vACA.io
A social travel planner connecting like-minded travelers to plan and book trips together seamlessly.
Problem Statement
How might we help travelers find and coordinate trips with like-minded individuals while ensuring seamless planning and booking?
Problem Background
Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, many people have struggled to organize group trips due to uncertain schedules, last-minute cancellations, and difficulty coordinating bookings across different platforms. Additionally, travelers often find it challenging to discover fun activities in new destinations without prior knowledge or recommendations.
Research Insights
User Pain Points
Using Quora and Facebook groups, we identified different categories of prospective users and conducted over 10 user interviews. Key pain points included:
- Friends backing out of trips last minute, leading to cancellations.
- Uncertainty about where to travel and what activities to do.
- Difficulty finding and booking flights, accommodations, and activities in one place.
- Lack of a centralized platform to coordinate group travel plans.
Supporting Data
- 85% of people we spoke to mentioned they were unhappy with the current solutions for group trip planning.
- 70% of potential users reported canceling at least one trip in the past year due to coordination issues.
- 90% of travelers expressed interest in a platform that suggests travel companions and trip ideas based on preferences.
Feedback
Our preliminary user research to validate this problem found that young professionals and frequent travelers struggle with last-minute cancellations and lack of structured travel coordination tools.
Landing on the Solution
Based on our target users’ pain points, we knew we wanted to work on the following features:
- Group Travel Matching: Users can find and connect with others who share their travel dates and destinations.
- Trip Planning & Itinerary Management: A collaborative space to plan flights, accommodations, and activities.
- Community-Generated Insights: Users can share past experiences, recommendations, and itineraries.
- Integrated Booking System: Partnerships with Expedia and Airbnb to enable seamless flight and hotel bookings.
Explanation of Solution (Optional but Recommended)
After showcasing our prototype to users, we learned that a major concern was trust and reliability when traveling with strangers. To address this, we implemented:
- Verification and social proofing features, such as mutual friend connections and past traveler ratings.
- Customizable trip preferences to match users based on travel styles and interests.
User Flows/Mockups
Userflow: https://www.figma.com/board/HxdKNWFUA9fGe5ec56IsDi/Vaca.io?node-id=0-1&p=f&t=clMDH7zyvU2jAktq-0
Future Steps
What We Learned from Speaking to Customers
- Users prefer a mix of personal and automated recommendations for travel companions.
- Many travelers want a flexible booking system to accommodate last-minute changes.
- Integrating budgeting tools would help groups manage shared expenses efficiently.
Possible Additional Problems to Address
- Expanding beyond individual travelers to small businesses or corporate retreats.
- Incorporating AI-driven travel suggestions based on past trips and interests.
- Enabling local activity booking for more immersive experiences.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Isioma Akuabata
Before joining the cohort, I never thought of this idea. Although I knew it was a painpoint I had experience, delving into the documentation process was never envisioned. The cohort taught me what I could do with AI and how I can use it to automate features on my App.
I am excited about the next phase of my idea!
My mentor was fantastic! His recommendations were mindblowing, I get to dive into lots of product management articles and podcasts to enhance the features I build for my customer.
Thanks to Co.lab for the learnings so far!
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.