The 21st Century Travel Experience — Pt. 1
PermaGO | verb (\ˈpər-mä-gō\) — to be permanently on-the-GO.
Example: I didn’t pack anything because I’m just going to PermaGO it!
Right now, building rockets and getting to space is sexy. I get it! But forget about space travel for a second. Let’s assume that either Elon Musk or Richard Branson will eventually get us there, although I wouldn’t be surprised if another visionary from the rest of the field will have us packing for Mars in the latter half of this century; looking at you Mr. Bezos. What’s clear to those that are paying attention to the travel industry is that it has undergone a massive paradigm shift, greater than what we witnessed in the previous two centuries when we — more or less — went from horse-carriages to automobiles to airplanes. Laying the physical infrastructure with the railways and the highways made that shift possible, and as we exited the 20th century we began to lay a new infrastructure — the digital infrastructure — which made this current shift possible. The internet has transformed the ways in which we plan for the “how,” “why,” “when,” and “where” we travel. So as we approach 20-odd years of living in the internet age, the question we still need to settle is: WHO reigns supreme in terrestrial travel? If our destiny lies with the stars, then the answer to this question is going to be pivotal in not only how we get there, but also our evolution path as a species.
In our first-world, smartphone-obsessed society, we are living in an era of unprecedented choice; an epoch in the human experience where each of us can virtually traverse the entire planet right from our smartphone screens and through our fingertips. Unlike previous generations, job opportunities can now be found in every corner of the globe allowing people to apply their skills-set to the world economy. This generation no longer thinks of their life opportunities locally, or even nationally. But in order for us to truly become a global economy (if not civilization,) we must figure out how we are going to be able to empower people to effortlessly move from point-A-to-B, anywhere on this planet. So for those that wish to be a long-term participant in an increasingly competitive market, all startups, entrepreneurs, and incumbents within the travel industry today, must align their organizational philosophy and innovate their products and services with this mindset.
One of the “Immutable Laws of Marketing” states that in any industry, “in the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.” If that’s the case, at least from a consumer perspective, there’s no clear travel industry leader like there is in other markets. Think “Google,” “Nike,” “Coca Cola,” — brands that immediately remind you that they dominate search, sneakers, and soda respectively. Travel? It’s a bit of a mixed bag because it’s hard for me to point to even a single company with the desire to lead; and that’s because this is a fragmented industry. Think about all the brands that you associate with travel such as — Priceline, Booking, Orbitz, Travelocity, Tripadvisor, Yelp, Foursquare, (throwing that in just for the hell of it) etc etc… Now let me put it this way: combine all of their revenues and that amount still only accounts for less than 1 % of the entire “Global Travel Spending” pie; actually about one-third (.37) of a percent. That’s fucking incredible! And yet, the way I’m hearing some investors talk about my industry, you’d think it’s a foregone conclusion that any entrepreneur even entertaining the idea of entering the OTA (Online Travel Agency) game should be dismissed as just another bromide unworthy of their attention or validation.
The OTA market is simply one of many, equally important facets of the travel experience, and if anyone thinks this isn’t critical when we’re talking about becoming the market leader, because it’s fragmented and will always be fragmented, well… stay tuned.
