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North America, Responsible Tourism, Travel Startups, Travel Tech

Tech Startup: Social Travel

This month in our series, The Travel Start-Up we profile Social Travel, the first ever travel portal dedicated to travel bookings for socially minded travellers in the non-profit sector. Founder Suds Jagannathan tells us how booking your next air, hotel, car or vacation package can and should have a social impact.

Suds Social Travel

1. What is the concept of Social Travel?

Social Travel is about creating healthy capitalism.  All businesses can be profitable while creating impacts bigger than their shareholders.  It’s about engaging the customer, giving them a heightened experience and empowering them at the same time.

2. Who is your start-up for?

Typical employees at non-profits mostly buy their travel like a regular member of the public – searching, comparing, waiting, biting nails like the rest of us. These employees work hard to create a social impact everyday, so why not when they travel?  Social Travel helps employees from NGOs, non-profit organizations, and youth groups that travel for social missions or responsible projects to harvest group discounts on airlines, hotels, car rentals, and vacations.

SocialTravel.Org Logo July 2014

3. What gap did you find in the travel industry that inspired you to create this start-up?

I always worked in travel and non-profit industries and during my consulting projects in both worlds I saw this gap in customer experience that conventional travel agencies were not able to bring to the travellers in the social sector.  Travel buying was very transactional, non-compliant and fragmented – even at large NGOs.  I understood how to unite those people and transactions and harvest the collective power.

4. Why should businesses care about social travel?

The world needs some sort of balance with those who have a lot and those who have a little. We all must play our part and travel is a glorious way to do it.

Photo: Girish Bala, Pictotainment Media
Photo: Girish Bala, Pictotainment Media

5. Your start up no doubt disrupts traditional travel booking models out there and creates a positive impact right at the booking stage. How do you do this?

We offer more affordable means for people committed to social good. We also reinvest net profits into programs that our customers vote on.

6. Why did you decide to join Travel Massive meet ups?

To be part of a community of awesome people! I also think Social Travel and Travel Massive have a common connection. We’re both proponents of grassroot social change in travel and technology so attending the meet ups seemed like a perfect fit.

7. What benefits have you seen from being a part of Travel Massive meet-ups?

There are opportunities to meet people who have travelled a lot around the world, something I seriously envy!  I used to travel a lot and then it stopped with different work projects and this start-up.  They share their experiences about culture, politics, lifestyle and business – that kind of first hand info sharing is priceless.

8. What do you think is the biggest challenge in the online travel industry that you would like to see improved?

Technology should give travellers the option to make sustainable travel decisions around hotels, airlines, cars and vacation packages.  There should be an easier way to distinguish which site or seller can ensure maximum benefit to the destination and help travellers make educated choices when they book.

9. Do you have any tips for new entrepreneurs who want to create a successful start-up?

Dream big, build a good financial plan, deliver on your promises and never think that your ambition is too big.

10. If you could book a ticket tomorrow, where would you go?

A round trip to New Delhi to see family but via Paris and Budapest. A bus trip to Dharamshala in India would be great.

Suds Social TravelSuds Jagannathan is a member of Toronto Travel Massive and the Founder of Social Travel, a start up aimed at creating a social impact, one booking at a time. You can follow him on Travel Massive.

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Each month we profile innovative online travel-tech start-ups in our Travel Massive community around the world.


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