf travel guides.
“That’s what we love about our site,” Simon said. “It’s customized, curated content by real people that’s targeted to your interests.”
The site sifts through huge volumes of user-generated content, recommendations, and experiences and personalizes these to your specific interests.
“If you’re interested in honeymoon and beaches, our entire site is going to change based on that,” Simon said. “The information will be more targeted rather than generic. The entire site will change based on you as an individual user.”
And rather than getting your holiday info from agents or sponsored travel sites, you’re getting the insider knowledge from your peers. As most people now look to social media and review sites for their travel inspiration, it makes sense to base the platform on shared genuine experiences from those who have been there, done that.
“Seventy-six percent of people now rely on the recommendations of friends or family as opposed to just 18 percent on travel agents,” says Simon. “People are looking to their friends for advice, not just a website, and TRAVLR is essentially a mechanism that lets your friends tell you where to go.”
On top of appreciating that we’re all unique in our travel desires, TRAVLR also streamlines the whole planning and booking process. The ease and efficiency of piecing together your ideal trip is a major selling point. Once you’ve spotted the places and activities you want to see and do, it’s a simple drag and drop into your personal itinerary to set it up. And payment is just a click away.
“Everyone creates these amazing shortlists about what’s interesting to them, then they want to be able to book,” said Simon. “So we’ve created a platform that has the whole travel experience in one platform so you’re not visiting thousands of websites. You’re not visiting Booking.com, Agoda and Priceline, it’s just bringing it into one easy to use platform.”
To avoid the confusion and repetition of dealing with countless travel providers, TRAVLR also lets you pay for it all in one fell swoop. The site will check the best prices for you, take one lump sum and distribute it to all the providers on your wishlist. The team is aiming to have everything from restaurant bookings and tours to flights and accommodation, all under the one roof.
For the many of us out there who love to travel, TRAVLR has many obvious benefits. And with ambitious plans to turn their eye to Indonesia, Seychelles, New Zealand and the Cook Islands in the coming year, they could be shaping your holiday plans for a long while yet.
The post Tired of trawling for travel plans? This site could be the answer to your prayers appeared first on Travel Wire Asia.
Source: travelwireasia.com