Aug 15, 2015
We chat with Kevin O'Shaughnessy founder of travel startup City Hook (www.cityhook.com), the smart way to book between the airport and city. Welcome to the Travel Massive podcast, an interview series with travel industry change-makers and pioneers, sharing their stories and insights. Your host is Holly Galbraith, tourism expert and also host of the Tourism Tweetup Podcast (www.gofuturemedia.com). In this podcast episode Kevin shares insights into the travel tech startup scene and the future of travel. Highlights: - How Kevin went from his first job at a company that made the very first smart phone before the iPhone to starting his own revolutionary company - City Hook as one of the first companies to offer bookings for ground travel from the airport to the city centre - The vibrant travel scene in Dublin, Ireland - How to stay on top of the market trends by going "outside" "Travel is increasingly becoming about the software experience" There is more technology involved in your trip than ever before and every button is hard earned. How the postcard has gone extinct and how the travel experience can change overnight Travel industry makes up 10% of the planet's GDP "Travel innovation is not about your network but how you approach your go-to market strategy, how you will work around the big players, how you will survive long enough" "The companies that do the best are the ones that navigate better, know the obstacles" How you focus and navigate your idea can help you standout (with examples from Airbnb and Hipmunk) "It is about ignoring the rules and teaching the industry something new they haven't seen before" Please leave a comment or send feedback to podcast@travelmassive.com