Voyage Hacking for Recovery Stanford 2020

1. Informing and facilitating
travel during the pandemic
Team
Adriana Betiol
Caroline Gordon
Daniele Viappiani
Eric Le
Interviews Today: 7
Total # of Interviews: 45

2. Adriana Betiol
Doctorate Production
Engineering-HCI
25 years of user design
experience
Stanford DCI 2017
Daniele Viappiani
10 years international
policy and management
experience
GSB graduate
Used to travel a lot pre-
pandemic
Caroline Gordon
4+ years of designing and
launching digital consumer
products to over 1 billion users
2 years of experience building a
lifestyle travel brand targeting
adventure seeking travelers and
J1 visa holders
Stanford Continuing Studies
Eric Le
5 years of full stack software
engineering experience
Knowledge in AI and ML
BS in Economics
MS in Computer Science,
Georgia Inst of Tech
Team

3. Bretton
• 35 years old
• Lives in San
Francisco
other for 6 months now
Bretton has a problem

4. We have a solutionNatalia and Nicole, 26
-Lived in Thailand, Malaysia, and Spain
for 2.5 years, Digital Nomads
-Stuck in Sri Lanka April 2019 during
Easter
-Want to know when can return
Europe
-
bombing
Type in a
destination
Get up to date
travel information
Rules and restrictions
Health guidance
Infection data
Talk to other users
on our community
forum
+ Premium service
24/7 personal
concierge

5. Here's what we thought - Day 1
1. People need access to
information before/during
their travel
2. People need support during
their travel
3. We can charge a
subscription fee per user

6. Here's what we learned - Days 2 - 4
1. Users want free access to
publicly available information
2. Users need access to
community forum where they
can ask question about travel
3. Users are looking for a variety
of information: covid statistics,
health guidance, rules, hygiene
practices
4. User journey is key
5. Our target market is too
broad. Better to narrow it down

7. Here's where we ended - Day 5
1. It’s difficult to get revenue from travel businesses
a. already have a lot of expenses and no revenue
b. have their own user research team
c. social media are the most efficient channels
2. It’s hard to source information
3. Trust is the key for users to want to use our platform
4. Simple and intuitive UI prompts high confidence. Reduce number of
clicks to get to the information
5. Sourcing data can be done at news outlet rather than performing
manual data scraping

8. B2C (Phase 1)
- Trusted Information
aggregation platform for
local traveler
- visibility to businesses
- Travel advisory/Alert
- Customer Support
B2B
Phase 2
-Customer Travel Reviews
-Search Rank Monetization
B2C
-Freemium
-Advertising
B2B (Phase 2):
-Advertises
-Commissions
-Data Monetization
-Grants from government?
Business Model Canvas
TBD
Countries/Governments
Local Agencies
Travel Agencies/OTAs
Travel Businesses (Hotel,
AIrline, Car Rental, Cruise)
CAC
R&D
Database
Source information from
websites/governments
Synthesise information
Gather data and feedback
Reviews/Ranking
Product Management
Legal/Travel Expert
Data Scientist
Free Membership
Community (travelers)
Community (travelers)
Social media/Website
Word of mouth
B2B (Phase 2):
Companies
Online Travel Agent
Travel Businesses
(Hotel/Airline/Car
Rental/Cruise/Restaurant)
Universities
B2C (Phase 1)
Local Traveler (1st)
Summer RV travelers
Families/Friends get
together
Frequent Travelers (risk
takers) (2nd)
Digital Nomad
Student
Health/Business
Professionals

9. Web
Mobile

12. Market Size
TAM
TARGET
SAM
Global Travel and
Industry Market
USD 9,2 tri
4,5 billion passengers
boarded globally
Essential Travelers
USD 1.84 tri
900 million passengers
boarded globally (20%)
Digital Nomads
USD 1.8 bi
Total Market in 2019
(source: Research Nester)
#of scheduled passengers boarded by
the global airline industry in 2019
(source: Statista.com)
TSA checkpoint travel #s:
29/06/2019: 2,5 million passengers/day
29/06/2020: 600,000 passengers/day
~20% passengers continue to travel
(source: TSA.com)
Digital Nomads: 4,8 million people (source:
MBO Partners)
Correspond to 0,5% of essential travelers
Assuming that 20% of them will continue to
travel, they represent 0,1% of SAM

13. Customer Segments
Healthcare Professional
David, 42
-Living in San Francisco
-Hospital Administrator
-Have to travel frequently for work
-Concerned about his own safety and others
safety
- Want to know where is safe to stay
Digital Nomads
Natalia and Nicole, 26
-Lived in Thailand, Malaysia, and Spain
for 2.5 years, Digital Nomads
-Stuck in Sri Lanka April 2019 during
Easter
-Want to know when can return
Europe
-
bombing
Bretton, 33
-Living in San Francisco
-Fiancé living in China
-Trying to reunite with his
fianceé
Ashwini, 29
-Living in Mountain View
-Tech worker
-Have H1B visa, stranded in India
-Concerned about safety when traveling
back to the US
Jacob, 32
-Living in Seattle
-Dance Teacher
-Plan annual trip for 20+ friends to visit
Lake Tahoe
-Concern about safety for his friends
Student
Business Traveler
Neeraj, 44
-Live in Los Gatos
-Family of 3
-Want to travel in his RV along West
Coast this summer
-Would like to plan his itinerary and become aware of
safety protocol/place to visit
Family

14. Voyage
Competition

15. Revenue Model
Three sources:
● Advertising
● Referral commission from
travel businesses
● Premium concierge service
Experiments
# of users willing to use the platform
# of users accessing the website
# of interviewed businesses who
would be willing to featured
# of business customers sign ups

16. Channels
Direct
● Cloud Web Application
● Mobile App (iOS)
Indirect
● Travel websites/forums
Experiments
MVP (mockups)
Explore customer journey during
the interviews
Collect # of travel businesses would
be willing work with us

17. Experiments
# of people going to landing page
# of product alpha sign ups
Estimate Customer Acquisition cost
through advertising
Understand how people get
information about travel safety?
Understand how to convince
businesses to work with us?
Content marketing
Community forum
Indirect marketing
● Travel magazines/websites
“Get” strategy

18. Annex

19. B2C (Phase 1)
- Trusted Information
aggregation platform for
local traveler
- visibility to businesses
- Travel advisory/Alert
- Customer Support
B2B
Phase 2
-Customer Travel Reviews
-Search Rank Monetization
B2C
-Freemium
-Advertising
B2B (Phase 2):
-Advertises
-Commissions
-Data Monetization
-Grants from government?
Business Model Canvas
TBD
Countries/Governments
Local Agencies (Chamber of
Commerce)
Travel Agencies/OTAs
Travel Businesses (Hotel,
AIrline, Car Rental, Cruise)
CAC
R&D
Database
Source information from
websites/governments
Synthesise information
Gather data and feedback
Reviews/Ranking
Product Management
Legal/Travel Expert
Data Scientist
Free Membership
Community (travelers)
Community (travelers)
Social media/Website
Word of mouth
B2B (Phase 2):
Companies
Online Travel Agent
Travel Businesses
(Hotel/Airline/Car
Rental/Cruise/Restaurant)
Universities
B2C (Phase 1)
Local Traveler (1st)
Summer RV travelers
Families/Friends get
together
Frequent Travelers (risk
takers) (2nd)
Digital Nomad
Student
Health/Business
Professionals

20. Hypotheses
Travelers want information
about pandemic restrictions in a
central location.
Travelers want to search and
see reviews of local business
during their travel
Travelers want a customer
support/travel concierge service.
Experiments
Interview users and show them our
MVP (mockups of user journey)
See if they are more interested in
planning or customer support
Confirm that users want to see
reviews of local businesses before
they make reservation

21. Pass/Fail Test
Results
Interviewees who identified as digital
nomads expressed interest in
community forum for asking questions.
Interviewees expressed interest in
travel concierge/customer support
hotline since.
Interviewees frequently mentioned the
need for a central source for travel
information related to the pandemic
(eg. if there is a surge in COVID cases
in a location).
Interviewees mentioned they want to
view reviews of hotels/restaurants as
well as a way to coordinate and plan
their travel with friends

22. Takeaways from Interviews
Travellers are frustrated with lack of information, diversity of rules and restrictions,
and ambiguity of guidance.
People shows varying levels of risk aversion.
The pandemic affects the frequency of travel. Some are taking the chance to study/work
remotely, others are travelling less than usual. Some people prefer to travel locally using
vehicle this know
Travellers worry not just about their health, but also that of the people they interact with
(eg friends and family), and their role in society to help stop the virus spreading.

25. HYPOTHESIS EXPERIMENT PASS/FAIL
It’s hard to find information before and during travel 1. Observe people (remotely?) looking for
information before travel
2. Ask people to list sources of information
they used
3. Attempt to plan travel
Confirm that at least 60% of user said it’s hard
to find information and that is a strong pain
point for users
People would want to use our product to plan their
travel
People would want to use our product to view
statistic on coronavirus, how local authority deal with
the virus, and they want to use our product to view
reviews and find safe place to stay and eat
1. Allow user to interact with
wireframe/mockup MVP.
2. Send mockup to people, see whether they
click through and use it.
Confirm that at least 60% of user said the
customer say they want to use the product
The partners would help us and/or pay 1. Interview potential partners / B2B
customers.
2. Ask whether they would pay / whether they
can help providing us information and what
would be the process.
3. Test content marketing and SEO technique
Feedback from potential partners
Revenue Model
People are willing to pay for information.
1. Mockup with button asking to pay Measure number of people click on the
purchase button

26. Bretton
• 35 years old
• Lives in San
Francisco
other for 6 months now
Research China
Embassy
Travel
restriction
Friends &
families
Reunion
plan

27. Bretton
• 35 years old
• Lives in San
Francisco
other for 6 months now

28. Our interviewees

30. Rough Mock-up / MVP
Where would you like to go? Paris
Travel restrictions:
France, as part of the
EU, restricts travel
from the US and
China
From where?
What is your nationality?
San Francisco
US
Available
Companies:
British airways
(hygiene policies,
feedback from
travellers)
Lockdown rules:
Dining outdoor is
allowed in France
COVID Status:
Cases in Paris going
down by x%
Known cases in Paris
currently are y
Click to get the report
When? 07-27 - 08-05

31. Customer Personas
(draft)
Retiree
Older age makes them
more vulnerable to
coronavirus, but are
living abroad / still want
to travel if safe
Nurse/Doctor
Their work forces them to
travel. Their profession
makes them particularly
aware of risks.
See the parents
Young, want to meet with
their parents but worried
about catching the virus
and passing it to them
Wandering Student
Now that classes are online,
they take the chance to
study remotely from nicer
locations, mostly moving by
car, occasionally by plane.
Struggles to keep up with
changing rules.
Gotta work-er
Work/business requires
travelling, and cannot
stop. Worried about
catching COVID which
would mean stop working.
Adventure seeker
They never stop.
Travelling is their
profession. They’ll
choose the next country
to go to based on where
is safe and legal to go.
The immune
Whether old or young,
has already recovered
from the virus, and is no
longer worried about it
Digital Nomad
Used to travel and live
abroad. Their are citizen
in a country, permanent
resident in another, and
live in another one. They
regularly move place,
and are maybe moving
less because of COVID
The (gran)parents
They want to see their
children, but they don’t
travel and don’t want to
catch the virus. They’ll let
them visit only if they take
a test and quarantine a
few days.

32. Customers’ stories
▪ Bretton, 33
▪ Living in San Francisco
▪ Fiance living in China
▪ Trying to reunite with his fiance
▪ David, 42
▪ Living in San Francisco
▪ Hospital Administrator
▪ Have to travel frequently
for work
▪ Concerned about his
own safety and others
safety
▪ Jacob, 32
▪ Living in Seattle
▪ Dance Teacher
▪ Plan annual trip for
20+ friends to visit Lake
Tahoe
▪ Concern about safety for
his friends
▪ Ashwini, 29
▪ Living in Mountain View
▪ Tech worker
▪ Have H1B visa,
stranded in India
▪ Concerned about safety
when traveling back to
US
▪ Natalia and Nicole (26)
▪ Lived in Thailand,
Malaysia, and Spain
for 2.5 years
▪ Digital Nomads
▪ Stuck in Sri Lanka
April 2019 during
Easter bombing

33. Business Model Canvas
B2C (Phase 1)
1. Frequent Travelers (risk takers):
Digital Nomad, Adventurous
traveller, Students
2. Occasional Travelers (risk
averse)
Families, Doctors, Nurses
B2C
-Outbound Information
aggregation/
centralization
-Travel advisory/
Alert
-Insurance/
Risk Management
B2B
-Data
Analytics of inbound
information
-Customer Travel
Reviews
-Search Rank
Monetization
Countries/
Government/Loc
al agencies
Travel
agencies/OTA
Tourist
Businesses
R&D
Customer acquisition
B2C
Free for new customers
Advertising
Discovery Loyalty
Partnership
(countries/travel
companies)
Website/
Mobile App
Product
Management
Legals/Travel
expert
Data Scientist
Free
Self-service
Paid Subscription
B2B (Phase 2):
Companies
● Travel operators
● Universities
● Agencies
B2B
License fee
Grants from government?
Source information from
websites/governments
Synthesise information and
provide it to travellers
Gather data and feedback
from users and provide it
to partners