First read is on us.

Subscribe today to keep up with the latest travel industry news.

Five travel startups attempt to commoditize spontaneity


To dream of a journey, be motivated to save months for a trip, or discover a hidden local gem — this is the magic of travel and more difficult to capture on a website than most startups think.

The problem with many travel inspiration startups is not clumsy UX, ugly designs, or foolish founders, but that it is inherently impossible to commoditize spontaneity, surprise, and delight.

Even if you could, any well-traveled soul knows that you wouldn’t really want to.

» GET YOUR DAILY DOSE OF SKIFT: SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERRSSTWITTER OR FACEBOOK.
FOR ALL OF OUR SKIFTSEEDLINGS COLLECTION, CHECK OUT OUR ARCHIVES HERE.

Up Next

Business Travel

The State of Corporate Travel and Expense 2025

A new report explores how for travel and finance managers are targeting enhanced ROI, new opportunities, greater efficiencies, time and money savings, and better experiences for employees with innovative travel and expense management solutions.
Sponsored
Tourism

How Two Little Letters Made Anguilla into a Hidden Caribbean Goldmine

Anguilla is a small island with a big secret. It owns one of the most lucrative pieces of digital real estate in the world: the .ai domain. Now that ChatGPT brought artificial intelligence mainstream, it holds the potential to transform the island's tourism economy – and its future.
Tourism

Remote Year Collapse: What We Know

Remote Year said it was closing, upsetting many customers who had paid for future trips as digital nomads. Two CEOs are pointing fingers at each other. It's the vendors in emerging markets who will likely be hurt most.