WayLocal is a travel itinerary marketplace that offers personalized itineraries crafted by local writers. We take you beyond generic guidebooks and blogs, while saving you hours of time planning your next trip.
While it is true that traveling in 2023 is, in many ways, easier than ever before, this convenience comes at a cost. Hidden beneath the surface lies a stark reality: our favorite destinations are being loved to the point of exhaustion. The ubiquity of platforms like Instagram, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and even guidebooks and blogs has led us down a well-trodden path, a standardized list of the "top 10" places to visit. While some of these locations certainly warrant exploration, it is our responsibility to understand why they are noteworthy. In the meantime, there exist hidden gems in every corner of a city, waiting to be discovered by those in the know—the locals. However, uncovering these hidden treasures often requires personal connections, recent visits, or painstaking hours of research. WayLocal aims to bring these extraordinary experiences to the forefront, highlighting local activities and businesses. In doing so, we spread the prosperity that tourism affords, while simultaneously supporting the livelihood of talented writers within each community.
Oh, nice! Congrats on the launch :) The value prop here really resonates with me - traveling has begun to feel like following the same 'instagrammable spots' as everyone else, rather than true discovery. Meanwhile, with a busy schedule and limited time in most destinations, it's great to know that certain places are locally vetted. What is the business model of WayLocal? Do guides earn a commission? Is any of the monetisation dependent on whether the user visits the location?
@charmandro Thanks for your support! The business model is such that the writer receives a % commission for the itineraries they write. None of it is dependent on whether the user visits the location.
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I think this is a great idea and they have been a few launches along similar lines that I have been following. I can understand the huge attraction of creating a platform and then inviting people to contribute but I wonder in the long term how that works because a huge amount of effort goes in to creating the content only to place it on a platform that you then don't control. How do you resolve that or do you not see it as an issue? I have been thinking lately that the only way to get significant take up from contributors is to offer them an equity position in the site. Of course you have the difficulty of what to do when a contributor disappears etc but these things can always be sorted out. in the end that has to be some way to account for the fact that content costs to create and when a site is sold it's the content that has created the value which generates the multiple that the site is sold for. I don't mean to be negative I'm more meaning to be thoughtful about what models might work in the future because in the end what you're trying to do is create something with great quality to counteract all of the AI generated content out there (some of which, I should say, is quality when edited and I use that model myself, but now we're starting to see launches of blogging sites that will generate thousands of articles just based on prompts and that's where things are going to start to get crazy!) and that is to be commended 👍
@simon_s_j thanks for your feedback! The content is written customized for the customer, and the writer receives a profit from that sale. The itinerary isn't going to be reused because our philosophy is that everyone travels in their own way, and deserves a custom experience. So writers are compensated for their work and that expectation is set early.
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This is an amazing product , one which is required in the market , and is trending ! Loved this product !
I really like this. I know there are a lot of purely AI-generated trip advisors popping up out there, but I don't think they can be a replacement for truly localised recommendations. Look forward to see where this goes! Would love to see some South East Asian ones.
@kkavita thanks, we agree! AI is great but the human touch isn't going anywhere (if we can help it!). Where in SE Asia would you like to see? We'd love to hear about it so we can expand to popular destinations.
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Nice concept! I have some feedbacks/approach from past experience. Would love to connect and learn more. Thanks
This sounds interesting, but I have a few questions. First, how is this travel guide different from the ones I've seen on other social media platforms? Second, if I use this travel guide for my upcoming trip, will it provide me with a unique experience? Will there be a local guide for my trip?
@wu_kong9 great questions! Which social media platforms are you referring to? This is a customized guide - written for you, based on questions you answer - so it is completely unique to your travel preferences! Right now there is no local guide but in the future we hope to move digital connections into IRL experience by connecting travelers with the locals involved in their planning.
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