About
History
When I was 18, I joined my younger brother, Joe Poulin, founder of Luxury Retreats International, to build a luxury villa rental company. It was 1999, and we quickly expanded our business from working out of his bedroom to working out of my mine (big brother=bigger room!), with the help of several great people (Ben Tuff, Nick Guezen, Chelsea Whipps, Ryan Jacks and many more). Over time, the company grew to become one of the world’s largest villa rental companies. After 8 years of hard work, I decided to devote more time to personal travel and ventured out to explore the world: China, Japan, Thailand, Austraila, New Zealand, etc..
During our travels (my girlfriend at the time, Steph, accompanied me and did most of the planning), we often referred to our Lonely Planet travel guides while simultaneously using web cafés to view photos, read reviews and, ultimately, book online. We wanted to read reviews generated from similar travelers with similar interests, and even more crucial to our decision-making factors, we wanted to view large photos illustrating various sleeping and eating options. I very quickly grew frustrated with the online research process and the lack of useful information (probably why I let Steph take care of it) and immediately realized that there was an opportunity to help improve and reshape travel information offered not only to the regular traveler but to any specific type of traveler. When our travels came to an end, I decided to move from Montreal to Barbados, where I dedicated the majority of my time to developing my new idea and passion for the travel industry.
The Problem
Travel guides make their money by selling books. Unfortunately, not only are these books weak on visuals, but they’re also outdated the minute they’re printed. I’m sure every traveler will agree that they also add extra weight to the travel bag! Given the easy access to the internet everywhere around the world, I just don’t think books are the ideal method of presenting travel information nor do I believe that this industry has a healthy business model.
Other travel review websites will often make their money selling hotel rooms, flights and other travel options. They appear to be more interested in selling ads than in improving the travel experience for its members. Many of their websites include too many advertising links and navigating through them becomes overwhelming. To my disappointment, we would often read hotel reviews from travelers we knew nothing about. My grandmother may think the W hotel in Montreal is too “young”… I think it’s a cool place.
The Challenge
-To build an online travel guide that is easy to navigate and features local attractions and businesses with large photos (pictures are much more exciting than reading text!)
- To build a tight network where members can read reviews from similar types of travelers. For example, a 25 – 34 year old budget traveler probably wants to know what another similar traveler thinks about a particular hotel….not what my grandmother thinks (I still love you, grandma). It was very important for me to ensure that this travel guide offers members up-to-date information generated by people that have lived in that destination or recently traveled there. The website must be simple, easy to use and must, above all, always be transparent in how it’s conducting business.
The Solution – Tripulu
Tripulu is my way of tackling the key challenges mentioned above. I’m building an open environment where members can discover new businesses, destinations and people and also contribute to the site. I hope to inspire members to try something new and share their experiences with others through this online network. I truly believe that we can find the right balance between helping local businesses market themselves and ensuring that members are presented with trustworthy travel information. Together we can build a better travel guide!
P.S. Thanks to all that have helped me with Tripulu.