Being on a road as much as me, one starts to value little aids – noise cancellation headphones to have a perfect work environment in cabin, Google maps if the rental car has no navigation, TripIt, which keeps your tickets, hotel bookings and points in one place. I love travel. It gives me time to catch up with things and wrap my mind around topics without distractions. In this case it’s the future of travel industry.
All together I counted 19 apps that I actively use while traveling, which is a good sign that the market of travel aids is highly fragmented. Historically, especially in technology sector, developing markets with wide horizontal spread of application, are likely to consolidate.
Let’s run a non-fiction scenario, and indicate what we already have in hand.
On Broadway, New York, you tell ___ (insert here: Siri, Google Now…) “I need to be in Los Angeles by tomorrow 6 pm for dinner with my wife at Santa Monica.”
Routines:
- Establish your location and time required to get to the airport (Check)
- Identify flight options (Check)
- Assess your commute routine (Check)
- Schedule your pickup for the airport (Check)
- Get yourself a good seat on the plane (Check)
- Book your usual car class with a vendor, using soon to be expired points (Check)
- Book a dinner for 2 at a place with cuisine of your preference (Check)
- Notify your wife on arrival (Check)
All of above are dots, which exist, and are just to be connected. To be added:
- Integration of your route plans from calendar to car navigation/public transport options/transfer provider.
- Automation of possible deviation scenarios (flight delays, traffic jams, accidents, habits to take a shower on arrival after a flight).
So how far are we really from saying “Make sure I get to meeting with Mike Cassidy in Johannesburg at 10 am next Tuesday”?
