Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 207 posts

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

#141

Post by pdovy »

I'd agree with other commenters here that it seems pretty expensive for what you're getting, or at least the value proposition is poorly presented. For example, I don't see any reason why I'd want to pay for this at a US airport (at least from the perspective of a US citizen). On the other hand if you told me the immigration line at XYZ airport was typically 45-60 minutes long and you could guarantee me priority access, there is a value there that I might pay for.

The pricing also seem really opaque - the prices even within a single country vary (from $250 at JFK in the US to $375 at SFO, why?). Certainly the going rate for a fixer at the location must play into this, but from a customer perspective I'd expect the fee to mostly depend on the value to me - I'll pay more if the expected level of delay or hassle is high. That might actually be inverse of the rate you pay the fixer - there's less value in US/Europe for me than if I'm traveling in e.g., Southeast Asia.

Overall though I think this is an interesting idea and I'd be a customer at the right price point, at least for certain destinations. Good luck!

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

#142

Post by shawnsheikh »

neerkumar wrote: post #40
blainevess wrote: post #29

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.

That's (a bit) clearer. I hadn't seen that. I think the entire airport experience is a mess and one of the few things I can think of that's actually worse than 20 yrs ago. If you guys gain deep knowledge about their process and can then make it more efficient via technology, it would be huge. Good luck.

That's definitely the goal! Thanks for the kind words and we hope we can help you on a service soon!

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

#143

Post by kcorbitt »

paulsutter wrote: post #114

How are you able to consistently skip the lines in so many countries? I love this idea but my skepticism would prevent me from trying it. A better explanation might help resolve that. Is it sketchy? does it involves bribes? Is it just a scam? These are the questions that will give your target customers doubts. If I knew it was legit I would always use it.

Same question. AFAIK in the first-world countries I've flown into the line you're put in depends entirely on the passport you hold, and sometimes traveler-specific preregistration programs (e.g. Global Entry in the USA). Are you actually helping people skip lines, or just showing them the right ones to stand in?

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

#144

Post by skewart »

kinkrtyavimoodh wrote: post #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…

That was my reaction too.

I don't think there's enough of an improvement over the status quo experience of crossing a border into a new country and getting to your hotel. In "very foreign" places the value might sometimes be much greater. But, in those situations if you could afford to spend $300 on a service like Solve there's a good chance you're staying at a place that will offer similar functionality or you're meeting up with people who will send someone to help you.

That said, if I could book Solve pretty last minute then the prices might be more reasonable, or even be too low. If a flight is delayed and I'm going to be cutting it close for a meeting then $300, or even $600, to remove all uncertainty about the border crossing could easily be worth it. Or if I get to border control and see there's a huge line, I might be more likely to give in to the temptation and spend money to get out of waiting for an hour.

I'm also super curious about the vision for scaling this. Even if the prices came down it seems like it's targeting a relatively small market. Plus, it seems like there are inherent limits on the product's scalability - you could only have a relatively small percent of all fliers using Solve before it would get congested and offer a worse experience than not using it! So, you guys must have something bigger up your sleeves! I'm curious where you see it going. Maybe a wider range of personalized travel services (so, still a small number of users, but more dollars per transaction)?

I dunno, maybe you just need to convince a handful of big companies to offer this as a perk and you'll be all set. Maybe that market is actually a lot bigger than I'm imagining off the top of my head.

All of that said, I do really like the idea of magically making the process of getting from my airplane seat to my destination faster, more comfortable, and less uncertain. I would definitely be a customer at the right price point and/or value prop.

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

#145

Post by seanmcdirmid »

In Denpasar, Indonesia (the airport for Bali), you could always get through immigration/customs by bribing the immigration officers. Actually, they would come through the lines telling us about their "service" given that they immigration lines were moving so slowly (and I have a feeling, this was by design). With the new airport and more efficient immigration lines, these people have disappeared, however.

I wonder what kind of relationship you need to set up a kind of service that would even allow you to meetup at the arrival gate? Many airports simply have nothing for this beyond VIPs, I can't think of any airport in China that would do this, for example, which is why all the people are holding up signs waiting for their charges outside of customs.

Edit: they seem to offer service at PEK (https://www.solve.com/pricing/pek), but DAMN those prices are sky high (start at $1,690). I guess that answers my question then.

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

#146

Post by seanmcdirmid »

mwest wrote: post #66
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?

This is much less of a pain since EU roaming charges ended on 15 June 2017. "Roaming charges end on 15 June 2017. Europeans travelling within the EU countries will Roam Like at Home and pay domestic prices for roaming calls, SMS and data." https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/policies/roami... Happily using my UK SIM and data plan while traveling through several EU countries.

> This is much less of a pain since EU roaming charges ended on 15 June 2017.

> Happily using my UK SIM and data plan while traveling through several EU countries.

The Brexit should fix that for you.

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

#147

Post by seanmcdirmid »

cushychicken wrote: post #60
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?

Great idea. I still haven't figured out a surefire way to do this for China travel.

Huh? They have a booth selling China mobile SIMs, but they might offer Unicom also (important if you have a GSM phone) inside customs, I believe it is 24 hours, for most international airports.

The SIM is pay as you go, you can refill it at most newspaper stands.

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

#148

Post by prawn »

ransom1538 wrote: post #55
deepGem wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a huge pain in many of the airports that I have travelled. In fact, you'll even get ripped off at some. For example Rome. We paid 50 euros for a supposedly Schengen wide 1GB plan but as soon as we left Italy that SIM was useless. So yeah, I'd definitely pay someone if they can just hand me a SIM at a nominal price as soon as I walk out of immigration/baggage claim Singapore has done this in a great way. As so…

In Rome buying a sim is a total gamble -- many times they don't even work. I learned to buy the sim, then literally STAND in the same line and install it into my phone. (When I do this the staff at these stores start to get nervous.) If it doesn't work - I hand them back the sim and explain it doesn't work on my phone. They then take my receipt, type something into their computer, restart the phone and explain how it…

I've had this happen in the US too. Verizon branded Android phone taken to a Verizon store to get a different sim, assured it would work and then had to walk out after 3+ attempts, calls, and fiddling on the computer.

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

#149

Post by tluyben2 »

nicpottier wrote: post #46
throwaway123945 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 travel a lot and to many different places and I can say no, this isn't a useful service to me. A local SIM card yes, and those are the first thing I do upon arrival at airports (I have a pouch of 30 or so I keep as momentos). My wife was just in Accra and received an Android device like you described at her hotel. My advice to her was not to use it for anything that involved logging in, because honestly, that just…

There is something called a Handy (I think) which is an Android phone; it works well for browsing and maps. I have gotten one for free to borrow in a number of hotels around the world. Usually I have a local SIM though.

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

#150

Post by shawnsheikh »

rsync wrote: post #136
jrbancel wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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-...

"Global Entry [0], if you are a US citizen or permanent resident." Ok. But how are they (Solve) going to do it ? Or is the US entry side of things not part of their product offering ?

You're correct in that we can't offer immigrations/customs help in US airports (with the exception of JFK and MIA). However, we can help in about 400 airports around the world. We can expedite clients through departures on international flights.

A lot of our clients flying domestic, however, still find value in the service especially families and the elderly.

Post reply on HN