Smart Trip Platform

The travel industry is one of the fastest growing industries around the world. It has far outpaced the global GDP growth for the last couple of years. Globalization, along with decreasing transportation prices has led to many people crossing their national borders to visit a foreign country for sightseeing or business. Technology has also been keeping up with the developments, with many providers offering innovative products. Companies like Airbnb and TripAdvisor facilitate traveling around the world and offer their customers unprecedented convenience. Still, the emerging blockchain technology, with its benefits of transparency and speed, can be used to introduce an even greater convenience in the market. Smart Trip Platform is aiming to do exactly that. The project constitutes a comprehensive platform, that will allow users to manage all of the issues associated with traveling in one place.

“Smart Trip Platform will not only provide an extremely wide range of services – from boat rentals to safaris – but will also act as a true knowledge base. It is a brand-new model of travel – minimizing time spent on research and maximizing the authenticity of the experience. What’s more – the platform will serve as a fully developed social network, where users can post photos, videos, and blogs,” – reads the Whitepaper of the project. The authors of the idea want to include everything that a traveler might need for a trip in one application. This could be anything from booking transportation to finding local excursions at the destination.

What can be done through the platform?

One of the most important and central features the platform will allow is the management of transportation. There is a wide range of transportation services that can be arranged from the platform, including air travel and taxis. Because the project wants to inform its database from the locals, it claims that the system will have more detailed and comprehensive offers than any other existing website or application today.

Accommodations are also another big part of traveling. Nowadays, there are many online websites that are often used by people to book hotels. Airbnb has been the most disruptive force in the market these past years, with customers starting to switch to property leasing. Travelers will be able to use the Smart Trip Platform to book hotel rooms, apartments, and even camping spots.

The way the platform wants to differentiate itself from the existing ones is by offering additional services that are oftentimes too specific for the large providers to include. Through the platform, people will be able to book far more than just transportation and hotel rooms. It will also be possible to find and reserve places in expeditions, safaris, treks and so on. Travelers will also be able to find local guides to make their experience more enjoyable. What could be a distinguishing feature of the platform is the ability to find travel partners on it.

The system will also include more social features, like Trip Chat, an instant messaging functionality that will connect travelers with guides or other service providers and with each other. Trip Chat will also facilitate communication at the destination as it will include a short handbook of useful phrases and words. The platform will also have a 2-way voice and text translator that could help out travelers with the locals who don’t speak their language.

How is the blockchain used in the project?

“All services will be based on a smart contract: once a user books a service, the necessary amount of money from their wallet is deposited; once the service has been delivered (which is confirmed by the parties), the money (in TripCash) is automatically and instantly paid to the service provider. For more expensive services (for instance, a mountaineering expedition), payment can be released in parts based on an agreement between the parties. All internal payments between users will be carried out using TripCash. The platform will earn a small commission on each transaction.” – explains the Whitepaper. Local cryptocurrency TripCash will be used for all transactions inside of the system. Furthermore, the main processes like booking will also be done through the blockchain.

Opinions on the project.

While it sounds like a great business model that, in fact, fills the niche of an all-in-one platform, it is not clear if it will be able to compete with existing providers such as Expedia or booking.com. Although the system will have features that are not available on the current platforms, those features are not in high demand. Most people who travel want to reserve a hotel room and make transportation arrangements. All of this can already be done through the existing providers. What the Smart Trip Platform offers is aimed at a small group of travelers. Nevertheless, with the right marketing strategy, it is absolutely possible for the platform to attract a large customer base. Enjoying the local experience is becoming a more and more integral part of traveling and the platform does address that need.