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Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

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81–90 of 207 posts

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#81

This looks great, will definitely try it out next time I travel. Looks like there is no fast tracking immigration/customs for US airports though? Any plans to add this in the future?

That's great to hear! We'd love to help. Please use promo code "hnfriends" for 10% off of your booking :)

As for fast track immigrations/customs in the US, we're only able to help in some cases at JFK and MIA. Basically no company has access to meet travelers at their gate in the US. We're working to make this happen though, and there are pilot programs at a few airports coming later this year!

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#82
post #5

If it's possible to pay more to avoid the hassle that the other 99% have to deal with, then there is even less incentive for elites to rein in the unnecessary hassle. I'm sure the 1% will love it, but due to the political calculus, your success will make the world a worse place.

We definitely want to make this type of service available to more people in the long term and we believe that increased awareness/volume will help make that happen. TSA Precheck has been helpful to the masses within the USA, and perhaps we'll head down a similar path internationally. Airports in general haven't been very technologically-focused and even at this early stage, we're seeing an opportunity to help airport…

I think you missed the point being made. TSA Precheck has not made things helpful. It has merely allowed people of means to return to the status quo ante before TSA existed. It has come at the cost of less freedom and a lowering if expectations on how government should treat people without means.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#83
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your feedback. We are working on the language on the website. Believe it or not, our pricing / services page ( https://www.solve.com/pricing/ ) explains this service much better than what's been done in the past, but you're right that there's room for improvement. The next version of the site will be launching this month and is a bit clearer.

Suggestion: have the autocomplete on that page default to exact match for the IATA code first. I tried entering SIN and had to scroll through a bunch of other airports first.

Awesome feedback! We're launching a new version of our platform in a week or so and we're fixing a fair amount of the autocomplete and airport/airline search issues.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#84
post #5

If it's possible to pay more to avoid the hassle that the other 99% have to deal with, then there is even less incentive for elites to rein in the unnecessary hassle. I'm sure the 1% will love it, but due to the political calculus, your success will make the world a worse place.

The real elites fly on their own planes, are met on the tarmac by immigration/customs, and probably never have to step foot inside a terminal with everyone else.

There are more than two layers to society.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#85
post #48

So what assets do you have on the ground at each airport you serve? Do you really have offices at all those locations? Or are you just a booking agent for the companies with those shady-looking web sites?

We've basically partnered with the best suppliers at each airport. There are often 2-3 companies at each airport that do this and 2 of them are terrible and 1 is really good. We've worked really hard to vet ever single supplier to make sure there is consistency and reliability on every service.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#86
This seems incredibly pricey, especially for the services you seem to be promising (which, for all the airports I spot-checked, amounted to Meet and Greet, Custom Assistance, and Transport Assistance). Fast tracking was not covered in the base price for any of the airports I checked. Connecting flight service is $745 per person!!!

Your example pricing was for 2 people, but I checked and it looks like the price for 1 is the same—SFO is $375 (for both 1 and 2 passengers), likewise for BOM ($340 for 1). Given how much you are pushing the business traveler angle, I think it'll be more honest to talk about price per passenger, as business travelers rarely travel in pairs.

Business travelers typically travel light, and might not need as much baggage assistance or custom assistance. Likewise, you only claim to provide assistance booking transportation (the passenger pays for the actual transport), which means that unless someone is traveling to a very very 'foreign' land (where no one speaks English, the signage is very confusing, you are very likely to be cheated, etc. etc.) I don't see too much value coming out of the service for most travelers.

I understand it's a discretionary spend, and that you can charge whatever you want, and that three or four hundred bucks is throwaway money for many business travelers (or their companies) but I was personally quite disappointed to see the pricing, because I was hoping to use it to get, say, an aging parent through all the airport hassle. For 50-100 bucks, worth considering. For 400, not so much.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#87
post #75

This is something I could actually see myself using soon, what perfect timing to stumble upon it. ps. Whatever SEO marketer you went to, abandon them ASAP. The spammed geo pages (in this case: airport pages) with duplicate content is going to impact your rankings negatively. It is considered a "black hat" SEO technique. That or differentiate the content in a meaningful way. I only checked 4~ of the pages and they wer…

That's awesome to hear! Please use promo code "hnfriends" for 10% off your booking.

Thanks for the SEO feedback, we'll definitely relook our strategy!

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#88
post #8

This is great! This is sort of like how Clear brokers deals with airports to expedite security, except for more interesting and complicated airport processes. Could have used this coming back from Rome to the United States via Spain. Ended up going through customs 4 times just to make a transfer. Curious how difficult it was to do this for 500+ airports so quickly, especially since you're a private company and operat…

What is your opinion of Clear? I just saw it on a recent trip and it seemed like a violation of privacy

Clear is an awesome service, but their strategy/service is a bit different than ours.

We provide you with a dedicated agent/problem solver (pun intended) that takes you from curb to gate and gate to curb. We're also really helpful on international trips where there are language barriers and insanely long immigrations/customs lines.

We also make sure you're safely off in your vehicle when you exit the airport and your'e not getting ripped off on a taxi or car. For example, in places like Mexico City or Beijing you're swarmed by drivers trying to get you in their car as soon as you exit the airport.

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#89
post #11

Hey Blaine! Congrats on your launch. My co-founder Sarah and I just moved from SF to travel the world while we bootstrap our startup, Canny. I'm also a huge fan of products like Shyp, Instacart, Prime Now, and Gobble that let you trade money for time. I think I could be your target customer. However, $210 sounds pretty darn expensive for HK. I just went there last Nov. It didn't take much research at all to figure ou…

Since you're an international traveler, I'd like your thoughts on our idea. Would you think it's a life saver if the hotel you checked into at your destination gave you a smartphone that gives you access to the Internet, Google Maps, and other travel-related apps while you can also use it to Wifi hotspot your own personal phone?

Definitely, not one of our Solve team members but would love feed back on this person's post!

Re: Launch HN: Solve (YC S17) – We Save International Travelers Hours of Time

#90
post #78

I like this and will be exploring it when my travel picks up again. Have you posted this in the forums at FlyerTalk? Highly engaged community that features lots of premium flyers and will give candid feedback as well.

That's awesome to hear, feel free to use promo code "hnfriends" for 10% off your booking. Awesome advice in regards to FlyerTalk. We're actually chatting with them now and are hoping to get something up soon!
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