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North America, Travel Tech

Tech Startup: Travelabulous

This month we’re celebrating cool tech startups for our global theme #TMStartups. In this edition of our travel-tech startup series we profile Travelabulous, a new way to connect travellers to travel bloggers with itineraries to plan their next trip. CEO and co-Founder Kirk Munroe (originally from our Ottawa community) gives us a glimpse into this new planning tool.

Kirk with Masha
Kirk with Masha from Travelabulous

Tell us about your startup. Who is it for?

Our startup is for travel bloggers looking for high impact maps to visualize their itineraries for readers. We are also for readers who want to walk in the footsteps of their favourite travel bloggers. The maps show all the restaurants, attractions and hotels to allow readers to copy them to an itinerary for their own planning and booking.

What inspired you to create this startup? 

We were inspired to do this because current online travel sites do not let people discover authentic dreams trips. If you know where you want to go and what you want to see, there are lots of review and booking sites but if you have questions like, “I’ve never been to Rome, I wonder if other people like me have been there and detailed it? It would be so much easier to start planning, customize and book to my own tastes and budgets.” That is the problem we are solving.

What makes your startup different from other similar startups out there?

We believe travel bloggers are the best source of these authentic trips and we don’t think there is anything out there yet that is uniquely connecting travellers with like-minded, experienced travel bloggers.

What challenge have you faced in getting your startup off the ground and gaining traction in the industry?

Our biggest challenge has been breaking through traveller habits. Although people talk about getting dream trips, they have been conditioned to look for the best deal by online travel sites (and more often than not, traditional travel agents).

We are working to break down the habit of people looking for the cheapest option – not by throwing FOMO messages (fear of missing out) in their face (i.e. 5 people are looking at this hotel, only 2 flight left at this price) and not starting the experience with entering dates and locations. Instead, we are reminding people that travel is about experiencing great, authentic experiences. We are doing this by getting people to start with really great itineraries – from bloggers who actually experienced the trip first hand. We are also allowing people to browse for inspiration and delaying things like dates and number of rooms until later in the process. We still have a lot of work to do to get this right!

What do you think is the biggest challenge in the travel industry you would like to see resolved or improved?

The industry should focus on getting people the best possible trip experiences for them first, then getting the best deal on that trip. This is so different than finding the best deal first (or the deal with the highest margin) and then the traveller having to convince him/herself that it was the best trip possible.

As a startup, what benefits have you seen from being a part of Travel Massive meet-ups?

The connections and energy have been amazing. We met lots of people whose time and advice have been really valuable. And sometimes we win cool prizes in the process!

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Kirk, far left with contest winners at the event in Toronto

Do you have any tips for new entrepreneurs who want to create a successful startup?

Have a big vision. Focus on something small that provides a lot of value quickly, without a lot of effort. Then grow from there.

How do you think we can be better travellers?

Get amongst the locals. Respect them. Eat like them. Understand their arts, culture, architecture, and customs. Way better experiences and usually less expensive as a bonus.

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

Rio. Going in two years between the World Cup and the Olympics would be perfect.

Why do you travel?

I think the person who learns and experiences the most they possibly can lives the most complete life. And, there is no substitute for authentic travel to gain experience.


Tech Startup is a monthly series that profiles unique online travel-tech start-ups in the Travel Massive community around the world. If you’re a professional travel blogger and want to get involved with Travelabulous connect with them directly on Travel Massive.


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