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

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

#101

Post by sasper »

JimDabell wrote: post #17
tintor wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or just use Google's Project Fi with no roaming charges (if you are from US).

From what I hear, Fi is by no means perfect, it's only available for a few phone models, and I'm not from the USA anyway.

What cell service is perfect? Fi is wonderful for a simple pricing structure and having service in 170+ countries as soon as you land. It allows me to use my phone in the few hours it takes from landing in a new country, to getting to my hotel, to getting to a cell provider to get a local SIM.

It is only officially supported on Nexus and Pixel phones, which are great devices. You can get around the limitation by doing some Googling as well if you insist on using a different device.

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

#103

Post by mrtimo »

JimDabell wrote: post #7

One of the first things I do when I arrive in a new country is pick up a local SIM card so I can use my phone without roaming charges. Sometimes this is nice and simple where you just walk to a booth in the airport and pick one up, other times it's a real hassle, having to hunt around for a local shop and fill in personal information on sign-up. Have you considered providing local SIM cards as part of your service?

T-mobile (Post-paid) has free international data and SMS... works in 100s of countries. No extra cost. This is the sole reason I am a customer.

The data is slow, but definitely good enough. It is good enough to use google hangouts to call phones back in the states.

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

#104

Post by jrbancel »

rsync wrote: post #77

How does this work, inbound, to the US ? When I return to the US (San Francisco) on first class or business tickets there is no segregation of lines/service - you queue up in the big line and wait your turn (45-60 minutes later) like everyone else. Other than diplomats, I see no mechanism for expediting immigration/customs inbound to the US and my (short, reckless) research suggested that expedited immigration/custom…

> I see no mechanism for expediting immigration/customs inbound to the US

Global Entry [0], if you are a US citizen or permanent resident.

It is life changing. Immigration takes under a minute at a kiosk and there is a priority lane at Customs.

[0] https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-...

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

#105

Post by mikejarema »

venning wrote: post #22

Off-topic, but how expensive are five-letter, English word .com domains right now? I don't see new companies with domains that are small-ish words very often.

For those interested in researching past domain sales, namebio.com is a great starting place. It has a searchable DB of public domain sales which can be filtered by extension, length, etc.

Eg. five-letter .com search: https://namebio.com/?s==ITO4gTM5ITM

Also the weekly domain sales report by Ron Jackson is another good place to get a sense of current sales: http://dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm (I believe these are included in namebio's DB, but regardless Ron adds some color commentary to the numbers)

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

#106

Post by peteretep »

throwaway123945 wrote: post #36
a13n wrote: 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?

I've had a Korean hotel offer this. It wasn't really that useful; I bought a SIM instead.

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

#107

Post by squarks »

Instead of personal attention, what if there were a kiosk in every (or many) airports, like a RedBox, where you could get your tickets, SIM card, or whatever predictably before arriving? Or perhaps even a locker where someone gets all your things and puts them in the locker for you for when you arrive? That might keep the costs down.

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

#108

Post by peteretep »

I do a lot of international business travel, mostly in business. 3 figures of flights last year. I would use this service, but you're about 2x as expensive as I'd pay for it.

For example, you want £140 for landing at Suvarnabhumi. This gets me Fast Track immigration, but I already get that if I'm landing in business, and help with onwards transportation, but as per most airports, the place is swamped with good quality limo transfers for maybe 2x the price of a regular taxi. So I'd be paying £140 for a cart from deplane to immigration, plus perhaps shortening priority immigration, and help with luggage. That definitely has some value, maybe up to £70, but £140 is way too much.

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

#109

Post by kinkrtyavimoodh »

peteretep wrote: post #108

I do a lot of international business travel, mostly in business. 3 figures of flights last year. I would use this service, but you're about 2x as expensive as I'd pay for it. For example, you want £140 for landing at Suvarnabhumi. This gets me Fast Track immigration, but I already get that if I'm landing in business, and help with onwards transportation, but as per most airports, the place is swamped with good qualit…

I also wonder why the prices are largely in the same ballpark irrespective of the airport. This seems a mostly labor intensive offering, and labor costs are much lower in, say, India.

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

#110

Post by peteretep »

hayksaakian wrote: post #51

Super cool! Dubai airport has a service called 'marhaba' which basically does this but only in Dubai. It's great for helping someone who is older or disabled figure out their connecting flights through an airport. Smart to bring this to more places. Your pricing is pretty spot on too, it's a bit less expensive than marhaba btw.

    > Smart to bring this to more places.
I would be 90% amazed if they're bringing it to more places, rather than just reselling existing local services.
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