The ‘boom’ of algorithmic travel companions

WeRoad is a community of travelers which arose from the passion for travel of its founders and “from the need to find adventure companions who share our same desire to explore,” says Fabio Bin, its co-founder and CMO. «We decided to create a platform that would connect travelers with similar interests. The model was received very positively, since our public in Spain identified with common situations, such as not being able to travel due to lack of vacation or because their friends had other plans or did not coincide on free days,” he adds. The essence of WeRoad goes beyond organizing trips, “our goal is to help these travelers get out of their comfort zone and build authentic relationships while exploring new destinations,” highlights Bin. For the CMO of this project, it is not surprising that it was the millennial generation that took the first step. «He has grown with the advancement of technology and has adapted to it, he is now at a point in his life in which he prefers to leave his comfort zone and embark on adventures that, in the future, become memorable stories» , he clarifies.

WeRoad has developed a platform so that the entire purchasing process is carried out through the website and with support from the different direct channels. “WhatsApp is one of the preferred channels for our customers and social networks, especially Instagram, are being the main key to showing other people the real experience of a trip with WeRoad,” underlines Fabio Bin. Each WeRoad group has a trip coordinator who takes care of everything necessary, such as transportation, schedules, accommodation and meeting points. «Weeks before the game, create a WhatsApp group where participants can start to get to know each other and establish connections. This interaction helps create a sense of community among future travelers,” he adds. Given the experience of this community, destinations such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Morocco, Cuba and Thailand have become the favorites of Spanish millennial travelers, who seek new experiences and cultures different from those they are accustomed to.

Andrea Bergareche, the founder of Nimbala Aventuras, knows very well what it is like to travel alone. She did it for ten years and traveled halfway around the world, encouraging other women to follow in her footsteps through a travel blog and a book. In 2019, she organized an adventure for women warriors and “those adventures have grown until they became Nimbala, this creative space for searching and meeting designed by and for women who want to travel and live in freedom,” explains Andrea herself. Trips that maintain the backpacking style that “allows us to create immersive and connecting adventures that go beyond typical trips and tourist itineraries.” From Nimbala they believe that group trips with strangers are here to stay. “They allow us to access these places in a more economical and organized way than if we went alone, giving us that extra dose of security and comfort, as well as the opportunity to meet new people and live a new experience beyond our social circle,” he explains. Bergareche. Before the trip, the travelers must complete an online form that allows us to get to know them better and see if they fit into the adventure, “if their interests and our values ​​are aligned to ensure the fluidity of the group.” The founder of Nimbala assures that small agencies like hers have been able to grow “thanks to the Internet without the need to have a physical location, being able to reach a much larger audience and making ourselves known from the comfort of the screen.”

Algorithmic affinity

Uniite Travel is another community of travelers and in this case it has developed its own algorithm called degree of affinity, through which, “our system exposes similar trips and travelers, asking three brief questions, age, tastes and hobbies,” explains Alazne González, deputy director of Operations. They have also just launched an app from which you can invite other like-minded travelers to the community and get discounts for your trips. They also organize events and exhibitions for unitravelers to meet. Among the most requested trips are everything from weekend plans to the Silk Road.

Nomadizers does not organize trips, but it is the platform that allows you to find your best travel companions. Three friends decided in 2015 to create something new together and taking into account that they were inexperienced, they opted for the travel sector, which was what united them most. «It occurred to us to create the social network to unite people to travel with the added bonus of proposing a compatibility algorithm. We evaluate a series of criteria when you register and we can offer you a percentage of compatibility with the users of the platform,” says Myriam Ribera, one of the founders. They had never traveled with strangers and they assure that when they started the project it was not common at all, which is now increasingly common. They launched their social network on August 4, Friendship Day “and we still don’t really know how, in a short time we had 10,000 people registered, it was something exponential,” says Ribera. When they entered a startup accelerator they already had 40,000 users in just two months.

When you register with Nomadizders you fill out a series of information and you can join a travel group or create your own if dates proposed by others do not match or there is no destination that you like. “We do not organize trips but rather we put people in contact so they can take the trips they want and we recommend meeting online or physically beforehand,” clarifies the co-founder. The questionnaire they complete when registering has been changing as they have observed their community, but they detect key points when it comes to finding your travel companion. “People are interested in knowing if they are early risers or not, if they are looking for a low-cost trip or have more financial capacity, if you are interested in gastronomy or are satisfied with eating anything,” gives Myriam Ribera as an example.

There are already more than 200,000 people registered, especially in Spain, although they also have a significant community of Spaniards living in other countries. Almost all of them are millennials, although they also have some z and some boomers. In this project “technology is essential, it connects you with people who are in another part of the world” and Ribera assures that having an algorithm that indicates compatibility to travel with certain people “is very good, it takes away the shame.” She recommends a minimum compatibility of 70% to embark on the adventure and remembers that “we are a first filter and a door to other countries in the world and to people.”