The Trip Tribe, a D.C.-based social marketplace for group travel, recently hired three new full-time employees, bringing their staff roster to nine—four full- and five part-time. Company CEO Dave Aidekman calls the new hires—a CTO, a front end developer and UX designer and a director of business development--"a necessity" as The Trip Tribe gets ready to leave Fortify Ventures.
"We wanted to seize this opportunity to form a big team," Aidekman says. "We have to focus on building an amazing experience. Everything else will take care of itself."
Creating amazing experiences are The Trip Tribe's stock and trade. Aidekman drew on his background managing group trip logistics as a tour operator to disrupt the group travel market, a segment he says is "worth $150B and is ripe for disruption."
"More important than destination, price or dates, the number one question people ask is always, 'Who else is going?'" he explains.
The Trip Tribe demystifies group travel. Potential travelers, whether singles or couples, create a profile on the site and answer a few basic questions about themselves on a sliding scale (Warm or cool climate? Early riser or party til dawn? Sleep in a tent or 5-star hotel?). The site then shows which destinations are available for booking, and which are being "craved" by other users. Once a trip has been craved by a critical mass, Aidekman and his team open it up for booking. Detailed itineraries, including the cost of the trip and which meals are included, are provided, along with links to which users have already signed on to a specific trip.
Current trips available for booking on the site include a fly-fishing weekend in Montana, a Paleo weekend with daily Crossfit workouts in Cabo San Lucas and a beach and adventure week in Costa Rica. "The technology will let us accommodate any type of group experience," Aidekman says. "We're partnering with the top tour companies, many of which are not on the web. This is a channel for them to reach a group of customers."
Seventy percent of The Trip Tribe's current user base are single young professionals; Aidekman says that based on interest from users, the company plans to create trips for retirees next. "Senior citizens don't want to travel with college students," he explains.